The number of Albanian families is declining rapidly, the highest rate in at least 2 decades

2023-10-11 09:44:00, Ekonomi CNA

The number of Albanian families is declining rapidly, the highest rate in at

Like the country's population, the number of Albanian families is rapidly declining. INSTAT reported that in 2022, there were 758,973 families in the whole country, or 6,578 less than in 2021.

Data reported by INSTAT, which dates back to 2007, shows that this was the biggest drop since then. During the last two decades, the country's population declined, but family units were on the rise. This happened as the lifestyle changed the family structure during the transition.

Before, during communism, there was more than one crown in a family, but this is not common now when children of adult age, married or not, are moved as separate families.

The mass emigration that continues even in the third decade of the transition has begun to reduce the number of families, which are falling systematically from 2019 to 2022 and beyond.

In 2018, there were about 3100 more families than in 2017, while in 2019, family units fell by about 1000, in 2020 the fall was more than 2600 families, in 2021 there were 3400 families less and in 2022 the fall doubled by over 6,600 families.

More detailed data refer that the decline was created by a mass exodus last year towards Great Britain by rafts, while departures towards the countries of the European Union increased.

The data of Eurostat and the British Government revealed that only the requests for asylum were 32 thousand people, mostly young people, but a good part of them emigrated with the whole family.

According to INSTAT, the country's population on January 1, 2023 is 2,761,785 inhabitants, decreasing by 1.1%, compared to January 1, 2022.

The net migration of women marks the value of -12,496 women who emigrated more than returned in 2022. The net migration of men is also negative, -20,001 men emigrated more than returned. The negative net migration of men and women has contributed to the overall decline in population and households as well.

Previous surveys by INSTAT have found that emigration in the last decade took on the characteristics of leaving family units. After the abolition of visas in 2013, the chances of immigrating with the whole family increased.

The geography of immigration has also affected the counties with the highest standard of living such as Tirana, Fieri and Durres, where the average family income is generally above the national average.

The 2011-2019 immigration survey found that the city of Shkodra had the highest level of immigration in relation to the population of the district. The population of Tirana District has decreased by 13.7%, or by 102 thousand people during 2011-2019, but 77 thousand people have migrated grouped in families. The survey revealed that Tirana has the highest emigration of family units compared to other counties.

During the period, 10.3% of the district's families emigrated. The data show that the phenomenon of emigration with families has deepened further during 2019-2022, as this is reflected in the reduction of family units in this period./ Monitor