Albania depends on remittances like no other country

It’s a known fact that Albania depends to a very large extent on the money that migrant workers send to their families, but what has just come to light is the fact that it mainly depends on the money being sent from one country in particular. The latest report of the European Central Bank reveals that 75% of the total money sent by Albanian migrant workers in a year comes from Italy.

This is a high figure compared to other countries of the region, which do not depend so much on a single country. So, 38% of Croatian migrant workers send their remittances from Germany; half of Bulgarians have made their money in Turkey; 40% of Romanians send their remittances from Italy, and so on. These figures show a fairer distribution of remittances according to the countries where Balkan migrant workers have lived and worked for years. But Albania makes an exception, as the remittances that it receives mainly come from its migrant workers in Italy. However, Italy doesn’t have the biggest number of Albanian migrant workers, because referring to official figures, Greece is the country with the largest number of Albanian migrant workers with 500-600 thousand.

Let us not forget the fact that Greece is also the biggest investor in Albania with 1.27 billion euros. Nonetheless, Albanians living in Italy are the ones who generate more money and send a significant part of it to their country of origins.

Albanian migrant workers in the USA are sending more money than before

They are sending more money than before and this has listed them second in the list of countries from which Albania receives remittances. We’re referring to Albanian migrant workers living in the United States of America, who, according to the European Central Bank send around 15% of the total. Perhaps, they are not as much in number if they are compared to the number of Albanian migrant workers who live in the EU member countries, but the fact that they earn higher incomes in the states contributes in the significant share of remittances that they send to their home country. We mustn’t forget the fact that some of the most important European countries, where thousands of Albania live, have been hit by a deep economic crisis. Meanwhile, the US has already overcome the negative effects of the crisis that broke out in their territory during the period 2008-2009 and which was reflected all over the world.

Germany, the country which sends more money to the Balkans

Germany seems to be the country with the largest share of remittances going to the Balkans from migrant workers living in the country. Remittances from this country seem to make up the largest share of the total amount that the region, where Albania is included, “absorbs” through the citizens who have decided to live and work there. So, this European Union country with a strong economic potential, is the country with the largest number of migrant workers who are sending money to the Balkans or even to countries within the EU. Here, we can mention Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, or even Hungary, whose migrant workers sent money earned by working in the German state. Meanwhile, in the Balkans, Germany seems to be the biggest contributor of remittances in countries such as Serbia.

England and Turkey, two other countries supplying the Balkans with migrant workers’ money

England and Turkey seem to be two other important countries which supply the Balkans with migrant workers’ money. Located in opposite geographic locations to each other, these two countries not only have attracted lots of workers from our region, but they also make up for a very good financial potential. Referring to the figures supplied by the Central European Bank, the money sent from England mainly supplies Central European countries such as Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland. This shows that a large number of migrant workers from these countries live and work in England. Meanwhile, remittances from Turkey mainly go to countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria or Macedonia.

 Albania has the highest level of people who want to emigrate abroad

For the moment, Albania seems to be the country with the highest level of people in the region who want to leave and move to another country. This is reported by the Central European Bank, according to which, this applies to over 16% of the country’s population, the highest percentage in the Balkans and Southeast Europe. Meanwhile, the average for these regions is no higher than 9% and this means that 2 out of 10 citizens in Albania want to leave the country. This level is close to the level of Macedonia, which nonetheless has a lower percentage, namely, 12%. We continue with other countries of the region such as Bulgaria with 10%, Bosnia with 9%, etc.