Albania’s population could decline to just 512 thousand in the next 80 years, according to the UN World Population Prospects 2019.
The UN presents three possible scenarios for each country’s population prospect – high, medium and low variants. The latter indicates the worst possible scenario but the situation does not appear bright for Albania even in the best-case scenario.
With a population of about 2.8 million now, in a best-case scenario, Albania is expected to have around one million less by 2100 with only 1.9 million.
The medium variant of UN’s prospect, possibly a more realistic assessment also, shows just 1 million Albanians by 2100. In the worst-case scenario, only some 500,000 Albanians would remain.
The sharp decline is expected due to massive emigration and drop in birthrate.
The latest UN prospect is a review of the previous year, where Albania’s population in 2100 was estimated to be between 2.8 million and 860 thousand.
President Ilir Meta called on politicians to change this situation:
“The alarm bells are ringing! Stop depopulation of Albania! This is the “real Russian danger” threatening the country! This is the greatest challenge that requires urgent dialogue, solutions, and the return of hope to all Albanians! The Bundestag’s nine conditions are the roadmap for European Albania! The time is now! There can be no Albania without Albanians,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
