Albania's population decline linked to strong emigration

The Population of Albania on January 1, 2026, is 2,335,930 inhabitants, decreasing by 1.16 %, compared to January 1, 2025.

The Population decline is the result of two main demographic components, CE Report informs via the National Institute of Statistics of Albania's official website.

• Natural increase, which for 2025 was positive with +1,147 more births than deaths;

• Net migration, which remained negative with -28,531.

The sex ratio at birth remained almost the same as the previous year, resulting in 107.9 during 2025.

Population estimates on January 1, 2026 shows that only Tiranë prefecture recorded an increase in population, compared to the previous year, by 0.7 %.

The largest population decreases were recorded in the prefectures Kukës (-2.59 %) and Shkodër (-2.56 %).

Tiranë, Fier, Elbasan and Durrës have the highest share in the total population.

On January 1, 2026, Tiranë accounts about 32.8 % of the total population, counting to be the most prefecture in the country, followed by Fier, Elbasan and Durrës prefectures, with 9.7 %, 9.5 % and 9.4 % respectively.

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