Low salaries reason why citizens are leaving Kosovo

High figures of Kosovo citizens who are abandoning the country for a better life in Western states remain disturbing. The citizens' migration, year after year, is continuing to grow. Until 42 thousand and 728 citizens left Kosovo last year, this year this figure is expected to be even higher. For sociologists, the main reason to leave are unemployment and low wages.

The director for population statistics at the Kosovo Statistics Agency (ASK), Avni Kastrati, has warned that migration trend is on the rise, mainly because of the economic situation.

He tells Kosovo Press that this year migration will be even higher than in 2021, when about 43 thousand citizens left the country.

This prediction, Kastrati, seems to have been based on the data of foreign embassies in the country.

Even this year, as if last year there would be citizens' migration, maybe a little more, according to some discussions we had with international institutions. But this trend will continue for another time because powerful Western development countries are needing workers. If visa liberalisation occurs, will there be even higher migration? There's no precise data, different countries have had different immigrations, they'll be gone right after liberalisation, in a while. I believe that when visa liberalisation will take place there will be an initial influx of departure, but it has to be specified how much citizens can stay in Western countries. They see there, they challenge themselves there, and they're faced with reality, that somehow it's like a stopper, they can go”, he points out.

Sociologist Jeton Brajshori says Kosovo's institutions are not doing much to prevent such a large escape of citizens, even though the government, according to him repeatedly promotes economic growth.

Brajshori says that new jobs should be created and wages increased for preventing this phenomenon

New conditions migrate mostly, usually those between the age of 18 and the age of 30, who could easily enter the labour market. How can this be prevented? Growth in employment, pay raising, health insurance, that is, citizen living a better life in their country, because young people always seek a better life, which is normal for all our wonderful youth. And so the state needs to increase wages, create new jobs, force employers to pay their dues, and thus raise the economy made young people stay in their country... Institutions are not doing at all enough because even though we are said to have economic growth, we see that wages have remained at the same level and that is why price expensive, which is also due to the global crisis, makes young people see a better life outside”, Brajshori says.

According to the last ASK report, the largest number of migrations has marked the Gjilan municipality with 4 thousand and 320 citizens who have abandoned the country.

According to data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency (ASK) for the population's assessment of 2021, it is said that the overwhelming portion of migrants for 2021 were legal immigrants.

The population in Kosovo for 2021 is estimated to be 1 million 773 thousand and 971 residents, the lowest figure compared to population registration, a decade ago, 2011.