Fertility rates (children per woman of reproductive age) in our country have suffered a drastic decrease from year to year, but in some regions the situation is worse.
Official INSTAT data show that during 2022 the fertility rate at the national level fell to 1.21 children per woman of reproductive age, from 1.32 in 2021. This is the strongest decline since 2015, but in the counties of Vlora and In Korça, the fertility rate was less than one child per woman of reproductive age.
The highest fertility rates are the counties of Kukës, Dibra and Lezha.
In the district of Kukës, 100 women of reproductive age gave birth to more than 215 children in 2022, in Dibër 197 children were born.
Meanwhile, 100 women of reproductive age in the region of Vlorës gave birth to only 88 children, and in that of Korça, 91 children were born in 2022.
The fertility index has worsened a lot in the central and southern regions and is slightly better in the north of the country (see the attached map).
Even Tirana, which has a young population at the national level, has a low birth rate with less than 135 children per 100 women of reproductive age.
The synthetic fertility index in Albania has fallen continuously: from 1.37 children per woman in 2018 to 1.21 in 2022. While at the same time, the average age of Albanian women at birth has increased by almost a year , within a five-year period: from 28.6 in 2018 to 29.5 in 2022.
Compared to Eurostat 2021 data, Albania is seen to have the lowest birth rates in Europe, leaving behind only Spain (1.19) and Malta (1.13).
The fertility index is below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman, which means that a couple cannot replace themselves.
Postponing the age of marriage, career goals and in many cases economic impossibility are causing Albanian women to give birth to fewer and fewer children.
According to internal data from INSTAT, the synthetic fertility index fell to 1.32 children per woman in 2021 from 1.34 children in 2020 and 1.36 in 2019. In 2001, according to INSTAT, this indicator was 2.1, while in the 1970s it was over 5.
INSTAT reported that in 2022 the birth rate has decreased for the 20-24 and 25-29, 35-39 age groups, while for the older age groups it has undergone a slight increase. In 2022, the average age at birth is 29.5 years. Last year, 24,688 babies were born with a 13 percent decrease compared to 2021./Monitor
