Birth rates in Albania are dropping

Birth rates in Albania are dropping
Fewer and fewer Albanians are being born from one year to another, causing the demography of the population of this country to deteriorate even more. Now, the country no longer takes pride among other countries of the world about its fast growth of the population. This negative phenomenon has accompanied the country in the past 27 years and it is reflected by the latest data provided by respective institutions. So, according to the Institute of Statistics, natural growth of the Albanian population for the second quarter of this year was negative or -32.6% compared to the same period a year ago. This is a clear indicator of the increasingly declining trend in birth rates as opposed to death rates, something which is creating a deep gap in the natural growth of the Albanian population. As a result, Albania, which before 1990 was considered as one of the countries with the highest birthrates in Europe, is, according to experts, now turning into a country closer to the European level as far as this is concerned. With a current average birthrate of 1.67 children per woman, in the recent years, Albania has also dropped from the list of 10 countries with the highest birth rate in Europe, while there are only three countries with more than 2 children per woman: Ireland, Iceland and France. Meanwhile, the European average is 1.52 children per woman, a rate which may soon be reached by Albania. Albania may also fall below the level of the countries of the region. So, birth rate in Montenegro is 1.65, while in Kosovo, average rate is 1.98.

More deaths than births in Gjirokastra, Vlora and Korça

 There are three regions of Albania where more people are dying than being born, causing a decrease of the population in these regions. This is even confirmed by experts of statistics in the country. According to them, in the second quarter of this year, the natural growth of the population registers its highest rate in the district of Tirana, where the number of births exceeds the number of deaths by 936. Meanwhile, this growth was negative in three districts of the country: Gjirokastra, Vlora and Korça. “The lowest rate has been registered in the district of Gjirokastra and Vlora, where the number of deaths exceeds number of births by 110”, they say.

This way, experts admit the deterioration of the situation from one year to another and add that it’s the district of Gjirokastra the one which has registered the lowest rate of births during the second quarter of this year with a drop of 36.6% compared to the same period a year ago. According to experts, this is explained with the high level of migration and marriages in this district. “The number of births in the second quarter of 2017 was 6.234, registering a drop of 15.4% compared to the second quarter of 2016. The lowest level of births is registered in the district of Gjirokastra with only 83 births with a fall of 36.6% compared to the second quarter of 2016”, INSTAT experts say.

New demographic horizons, experts confirm the phenomenon

Experts have already confirmed the fact that Albania is experiencing new demographic horizons through a special research published a few years ago. According to this research, the last decade in between the 2001 census and the 2011 census, has been a historical period from a demographic point of view. “During this period, Albania is the last country in Europe which has completed its first demographic transition, losing an unprecedented number of its population and remodeling its demographic composition”, experts say, adding that “the population of Albania has seen a decline of 8.8% from the previous census of 2001 and a decline of 12% from the 1989 census”. Last year, the population of Albania was 2.886.0026, registering a fall of 6.276 compared to a year ago. “The number of births registered a fall of 2.539 while the number of deaths has grown by 1700 compared to a year ago”, experts also report. These sorts of figures show that the demographic situation in terms of the ratio between birth rates and death rates in our country has deteriorated. “The reduction in the size of families in the last decade between the two censuses has continued with an average rate of 3.9 members. This reduction may be attributed to the decline of birth rates, but also to the fact that people no longer live with their parents once they get married”, experts say.

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