Albania emerges from demographic "minus" / But births fell again. The balance of the first 6 months of 2026 still remains negative
After a start to the year with more deaths than births, Albania has returned its natural population growth to positive territory in the second quarter of the year. However, the balance for the entire first half of 2026 still remains negative.
According to the latest INSTAT data, during the months of April-June, 5,083 births and 4,865 deaths were registered, producing a positive natural increase of 218 people. Compared to the same period last year, births fell by 3%, while deaths were reduced by 3.7%.
The data thus show a reversal of the situation recorded in the first three months of the year, when deaths exceeded births by 368 people. But the recovery in the second quarter has not been sufficient to turn the entire six-month period into a positive one.
In the period January-June 2026, according to preliminary data, combining the data of the two quarters, the country recorded 10,229 births and 10,379 deaths. This means that, based on the ratio between births and deaths alone, Albania closed the first half of the year with a negative natural increase of 150 people.
The country's demographic map, meanwhile, remains divided. In the second quarter, only five of the 12 regions recorded positive natural growth, while in seven others the number of deaths was higher than that of births. Tirana had the most favorable balance, with 1,033 more births than deaths, while Korça recorded the most negative result, with 265 more deaths than births.
Tirana continues to hold the highest birth rate in the country. In the second quarter, the capital recorded 2,310 births, or about 45% of all births in Albania. At the other extreme is Gjirokastra, with only 66 births in three months.
However, the comparison with the previous year brings an unusual picture. In nine districts, births increased, while in only three of them they decreased. The strongest increase was recorded in Dibra, with 14.6%, while the largest decrease was recorded in Tirana, with 12% fewer births than in the second quarter of 2025.
The number of deaths also fell across most of the country. Nine regions recorded fewer deaths than a year earlier, and only three saw an increase. Tirana had the highest number, with 1,277 deaths, while Kukës had the lowest, with 97. Durrës recorded the strongest increase, with 10.4%, while Kukës saw the largest decrease, with 22.4%.
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