Albania ranks second after Moldova in terms of population aging rates. In just ten years, Albanians find themselves on average 4.4 years older than the median age. 

From 33.2 years that was the median age in 2012, it has reached 37.6 in 2021, according to INSTAT and Eurostat. The median age divides the population into two equal parts, that is, at the end of 2021, half of the Albanian population was under the age of 37.6 and the other half was over this age. 

Meanwhile, the countries of the European Union have aged an average of 2.2 years during the period 2012-2021, according to Eurostat. 

The population of Albania will continue the aging process and it is expected that its median age will reach 42.1 years in 2031, INSTAT projections say. 

According to the normal scenario, without an increase in immigration and a decrease in births, the average age of the population of Albania will reach 50.1 years in 2050 and in 2100 it will reach 61 years, referring to UN projections. 

Albanians, 5 years older in the last 10 years. The median age reaches 38.2 years 

Albania is expected to reach the average age of Europe very soon. 

The median age of the population started to increase after 1979. In this year, according to INSTAT, the median age of the population was 20 years old. From 1979-2022, the median age has increased by almost 18 years. 

The aging of the population continued at a rapid pace this year as well, reaching 38.2 years, according to Instat, compared to 37.6 years in 2021. 

By crossing the data of the medians, within a decade (2012-2021) Albanians are ranked the second oldest in Europe, with a difference of about 5 years. By gender, the median age of Albanian women reached 39.1 years (median age means that 50% of women are under this age and 50% above this age), while the median age of men reached 37.3 years or 2.3 years older lower than women. 

The median age of men in Albania, as everywhere in the world, is lower than that of women because they have a lower life expectancy. 

Other Eurostat data showed that although still young, Albania is aging rapidly due to declining birth rates and high youth immigration. 

The Albanian population of the age group up to 14 years has "shrunk" by 3.1% percentage points, for the period 2014-2021. 

For the same period, this indicator for the countries of the European Union has been reduced maximally from 0 to 1.8 percentage points. 

The oldest countries in Europe 

Currently, the countries of the European Union are among the oldest, with a median age of 44.1 years for 2021, according to Eurostat. Among European countries, Moldovans are the first in the ranking in terms of aging rates with a 5-year difference in about a decade, for the median age. 

Spain is positioned third. The median age reached 44.7 years in 2021, increasing by 3.9 months over the same period, Eurostat reports. 

On the other hand, the countries with the lowest aging rates are Luxembourg, Sweden and Malta. 
In Sweden, the population has not only not aged but has rejuvenated by 0.2 years in almost a decade recording an age of 40.6 years in 2021. 

The same phenomenon was repeated in Malta where the median age for 2021 population has been renewed by 0.3 years, which makes it the least aging country of the European Union in the last 9-10 years. 

(Source: Monitor)