Albanians prefer Italy and Greece

Greece was the second most popular destination behind Italy for Albanian migrants in search of jobs and a better standard of living between 2008 and 2018, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

During that 10-year period, 622,000 Albanian citizens received residence permits from EU countries, Eurostat said.

Italy issued 50 percent of the permits (308,000), ahead of Greece, which granted 36 percent (224,000). Germany, the UK and France were also preferred destinations.

The trend has raised concerns in Albania due to the expected demographic impact in coming decades.