Albania starts the year with negative natural increase/ Deaths exceed births by 368. Gjirokastra, with the biggest drop
Albania's population is facing contraction year after year, mainly due to a decrease in the number of births and high emigration. Demographic data published by the "Institute of Statistics" show that in 2025 the lowest number of births in more than 3 decades was recorded, thus breaking the negative record of recent years. The decline in the number of babies compared to 1990 is estimated at 73%. Last year, about 22 thousand births were registered in Albania, marking a decrease of 3.3% compared to 2024.
On the other hand, 21,394 deaths were recorded, while the difference between them produced a natural increase of only 1,147 inhabitants, significantly lower compared to the previous year.
The most worrying signals come from the beginning of 2026. In the first quarter of the year, 5,146 births and 5,514 deaths were recorded, causing the natural increase to be negative with 368 more people losing their lives than babies being born.
However, compared to the same period last year, INSTAT evidences a slight increase in births by 1%, while deaths fell by 7.4%.
Tirana remains the region with the highest number of births in the country. During 2025 alone, 10,866 births were registered there, while in the first quarter of 2026, 2,438 babies were registered. On the other hand, Gjirokastra is the region with the lowest number of births, with only 292 during 2025 and 59 in the first three months of this year.
The decline in births has spread almost throughout the country. During 2025, 11 regions recorded a decrease in births and only Tirana had an increase, by 20.7%. While Dibra recorded the strongest decline, with 37.7% fewer births compared to the previous year.
In the first quarter of 2026, the situation appears somewhat more mixed. Six regions recorded an increase in births, one region remained at the same levels, and five regions recorded a decrease. The largest increase was recorded in Berat with 14.5%, while the largest decrease was in Gjirokastër with 23.4%.
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