Denada Jushi
Reports of the Bank of Albania and World Bank They show that the continuous emigration of Albanians towards European countries has not stopped, but according to the latter, financial capital is also emigrating.
The year 2025 marked a new record, not at all positive. According to data from the Bank of Albania, processed by Monitor, the value of investments by Albanian companies abroad reached 241 million euros, up 25% compared to the previous year. The departure of people is also accompanied by the departure of capital, shifting economic activity abroad.
This means: less money in the country, more businesses leaving and settling abroad, less turnover and, consequently, less consumption, an effect that affects every sector.
In Shkodra, the owner of a tailoring shop has decided to move his business to South Africa. A shortage of labor, lack of state support, and poor infrastructure have pushed him towards this decision.
But this phenomenon is no longer limited to individual cases.
According to a World Bank and INSTAT study, over 1.6 million Albanians live abroad, while more than a third of families in Albania have at least one immigrant member. In this sense, emigration is no longer an individual choice, but a structural reality that is shaping the Albanian economy and society.
Another influencing element is the way migration works itself.
Albanian immigrants generate income abroad, but a large part of this income does not return to Albania in the form of investments. The World Bank emphasizes that immigrants tend to save and invest in the countries where they live. Albanian capital, instead of contributing to the development of the domestic economy, is strengthening other economies.
However, the money that returns to Albania through remittances has an important social, but not developmental, role. About half of Albanian families benefit from remittances, which constitute about 41% of their income. But over 90% of this money is used for daily consumption, while less than 2% goes to investments or productive activities.
This creates a dependent economic model, where the well-being of families relies on money generated abroad, while the domestic economy does not generate enough capital to grow.
At the same time, emigration itself is not always producing sustainable capital. Although emigrants earn on average about 2.5 times more abroad than in Albania, high living costs mean that real savings are much lower than expected. In fact, over a quarter of emigrants who have returned to Albania declare that they have not managed to save anything during their stay abroad.
In many cases, emigration begins as a family investment. The average cost of leaving is about two monthly salaries, while some emigrants are forced to take out loans to finance the process.
Meanwhile, another deepening problem is the qualitative loss of human capital.
One in three current emigrants and almost four in five returnees with higher education work in positions below their qualifications. This means that Albania is not only losing people, but also the real value of their skills.
The lack of investment from the diaspora is becoming increasingly apparent. Although Albania has one of the highest levels of emigration in the region, emigrant investment in the country remains limited. Reasons such as legal uncertainty, the business climate and lack of trust in institutions mean that many Albanians choose not to repatriate their savings to their country of origin. In this way, financial capital not only leaves, but also consolidates abroad.
This phenomenon has direct consequences for the Albanian economy. The departure of the workforce, especially young people and professionals, is accompanied by the loss of human capital, which is one of the main factors of development. In parallel, financial capital – savings, investments and entrepreneurial potential – is also moving abroad.
At the same time, the structure of the Albanian economy is failing to keep this capital within the country. Economic growth relies mainly on low-productivity sectors such as tourism and construction, while the informal economy remains at high levels, around 29–33% of GDP.
Even at a broader level, Albania still lags behind European standards. Per capita income is only about 33% of the European Union average and, at current rates, it will take decades to achieve real convergence.
In this context, capital flight is not simply a consequence of emigration, but a symptom of an economic model that fails to create competitive opportunities within the country.
The situation in which the Albanian economy finds itself today is worrying for the future.
An economy that consumes more than it produces and relies on foreign money is fragile and requires immediate intervention. If this trend continues, the country risks becoming trapped in a model where immigration “feeds” the economy in the short term but weakens it in the long term.
There are ongoing debates regarding immigration, but the solution does not lie solely in curbing immigration, but rather in creating conditions for capital, both human and financial, to have real and competitive opportunities to be invested in Albania.
For this to happen, clear policies are needed to attract diaspora investments and improve the business climate, so that Albanian money can build the country's economy ahead of other economies.acqj.al
