Kosovo’s inhabitants has shrunk by 12% in 13 years, the outcomes of a census confirmed on Thursday, with the nation having misplaced almost 200,000 inhabitants for the reason that final survey.
Kosovo’s inhabitants fell from almost 1.8 million folks to only over 1.6 million, mentioned the Kosovo Statistical Agency (KSA) in a press release.
Ethnic Albanians comprise roughly 90% of the inhabitants, whereas ethnic Serbs account for simply over 3%, mentioned the KSA.
Census officers mentioned their closing determine relied on estimates for the entire variety of ethnic Serbs.
Many locally had boycotted the census, particularly in municipalities close to the northern border with Serbia, mentioned KSA chief Avni Kastrati.
The boycott got here following calls by Serb political events to take action. The company estimated the general Serb inhabitants at round 53,000, greater than double the quantity the preliminary 2011 census discovered.
Kosovo’s common age is simply shy of 35, the second youngest in Europe. The common age within the 2011 census was almost 30.
The census registered 93.49% of the inhabitants as Muslim, 2.31% as Orthodox and 1.75% as Catholic.
The census outcomes “make up the basis to draft policies on the citizens’ real needs,” mentioned Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
Kosovo has needed to cope with an enormous outflow of individuals searching for work overseas.
According to official estimates, over 800,000 Kosovars dwell and work in EU member states, about half of whom reside in Germany.
The diaspora has lengthy served as a monetary lifeline in Kosovo by sending tons of of tens of millions of euros in remittances to their households yearly.
Census counts are delicate issues in lots of Balkan nations, the place plunging delivery charges, mass migration and ethnic tensions undercut efforts to offer correct inhabitants figures.
The animosity between ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo and Serbia has continued for the reason that finish of the battle between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents within the late Nineties.
The census confirmed that the 1998-1999 battle resulted in 11,417 lifeless and 1,047 lacking. Material harm was estimated at 5 billion euros ($5.2 billion).
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a transfer that Belgrade has refused to acknowledge.
Kosovo-Serbia relations stay tense regardless of efforts by the worldwide group to normalize them.
Source: www.dailysabah.com