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Population shrinks, over 150 thousand residents flee Kosovo within five years
2025-06-29 16:19:50 / KOSOVA
Kosovo is facing a high rate of emigration (the departure of residents from the country) due to the lack of a stable socio-economic perspective and political instability. According to official data, from the year two thousand and twenty (2020) to the year two thousand and twenty-four (2024), over one hundred and fifty thousand (151 thousand and 700) citizens of Kosovo left the country for more developed countries in search of a better life.
Meanwhile, in the year two thousand and twenty-four (2024) alone, over thirty-seven thousand (37 thousand and 451) residents have left the country. While only nine thousand and thirty-eight (9 thousand and 38) residents have immigrated (returned). Meanwhile, in the last five years, only forty-one (41 thousand and 217) have immigrated (returned) to the country.
According to data from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, 2021 reached the highest emigration figure in the last five years. This figure reached 42 thousand 728.
Population shrinkage is considered an alarm, also due to the fact that this phenomenon has brought significant consequences, not only in terms of demographics, but also in the country's economy, both in terms of consumption, as well as damage to the image for foreign investors.
Sociologist Genc Xërxa explains some of the reasons that are forcing these citizens to leave their homeland.
Xërxa for KosovaPress emphasizes that low per capita income, unemployment, declining quality in education, and stagnation in the health sector are some of the reasons that have led young people to leave the country for a better life.
'First of all, due to the lack of socio-economic prospects or a better life, knowing that we have high unemployment... Most neighboring countries have doubled their GDP, while in our country we have a kind of stagnation and rising inflation, not giving a good socio-economic perspective. On the other hand, salaries are lower compared to other countries, then we do not have life insurance that makes life better. Then the youth does not have a proper education within Kosovo, and these make it a sector or a large group of factors that push them to leave. The worst thing is that in some cases, cadres are leaving, which is due to the brain drain where people are in employment... On the other hand, knowing the political stability that we have and not the security that we always have some kind of threat from Serbia,' he says.
Some citizens also say that slow economic development and lack of political stability have led to a large number of residents leaving the country.
There are many reasons that force citizens to leave their homeland for a better life, says Pristina resident Qazim Imeri, who emphasizes that young people are not managing to find stable jobs in Kosovo.
He even says that 'Kosovo has a weak economy.' This is why he justifies the departure of young people from the country.
'I'm thinking first of all about the economic situation, the impossible employment. Young people think about the future, if the economic situation is weak then naturally they have the right to leave and look for a better place to live, to create a better life. But the political situation always definitely affects, look at the situation we have, that's why it's a big dissatisfaction. Young people are disappointed and they have the right to look for a better place,' emphasizes Imeri.
Citizen Hajrush Fazliu expresses his disappointment with the education sector programs, which according to him, every government conducted 'experiments' without providing a quality education for young people to contribute to Kosovo and not to EU countries.
'Since I come from the field of education, it means that it has its own problems after liberation, with the very fact that education is experimented with a lot. Every government that comes in starts from scratch, so even the last one with experiments they do in education with programs, with curricula that have really made the work of teachers but also of students more difficult... By making education more attractive and beloved, our youth does not need to flee, there is no need to leave the country... Kosovo is a very beautiful country, a very beloved country and we really owe it to Kosovo to return a healthy youth... Because we do not have the luxury of Kosovo being empty,' Fazliu emphasizes.
Meanwhile, another citizen, Islam Emini, feels homesick for his children who live and work abroad. He explains why they stay in one of the European Union countries.
'But young people in general lack employment, education, medicine and their personal income... There are many cases, I have two sons abroad, they went to Austria as students, settled and now live there... They always have their hearts here... But life is not good there, because you feel longing for your homeland, for your family, father and mother and relatives,' said Emini.
According to research by the GAP Institute, Germany is the main destination for immigrants and that economic conditions are among the main reasons that encourage citizens to emigrate.
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