Demographics and immigration are emptying classrooms/ Higher education "surprises", enrollments increase. Business, the most preferred branch
During the 2024-2025 school year, the Albanian education system experienced another moment of deep reflection, based on figures that clearly speak about the internal dynamics of education in the country, the demographic challenges and the changes in the preferences of young people. With a total of 528,602 pupils and students enrolled in formal education, this year's picture shows that classrooms and auditoriums are becoming increasingly empty every year.
In pre-university education, 405,989 students were registered, marking a decrease of 2.6% compared to the previous year, a trend that has now become chronic and repeated over the years. Within this figure, 65,914 children are part of preschool education, which has also suffered a contraction of 1.2%. 9-year education, which constitutes the core of basic education in the country, includes 250,617 students this year, with a significant decrease of 2.9%, while the dominance of public schools is evident with 88.1 percent of students attending basic education in state institutions, while girls make up 48% of this contingent.
Upper secondary education is no exception to this downward trend, with the number of young people enrolled falling from 91,755 in 2023 to 89,190 in 2024-2025, reflecting a contraction of 2.8%. This entire picture of pre-university education clearly reflects a demographic challenge that is profoundly changing the structure of the younger generation in Albania, which, combined with factors such as emigration and declining fertility, is placing the education system in increasingly demanding conditions.
In contrast to this general decline, higher education is showing a positive and perhaps surprising development. With 122,613 students registered for the 2024-2025 academic year, an increase of 2.1% was recorded compared to the previous year, a turnaround that breaks the downward trend in enrollments in Albanian universities for the first time in five years. Of these, 70.9% are studying in public institutions, demonstrating continued trust in state education, although the “Bachelor” cycle has suffered a slight decrease of 0.8% and is registered with a total of 68,080 students.
The analysis of preferences for fields of study provides a clear picture of the professional orientation of the younger generation. The most sought-after branches continue to be those with a practical orientation and related to the labor market, where “Business, Administration and Law” stands at the top with about a quarter of all students. It is followed by “Health and Welfare” with 20.7% and “Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction” with 18.8%, while other fields such as “Educational Sciences”, “Information and Communication Technology”, “Natural Sciences”, “Services” and “Social Sciences” also record modest growth, demonstrating a slow but steady diversification in the academic choices of young people. Meanwhile, the fields of agriculture, arts and engineering are showing a downward trend.
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