The number of births for the second quarter of 2022 fell by almost 15% to 5,348 when compared to the same period in 2022, with most of the country registering more deaths than births.
According to INSTAT, the number of deaths for the second quarter of 2022 is 5,916, marking a decrease of 19.4% compared to the second quarter of 2021.
In the second quarter of 2022, the county with the highest natural increase is Tirana, with 821 more births than deaths, while the county with the lowest natural increase is Korça, with 193 more deaths than births. During the same period, all regions of the country noted a decrease in the number of births.
The district with the highest number of births is Tirana, with 1,940 births, while the district with the lowest number is Gjirokastra, with 85.
The smallest decrease in the percentage of births during the second quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021 is the county of Berat with 9.0%, while the largest decrease is the county of Vlora with 25.4%.
Meanwhile, for the first time since the first case of COVID-19 was recorded two years ago, deaths in the country dropped to the pre-pandemic level. The number of deaths when compared to the 2016-2019 Q2 average was 2.6% lower, a downward trend for the first time since Q2 2017.
This is due to several factors. Firstly high levels of emigration to other counties, but also an increased number of deaths early on in the pandemic meaning many of those with other conditions that could impact their mortality already died.
At least 13,000 people died in 2020 and 2021 as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19, according to the World Health Organisation, higher than the government’s toll of just over 3200.
WHO figures estimate that 12,689 people died in the country between 2020 and 2021 due to COVID, which is almost four times higher than the official death statistics. Excess deaths are calculated as the difference between the number of deaths that have occurred and the number that was expected to happen in the absence of a pandemic, based on data from previous years.
Exit has previously sounded the alarm over the significant increase in excess deaths in Albania during the first two years of the pandemic. Figures from INSTAT showed an increase in excess deaths of around 16,000 people over the two years, while the government only attributed 3,217 to COVID during the same period.
