Albania is still today one of the youngest populations in Europe, with a median age (the median that divides the population into two equal parts) of 38.2 years, but after a few decades it is expected to be the oldest population, not only in Europe , but across the globe.

Calculations were made by the data processing unit "Visual Capitalist", which analyzed the data of the population division of the United Nations Organization (UN). According to forecasts, 49% of Albania's population will be 65 or older by 2100, the highest proportion in the world and double the global average by that year.

The chart published by Visual Capitalist (see bottom) uses data from the Global Population Projections by the United Nations to give the growth of the world's elderly population.

In 2022, according to the report, there were 771 million people aged 65+ worldwide, accounting for almost 10% of the world's population.

This segment has grown at a great rate and is expected to reach 16% in 2050, and eventually 24% by 2100. The graph shows what it is predicted to look like, for each country and territory.

Some of the countries with high percentages of elderly people today include high-income countries such as Japan (30%), Italy (24%) and Finland (23%).

The lowest percentages are concentrated in the Middle East and Africa. Many countries have only 2% of their population aged 65 and over, such as Qatar, Uganda and Afghanistan.

But over time, almost all countries are expected to experience growth in older population segments. In just three decades, it is estimated that one in four European, North American and Asian residents will be over 65 years old.

By 2100, a number of Asian countries and island nations facing low population growth are expected to have more than a third of their population aged 65 or older, including South Korea and Jamaica, with 44%.

But, "Visual Capitalist" points out, Albania is expected to reach the highest level in the world, which will have 49% of the population over 65 years old in the year 2100.

According to the graph, the weight of the population over 65 years old in Albania is expected to increase rapidly, from 16.7%, which is today.

The challenge of an aging population, the report points out, will affect all sectors of society, including the labor and financial markets, the demand for housing and transport, and especially family structures and intergenerational connections.

Since 1950, when the earliest data from the United Nations (UN) are reported, Albania experienced a rapid population growth, which culminated in 1991, with 3.3 million people, according to information processed by Monitor from the database of the UN.

In 1990, according to INSTAT, there were 82 thousand births in the country, while in 2022 only 23.5 thousand (see the graph Births 1990-2022). The number of births then began to decline rapidly, reflecting both high immigration and changing lifestyles and the gradual aging of the population.

While Albania today is still reaping the "benefits" of the high number of births in the 90s, United Nations projections are that Albania's population will drop drastically in the coming years, influenced by declining birth rates and emigration. .

The United Nations expects that the total resident population in the country, in the year 2100, according to the average variant, will decrease to 1.1 million inhabitants (see the chart: Population of Albania 1990-2021 and projection 2022-2100).

In 1950, the median age of the population was 19.2 years, while in 2022 it reached 38.2 years, according to INSTAT. The UN predicts that by the year 2100, the median age will reach 63.3 years, meaning that half of the country's population will be over 63. (see graph: Median age, Albania, 1950-2100).

According to the latest INSTAT data, on January 1, 2022, the resident population in Albania was 2,793,592. Although the deadline has passed in the calendar published by INSTAT, the population on January 1, 2023 has not yet been made public.

Indirect evidence suggests that the contraction may be strong for two reasons. First, the natural increase in 2022 was only 690 more births than deaths.

Secondly, immigration has increased significantly in 2022, as asylum requests in the countries of the European Union and the United Kingdom alone were about 32 thousand, the highest level since 2015.

(Source: Monitor)