Eurostat has published facts and figures on life expectancy and fertility for some Balkan countries that are in negotiations for accession and membership talks in the European Union (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) as well as Kosovo.
Albania and Kosovo are the two countries that have a higher life expectancy, both for men and women, and still have a young population. But both countries are Europe's poorest. Albania, unlike Kosovo, is moving towards rapid aging, as the fertility rate is the second lowest in the Balkans, after Bosnia, while Kosovo has the highest. Both Albanian-speaking countries have the highest population density in the Balkans.
Albanians, both in Albania and Kosovo, are the longest-lived in the region. Life expectancy for women is 81.6 years in Kosovo, the highest of all other countries and 80.5 years in Albania. Northern Macedonia is 78.8 years old, Montenegro (79.3), Serbia (78.4), Bosnia (78.8).
Men in Albania have an expectation to live longer from all over the Balkans, from 77.4 years, versus 75.9 years in Kosovo, 74.6 years in Macedonia, Montenegro (74.5), Serbia (73.5), Bosnia (73.7).
As they live longer, Albanian Albanians are being born, and to a lesser extent, a trend that could lead the country to rapid aging.
The fertility rate in Albania is the second lowest in other Balkan countries, with 1.37 births per woman, compared to 1.42 in Northern Macedonia, 1.76 in Montenegro, and 1.49 in Montenegro. The lowest rate is in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with 1.3 births per woman, while the highest is in Kosovo, at 1.65.
Albania still has a young population, with 17.2% of the total under the age of 15, compared to 16.4% in Northern Macedonia, 18% in Montenegro, 14.3% in Serbia, and 16.4% in Bosnia. But the youngest population is in Kosovo, with 24.4% of the total population.
The per capita income of Kosovo and Albania is the lowest, reaching the level of 3,700 and 4,800 euros per capita, respectively. The richest are Montenegro (7,500 euros per capita), Serbia (6,600 euros), Northern Macedonia (5,200), Bosnia (4,900 euros).
The population density is highest in Kosovo (165 inhabitants per km2), followed by Albania (100), Serbia (91), Northern Macedonia (83), Bosnia (68), Montenegro (46).
Source: monitor
