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Demography

According to the 2023 census, the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) calculated the population of Albania to be 2,402,113. The country's total fertility rate of 1.51 children born per woman is one of the lowest in the world. Its population density stands at 259 inhabitants per square kilometre. The overall life expectancy at birth is 78.5 years; 75.8 years for males and 81.4 years for females. The country is the 8th most populous country in the Balkans and ranks as the 137th most populous country in the world. The country's population rose steadily from 2.5 million in 1979 until 1989, when it peaked at 3.1 million. Since then, the population has continually decreased every year. It is forecast that the population will continue shrinking for the next decade at least, depending on the actual birth rate and the level of net migration. In 2022, over 46,000 people migrated out of Albania, a 10% increase over the previous year.

The explanation for the recent population decrease is the fall of communism in Albania in the late twentieth century. That period was marked by economic mass emigration from Albania to Greece, Italy and the United States. The migration affected the country's internal population distribution. It decreased particularly in the north and south, while it increased in the centre within the cities of Tirana and Durrës. Migration abroad has continued in recent years, particularly of the young and educated. As much as a third of those born in the country's borders now live outside of it, making Albania one of the countries with the highest rate of outmigration relative to its population in the world. In 2022 the birth rate was 20% lower than in 2021, largely due to emigration of people of childbearing age.

About 53.4% of the country's population lives in cities. The three largest counties by population account for half of the total population. Almost 30% of the total population is found in Tirana County followed by Fier County with 11% and Durrës County with 10%. Over one million people are concentrated in Tirana and Durrës, making it the largest urban area in Albania. Tirana is one of largest cities in the Balkan Peninsula and ranks seventh with a population about 400,000.