In 2021, there are about 124.000 students in the auditorium, according to data made public by INSTAT. This is the lowest number of students, at least since 2017 when the data were reported. Their number is 5% less than in 2020. Compared to 2017, there are 12% fewer students on school benches.

The contraction of the number of students reflects three main phenomena. Firstly, the decline in the number of births and the gradual aging of the population. Secondly, the a high level of immigration, especially among young people. Eurostat data show that in the period 2019-2020, about 23% of total asylum applications were from the age group up to 14 years. Thirdly, in recent years, many students choose to pursue higher education abroad. 

Public education continues to attract the majority of students. About 97.400 young people attend school in one of the public universities, or almost 79% of the total. However, their number fell by about 7.1% in 2021, compared to the previous year. 

26.400 students are enrolled in private universities. Unlike the public, their number marked a slight increase of almost 4% this year. Deans of private universities claim that the latter has benefited from the closure caused by the pandemic because students have not been able to flee abroad and have therefore chosen to enroll in Albanian public universities. 

Public universities 

The University of Tirana has the largest number of students from the public universities, with 27% of the total. This university saw a drop of almost 8% in enrollment in 2021, compared to the previous year. 

The second-largest is the University "Aleksandër Moisiu" Durrës, with 20% of the total students enrolled in public universities. This university has become a favorite in recent years, as it saw the highest enrollment growth in 2021, at around 5%. 

Apart from Durrës, the Faculty of Medicine was the only one to record an increase in enrollment of 4%, reaching almost 6,700 students. The biggest decline was in the University "Luigj Gurakuqi" Shkodra, where the number of enrollees shrank by 40%, reflecting the high emigration of the northern areas. 

There was less interest for the Agricultural University of Tirana, which marked a decrease in enrollment by almost 19%. In Vlora, the shrinkage was 9% and in Elbasan about 10%.

Private universities 

The largest private, according to the number of students continues to be "Albanian University", with 15% of the total, but which marked a slight decrease in the number of students by 1%. 

The second-largest is the "European University of Tirana", with 13.5% of the total number of students in non-public higher education. In 2021, the number of enrollees in this university increased by 2%. 

The third is ranked "University Lady of Good Counsel", with 10% of the total. The number of students at this university increased by 6.5% this year. "Epoka" is the fourth-largest university in the country, but in 2021 it saw the highest increase in enrollment by 13%. 

(Source: Monitor)