Analysis: Albania’s ghost towns - the crisis that caused the exodus

Dr Andi Hoxhaj - People are moving away from Albania in droves, leaving behind hollowed out "ghost towns." Dr Andi Hoxhaj (UCL Laws) examines in The Conversation the underlying political and economic factors that are driving this emigration from Albania. Albania has a population of 2.8 million people, according to data published at the start of 2021. Since the fall of communism in 1991 nearly 40% of Albania's population has left the country. Most Albanians who left in the 1990s and 2000s headed for Greece, Italy, Germany, the Nordic countries, the UK and the US. However, since 2020 Albania has experienced a new wave of migration. What makes this more challenging to explain is that there is no reliable data on the number of citizens who have moved away.