Albania experienced its steepest population decline in two decades in 2021, when the population fell by 1.3% during the year. 

Data from statistics office Instat showed the population stood at 2,793,592 on January 1, 2022, down by 1.3% compared to January 1, 2021. 

The natural increase (births minus deaths) turned negative for the first time, standing at -3,296, Instat said. 

Albania continued to see mass emigration, with 42,048 people leaving the country during the year against just 9,195 immigrants. That left Albania with net migration of -32,853, compared with -16,684 in 2020, when mobility was impeded by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The median age of the population rose slightly from 37.6 on January 1, 2021 to 38.2 on January 1, 2022. 

During the same period, the youth dependency ratio (the number of persons under working age, 0-14, compared to the number of people of working age, 15-64) decreased from 24.2% to 24.0%. The old age dependency ratio (the number of persons above the working age, 65+, compared to those of working age) increased from 22.3% to 23.1%. 

The sex ratio of the population stood at 98.6 males to 100 females, compared with 99.3 males to females at the start of 2021. 

However, there were 107.5 boys born for every 100 girls, up from 106.6 boys for every 100 girls in 2020. “Gender-biased sex-selective abortions continue to take place in Albania. Preference for male heirs, rapidly declining fertility rates and sex-selective abortions have skewed the birth sex ratio,” said a 2021 OECD report.