Kosovo Faces Shrink and Aging of Population, Census Reveals

Kosovo has experienced a notable decline and aging of its population, according to preliminary data from the latest census conducted by the Agency of Statistics.

Preliminary data from the Population and Household Census conducted by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, ASK, reveals that the country’s resident population has decreased to 1,586,659, marking a considerable drop from over 1.7 million in 2011. 

Overall, the number of births has dropped from 34,000 in 2011 to 21,000 in 2023. 

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti praised the population census during the presentation of the preliminary results, on Friday, claiming that “without accurate data, without statistics, decisions might not be of quality”.

ASK also announced on Friday that the average age in Kosovo has increased from 29.97 years in 2011 to 34.82 years in 2024.

Twenty nine municipalities experienced a population decrease and only nine municipalities saw population growth.

Fushë Kosova/Kosovo Polje municipality leads with the highest population growth of around 84 percent, whereas the most significant population decline, at 36.5 percent, was recorded in Kamenica, an eastern municipality of Kosovo.

Avni Kastrati, Director of the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, mentioned that, similarly to 2011, there was “mass boycott” in Serbian municipalities in northern Kosovo, North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Leposavic, and Zvecan. 

Nonetheless, he explained that “a difference from 2011 [when Kosovo Serbs in the north of the country boycotted the census] is that a part of the north participated in the process this time. We will conduct an assessment and publish the final data,” noting that the final census data is planned to be released by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, ethnic Serbs in six other southern municipalities of Kosovo participated in the census.

The census recorded 353,702 households in 2024, with an average of 4.5 members per household, a decrease of 1.4 members from 2011.

The Population, Household, and Housing Census was conducted in all municipalities of Kosovo from April 5 to May 24.

These data do not include the number of diaspora members, as their registration process is still ongoing. Currently, around 600,000 diaspora members have been registered.