Youth Day without youth: In 13 years, their numbers shrink by 45% due to high emigration

More than a quarter of young Albanians reach their thirties without any trade, vocational training, or completed higher education, and moreover, they are not engaged in any form of employment.

This trend, which has remained stubbornly unchanged over the past two decades, is the clearest proof that governments and society have failed to educate and prepare young people at least to be self-sufficient.

Faced with this situation, most young Albanians aged 15–29 see emigration as the primary solution for their future.

Despite various efforts, the country’s education system has been unable to align with the needs of the labor market, and the quality of learning has declined. Fluctuations in both education and employment have left young people disoriented, and instead of reacting and demanding accountability, they are choosing to leave.

A 45% decline in youth over 13 years

Data from INSTAT show that in 2024, the entire country had only 405,000 young people aged 15–29, which is 45 percent fewer than in the 2011 census.

The decline in the young population is linked less to lower birth rates and more to high levels of emigration, which in this age group has taken on the proportions of a pandemic. Between the 2011 and 2023 censuses, the youth population dropped nearly three times faster than the overall population.

In education, data for the 2024–2025 academic year show that the number of pupils and students continues to shrink. Enrollments in the pre-university system have decreased, especially in the 9-year education cycle, while universities are also facing fewer applicants and a higher rate of dropouts.

Official INSTAT data indicate that between 2020 and 2025, the total number of students enrolled at all levels fell by around 61,000, representing a 10% decrease. Meanwhile, over the decade from 2015 to January 1, 2025, the number of pupils in pre-university education decreased by more than 31%, or 112,000 fewer students.

This demographic shrinkage is leaving the country with fewer young people entering the education system, fewer university graduates, and a diminishing pool of qualified workers for the future.

High unemployment

However, even those who graduate face major challenges in the job market. Youth employment remains problematic, with unemployment levels fluctuating around 22% for the 15–29 age group. Another worrying phenomenon is unemployment among university graduates.

Despite years of study and the financial sacrifices made by their families, around 15% of young people with higher education are unemployed. This happens because universities produce far more specialists in fields like law, economics, and management, while the market demands technical profiles, engineering, skilled trades, tourism, and technology. This mismatch increases underemployment and forces young people either to work outside their field or to seek opportunities abroad.

Emigration as a solution

Albania tops by a wide margin the list of 45 countries with the highest percentage of emigrants in relation to population in 2023. According to estimates by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for every one thousand residents in Albania, 22.1 were emigrants living in the 38 OECD countries, a figure that places Albania far ahead of other nations such as Romania (12.7 emigrants per 1000 inhabitants), Bulgaria (11.9), or Cuba (10.6).

This very high level of emigration means that nearly one in every four Albanians has left the country, reflecting the extraordinary scale of demographic movement that has affected Albania over the past decade. The majority of these emigrants, over 80% are young people. The high rate of emigration is perhaps the clearest indicator of the social and economic dissatisfaction felt by the younger generation.

Albania has been in a period of intense emigration since the 1990s, a phenomenon that, instead of decreasing, is only growing stronger. Every year, a large number of young people mostly highly qualified leave the country, resulting in a significant loss of human capital.

According to recent reports and assessments, Albania is among the European countries with the highest rate of youth departures in relation to its population. The population of young people aged 0–29 has been cut in half in less than two decades, a dramatic decline with deep consequences for the country’s economy and social structure. The main causes remain the lack of perspective, low wages, limited opportunities for professional development, and a general lack of trust in institutions and the future.

1 in 4 young people doing nothing

Young people in Albania who neither work, study, nor receive any form of training (NEET) represent one of the country’s most serious social challenges today. In 2024, over 22% of youth aged 15–29 were neither employed, nor in school, nor in any training program.

In the 15–24 age group, the NEET rate reaches 21.3%. In the 25–29 age group, the situation worsens significantly, with the NEET rate climbing to 31.1%, and the percentage of completely inactive youth rising sharply, especially among women.

Half of young people with low levels of education are NEET up to age 29, and most of them are inactive, not just unemployed. About one-fifth of low-educated NEETs still declare that they are looking for work, but the majority between 40% and 50% have completely detached themselves from the labour market or education. And although the early school-leaving rate has fallen from 17.4% in 2021 to 13.5% in 2023, the number of uneducated youth entering adulthood remains high.

In Shkodër, the NEET level stands at 22%, the lowest among the regions compared. Tirana shows one of the highest rates nationwide, with around 27%.

All regions are characterised by widespread long-term unemployment. Around 69% to 75% of young jobseekers have been unemployed for more than six months, showing a deep disconnect from the labour market and a high risk of falling into complete inactivity.

Universities steeped in corruption

The organisation Qëndresa Qytetare has analysed that during 2021–2025, according to prosecutors’ offices, 50 lecturers at public universities have been accused of corruption. Cases involving academic staff are spread across several cities. In Shkodër, 13 lecturers were implicated (five with investigations dropped, three sent to trial, and five still under investigation). In Elbasan, nine lecturers were involved (one awaiting trial, one with a decision of non-initiation, and seven under investigation, with the case forwarded to SPAK).

In 2025, SPAK completed investigations into 27 officials of the Agricultural University of Tirana (both academic and administrative staff).

Around 9 out of 10 students (89.98%) acknowledge the existence of corruption in the eight public universities analysed. The highest levels of perceived corruption (96%) were reported at the Agricultural University of Tirana, the University of Medicine, and the “Fan S. Noli” University in Korça. The lowest though still concerning levels were reported at the “Alexander Xhuvani” University in Elbasan (77.5%).

Personal experiences with corruption are most widespread at the University of Medicine in Tirana (26.25%) and the University of Shkodër “Luigj Gurakuqi” (25%).

Payment for grades is perceived as most prevalent at the Agricultural University of Tirana (59.62%) and the “Fan S. Noli” University of Korça (56.15%), while the lowest levels were reported at the University of Shkodër “Luigj Gurakuqi” (35.33%). Obligatory book purchases are most frequently reported at the University of Shkodër (32.34%).

Consequences

A cycle of weaknesses has formed in the country, discouraging young people at every step. Education is not producing the skills the economy needs, and the economy is not producing enough jobs with acceptable conditions for young people. The lack of economic and social perspective pushes them toward emigration.

The departure of young people further shrinks the country’s youth base, reduces the number of pupils and students, weakens the labour market, and affects the quality of economic development. As a result, Albania risks entering a prolonged spiral of population ageing, workforce shortages, and an inability to develop a competitive economy without its youth.

In this reality, the question is no longer “are young people leaving?”, but “how can the country create an environment that keeps them, employs them, and helps them develop?”. The challenge appears structural and requires reform in vocational and university education, employment policies aligned with priority sectors, and concrete programs that stop or slow down emigration.

If these processes do not change, Albania will face a future where young people become increasingly absent, and economic development becomes unsustainable.

“KORÇA BOOM”