Albania heading toward “super-aging,” report: Growing need for long-term care services

Population aging in the Western Balkan countries, including Albania, is becoming an increasingly pressing issue year after year.

The latest World Bank report highlights that the real challenge will be long-term care that must be ensured for these populations, which are moving toward what is described as “super-aging.”

“Demand for long-term care (LTC) services is already high in the Western Balkans and is expected to grow rapidly as the population continues to age,” the report states.

Long-term care includes “services and benefits for people who, due to physical or mental limitations over a long period, need support in daily activities or continuous care,” although definitions vary by country and institution.

Data show a worsening reality: “about 16 percent of people over 65 report severe difficulties in performing basic daily activities, while another 32 percent report some difficulties.”

Meanwhile, the elderly already make up “about 9–19 percent of the population at the national level” in the countries of the region.

Pressure is expected to intensify significantly in the next decade. According to the World Bank, “Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia are expected to be classified as ‘super-aged’ countries (with at least 20 percent of the population over 65), while by 2050 Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia are also expected to follow the same trend.”

Despite these developments, coverage of formal long-term care services and benefits remains very limited across the region, leading to a strong reliance on informal family care.

According to available data highlighted in the report, only a small portion of the elderly receive publicly funded in-kind services, significantly below EU levels.

According to the World Bank, public support tends to focus on residential care and cash payments for informal caregivers, while home-based and community-based services remain underdeveloped and are often funded by donors or NGOs, without being integrated into sustainable public systems.

“KORÇA BOOM”