Albanians are among the most common foreign-born parents in the UK for the first time. More than 3,000 babies were born in UK last year to mothers from the Balkan country, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed. 

But the figures have prompted questions about the true size of the Albanian population in the UK, which according to official figures stands at less than 50,000.

The ONS said Romania was the most common country of birth for non-UK-born mothers. 'Albania moved into the top ten most common countries of birth for both non-UK-born mothers and non-UK-born fathers for the first time,' the ONS said. 

Among mothers, Albania became the tenth most common country, up from the 41st a decade ago. And among fathers it became the eighth most common country, up from 36th a decade ago.

Former home office minister Sir John Hayes said: 'It is peculiar that there should be so many babies born here to Albanian parents given the official statistics on their numbers. One is left asking if large numbers of Albanians are here illegally or if they are being granted visas by some other means, and if so why.'

ONS figures for 2019 estimated there were just 47,000 Albanians in the UK – making them the 46th most common overseas-born nationality – of whom 22,000 were female.

Peter Walsh of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford said: 'Available immigration data do not provide a clear explanation of why Albania has moved for the first time into the top ten most common countries of birth for migrant parents.

'Possible explanations for this include the ONS population estimate being too low [for example due to irregular migration or low response to government surveys], or that Albanians are more likely to be of childbearing age and hence have more children.'

(Source: Daily Mail)