Albania's birthrate in decline

18/12/2008

Though still among the highest in its region, Albania's birthrate is falling in the post-communist era.

By Manjola Hala for Southeast European Times in Tirana - 18/12/08

[Getty Images]

With the highest male birthrate in Europe under the communist regime, Albania was also known for a generally high birthrate and high maternal mortality. Today, despite a persistently high rate of male births, Albania is facing a drop in overall birthrates, though compared to some other countries in the region, it still tops the list.

According to the Albanian Institute of Statistics, in 2007, the country recorded an estimated 33,200 live births, compared to 52,000 in 2006. Since 1990 saw 82,000 births, the country's birthrate is definitely in decline.

Zyhdi Dervishi, a professor of sociology, says the living standard in Albania restricts the number of children per family. He points out job insecurity is the main reason more couples are deciding to have only one child.

Dervishi also attributes the decline to a change in social values, especially among professionals. Unwillingness to marry and form a legal union that could end in a divorce, causing division of property, creates doubts about marriage and childbearing. Also, young professionals are eager to succeed in their careers, another reason to delay having children, according to Dervishi.

Health ministry sources link the drop in the birthrate to socio-demographic reasons, especially the emigration of the young, and abortions.

During the 1990s, about 25% of the population left Albania, most of them being of reproductive age, according to INSTAT data. While Albania banned abortion before the 1990s, it now permits it.

Abortions in Albania are permissible when a woman's pregnancy is causing psychological and social problems. Unofficial sources report private health clinics make a lucrative business of regularly performing unreported abortions.

Abortions stem mainly from difficult economic circumstances. Nurses at Tirana's Maternity Hospital say that economic assistance to needy young couples would, to some degree, raise the current birthrate. Only the city of Tirana offers such assistance, a token sum of about 42 euros per child.

Traditional beliefs, though, may be causing some abortions. According to Dervishi, some parents opt to terminate a pregnancy if they learn the baby will be a girl, which, in his opinion, explains the preponderance of live male births in the past few years.

The general drop in Albania's birthrate, coupled with deaths and high emigration, increased the population's average age to 31.7 years. It has risen from 2004, when it was 29, and 1990, when it was 27.

Albania's birthrate, its recent decline aside, remains among the highest in the region. Compared to other Southeast European countries, Albania's birthrate is second to Turkey's, followed by Macedonia's and Montenegro's, according to 2007 data compiled by the US Central Intelligence Agency, for its open-source World Factbook site.