TIRANA, August 13 – Emigration, financial difficulties and the change in the concept of the family have caused births to drop significantly in Albania. The latest INSTAT data show that about 10,000 babies were born in the first 6 months of this year, 10% less than the same period last year.
According to sociologists, the decision to have a child is seen as difficult by young families.
There are many cases when young people do not take the initiative to create this family relationship because today it is much more difficult to create a family. It is noticed as a new way of reconceptualizing the family and there are very few marriages. But there is a very large increase in coexistence relationships of young people who want to know each other longer and then get involved in a family relationship, according to sociologists.
In the second 3-month period of 2023, only Vlora county recorded an increase in the number of births compared to the same period of last year, while the other 11 counties experienced a decrease. The largest decrease is in the district of Berat with 19.2%. Meanwhile, there were only 72 more births than deaths in this Balkan country from January to June.
According to sociologists, such a phenomenon is directly affecting society. “Decreasing births is not simply about the process, it is about fewer opportunities for employment. There will be much fewer young people who will be educated and contribute to the country, much less social security. They will not have the impact today, nor after a year, but after many years.”
In 5 years, the number of births in Albania has dropped by almost 20%.
According to sociologists, encouraging the desire not to leave the country, offering new jobs as well as favoring new families can be incentives for changing this trend. /argumentum.al
