Eurostat has published facts and figures on life expectancy and fertility for some Balkan countries that are in negotiations for accession negotiations with the European Union (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Kosovo.
Albania and Kosovo are the two countries that have a higher life expectancy, for both men and women, and still have a young population. But both countries are the poorest in Europe. 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 index.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 a life expectancy of 77.4 years (the longest in all the Balkans), compared to 75.9 years in Kosovo, 74.6 years in North Macedonia, Montenegro (74.5), Serbia ( 73.5), Bosnia (73.7).
As life expectancies rise for Albanians, births drop, a trend that could lead the country to rapid aging.
The fertility rate in Albania is the second lowest in the Balkans, with 1.37 births per woman, compared to 1.42 in North Macedonia 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 North 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), North Macedonia (5,200), Bosnia (4,900 euros).
The population density is highest in Kosovo (165 inhabitants per km2), followed by Albania (100), Serbia (91), North Macedonia (83), Bosnia (68), Montenegro (46).