ACQJ editorial office
Albania is facing a profound demographic transformation that is turning into a long-term structural crisis. The year 2025 marked a strong turning point: only 21.425 births were registered nationally, about 8.1% less than in 2024 and nearly 6 thousand fewer births compared to 2021. If compared to the early 90s, when the country registered over 82 thousand births per year, the decline reaches about 74%, signaling a new demographic era for Albania.
Unlike previous years, the contraction is no longer limited to remote areas or traditionally poor regions. The data shows that the decline has also affected economic and industrial centers. Durrës recorded a decrease of 11.7%, losing over 300 births in one year, while Fier, Elbasan and Vlora recorded declines of over 12%.
The hardest hit was Dibra with 20.4% fewer births, followed by Korça with 18.5%. Tirana, although remaining the region with the highest number of births (8.830), recorded a 2% decrease, which indicates that the phenomenon is systemic and not regional. In the south, Gjirokastra remains at minimal levels with only 301 births per year, while Kukës and Berat follow the same negative trend.
Experts link this development to the aging population and the significant decrease in fertility, which according to Eurostat data has fallen to 1.21 children per woman, well below the replacement level of 2.1. Albania also recorded the largest decline in fertility in Europe from 2012 to 2022.
INSTAT notes that the average age of women giving birth has reached 29.5 years, while the average age of the population has risen to 44.3 years, reflecting an increasingly aging society.
Sociologists see the phenomenon as the result of a combination of social, economic and cultural factors. According to Gëzim Tushi, the emancipation of women and the change in the family model have meant that fertility is no longer the main ideal of the Albanian family, while the increase in the cost of living makes the decision to have children increasingly difficult.
On the other hand, sociologist Marsi Simo highlights three main reasons: individualism and new personal priorities, economic insecurity, and the lack of structural support for working women, who face difficulties in balancing their careers and motherhood.
The data also shows a decline in fertility in the age groups 20–24, 25–29 and 35–39, while the Gross Reproduction Rate has fallen to 0.59, indicating that Albanian women are about 41% away from the replacement level. Compared to European Union countries,
Albania lags behind due to the lack of supportive policies for young families. EU countries have managed to maintain higher birth rates thanks to family subsidies, longer maternity leave and fiscal incentives, while in Albania supportive policies are considered late or ineffective.
The consequences of this decline are manifold and directly affect the economy and social structure. An aging population means a smaller workforce, greater pressure on pension and health systems, and increasing regional inequalities. If the current trend continues, some areas risk irreversible depletion, while the balance between generations could change significantly.
The year 2025 may go down in history as the moment when Albania confirmed its entry into a deep demographic crisis. It is no longer a statistical fluctuation, but a structural transformation that affects the economy, the territory, and the very social model of the country.
Without long-term policies and concrete measures to support young families and economically empower young people, today's contraction risks becoming a sustainable reality for decades to come.acqj.al
