Misplaced Pages

Demographics of Kosovo
Population pyramid of Kosovo in 2022
Population	1,586,659 (2024)
Growth rate	0.68% (2024)
Birth rate	14.4 per 1,000 pop. (2024)
Death rate	7.2 per 1,000 pop. (2024)
Life expectancy	76.7 years (2011)
• male	74.1 years (2011)
• female	79.4 years (2011)
Fertility rate	1.87 children born/woman (2024)
Infant mortality rate	24.9 per 1,000 births
Net migration rate	-0.4 per 1,000 pop. (2024)
Age structure
0–14 years	27.2%
15–64 years	66.1%
65 and over	6.7%
Sex ratio
Total	1.08 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	noun: Kosovar/Kosovan(s) adjective: Kosovar
Major ethnic	Albanians (95%) (2011 census)
Minor ethnic	Bosniaks (2%), Serbs (1.5%) and others (4%) (2011 census)
Language
Official	Albanian
Spoken	Albanian (95%) languages of the minorities (5%)

The Kosovo Agency of Statistics monitors various demographic features of the population of Kosovo, such as population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Censuses, normally conducted at ten-year intervals, record the demographic characteristics of the population. The latest census started on 5th of April 2024 and according to the preliminary results, the Republic of Kosovo has 1,586,659 inhabitants, of which 795,046 are men (50.1%) and 791,614 are women (49.9%). The same year, US CIA World Factbook estimate put the country's population at 1,977,093. According to the first census conducted after the 2008 declaration of independence in 2011, the permanent population of Kosovo was 1,739,825.

The 2011 census also shows that Albanians form the majority in Kosovo, with 92.9% of the total population; significant minorities include Bosniaks (1.6%), Serbs (1.5%), Turkish (1.1%), Askhali (0.9%), Egyptian (0.7%), Gorani (0.6%), and Roma (0.5%). However, it excluded North Kosovo — a largely Serb-inhabited region. Moreover, it was partially boycotted by Romani and Serb communities in South Kosovo. After Albanians, Serbs form the largest ethnic community in Kosovo (6–7.8%).

Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe. The average age is 34.8 and median age is 32, as of 2024. In 2008, half of its population was under the age of 25 (United Nations Development Programme data) and more than 65 percent of the population was younger than 30 (government data).

History

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

2011 census

The 2011 census recorded Kosovo (excluding North Kosovo) as having 1,739,825 inhabitants. The European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) has called "for caution when referring to the 2011 census", due to the boycott by Serb-majority municipalities in North Kosovo and the large boycott by Serbs and Roma in southern Kosovo. The recorded total population was below most previous estimates. The census enjoyed considerable technical assistance from international agencies and appears to have been endorsed by Eurostat; it was, however, the first full census since 1981, and not one of an uninterrupted series. The results show that there were no people temporarily resident in hotels or refugee camps at the time of the census; that out of 312,711 conventional dwellings, 99,808 (over 30%) were unoccupied; and that three municipalities designed under the Ahtisaari Plan to have Serb majorities – Klokot, Novo Brdo, and Štrpce – in fact had ethnic Albanian majorities (although their municipal assemblies have Serb majorities).

• Kosovo ethnic map 2011 by settlement.
• Distribution of Albanians in Kosovo 2011 by settlements.
• Distribution of Serbs in Kosovo by settlements 2011.
• Distribution of Bosniaks in Kosovo by settlements.
• Distribution of Turks in Kosovo by settlements.
• Distribution of Gorani in Kosovo by settlements.
• Distribution of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians in Kosovo by settlements.

Vital statistics

Source: Kosovo Agency of Statistics

Population estimates in the table below may be unreliable during the 1990s period. Besides, vital statistics do not fully include data from Serb-majority territories. Since 2011, in accordance with European statistical norms, live births and deaths record figures in Kosovo only (excluding foreign countries).

Current vital statistics

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January - September 2023	16,219	6,769	+9,450
January - September 2024	15,999	7,245	+8,754
Difference	-220 (-1.36%)	+476 (+7.03%)	-696

Marriages and divorces

Administrative divisions

Kosovo is administratively subdivided into seven districts, and 38 municipalities. With the current estimation on population, Kosovo ranks as the 150th largest country in the world based on how populous it is.

Rank	Name			Population (2011)	Area (km2)	Density (km2)	Settlements
	English (most common)	Albanian	Serbian
Pristina District				477,312	2,470	193.2	298
1	Pristina	Prishtinë	Priština	198,897	572	347.7	41
7	Podujevo	Podujevë/Besianë	Podujevo	88,499	663	133.5	76
11	Drenas	Drenas	Glogovac	58,531	290	201.8	37
12	Lipjan	Lipjan	Lipljan	57,605	422	136.5	70
21	Kosovo Polje	Fushë Kosovë	Kosovo Polje	34,827	83	419.6	15
26	Obiliq	Obiliq/Kastriot	Obilić	21,549	105	205.2	19
30	Gračanica	Graçanicë	Gračanica	10,675	131	81.5	16
33	Novo Brdo	Novobërdë/Artanë	Novo Brdo	6,729	204	33	24
Prizren District				331,670	1,397	237.4	195
2	Prizren	Prizren	Prizren	177,781	626	284	74
10	Suva Reka	Suharekë/Therandë	Suva Reka	59,722	306	178.5	42
14	Malisheva	Malishevë	Mališevo	54,613	361	165.4	43
22	Dragash	Dragash/Sharr	Dragaš	33,997	435	78.2	35
35	Mamusha	Mamushë	Mamuša	5,507	11	500.6	–
Ferizaj District				185,806	1,030	180.4	126
3	Ferizaj	Ferizaj	Uroševac	108,690	345	315	45
23	Kaçanik	Kaçanik	Kačanik	33,454	221	151.4	31
25	Shtime	Shtime	Štimlje	27,324	134	203.9	23
31	Hani i Elezit	Hani i Elezit	Đeneral Janković/Elez Han	9,389	83	113.1	11
32	Štrpce	Shtërpcë	Štrpce	6,949	247	28.1	16
Peja District				174,235	1,365	127.6	118
4	Peja	Pejë	Peć	96,450	603	160	14
17	Istog	Istog	Istok	39,289	454	86.5	50
19	Klina	Klinë	Klina	38,496	308	125	54
Gjakova District				194,672	1,129	172.4	170
5	Gjakova	Gjakovë	Đakovica	94,557	587	161.1	91
13	Rahovec	Rahovec	Orahovac	55,053	276	199.5	32
18	Deçan	Deçan	Dečani	38,984	180	216.6	37
34	Junik	Junik	Junik	6,078	86	70.7	10
Mitrovica District				272,247	2,077	131.1	267
8	Mitrovica	Mitrovicë	Mitrovica	71,909	350	205.5	45
9	Vushtrri	Vushtrri	Vučitrn	69,870	344	203.1	67
15	Skenderaj	Skënderaj	Srbica	50,858	378	134.5	49
24	North Mitrovica	Mitrovicë Veriore	Severna Mitrovica	29,460	11	2,678.2	–
27	Leposavić	Leposaviq/Albanik	Leposavić	18,600	539	34.5	42
28	Zvečan	Zveçan	Zvečan	16,650	122	136.5	35
29	Zubin Potok	Zubin Potok	Zubin Potok	14,900	333	44.7	29
Gjilan District				180,783	1,206	149.9	287
6	Gjilan	Gjilan	Gnjilane	90,015	385	233.8	54
16	Viti	Viti	Vitina	46,959	278	168.9	39
20	Kamenica	Kamenicë/Dardanë	Kamenica	35,600	423	84.2	58
36	Ranilug	Ranillug	Ranilug	3,866	78	49.6	18
37	Klokot	Kllokot	Klokot	2,556	24	106.5	4
38	Parteš	Partesh	Parteš	1,787	18	99.3	3
Kosovo				1,816,675	10,908	170	1,339

Ethnic groups

The official results of the censuses in Kosovo after World War II are tabulated below. The figures for Albanians in the 1991 census were estimates only, since that census was boycotted by most Albanians. Similarly, the figures for Serbs in the 2011 census omit those in North Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zubin Potok and Zvečan (North Kosovo), while the number of Serbs and Romani in the rest of Kosovo is also deemed unreliable, due to the partial boycott.

Ethnic groups by municipality

The results of the 2011 census of ethnic groups in municipalities are tabulated below.

The 2000 Living Standard Measurement Survey by Statistical Office of Kosovo found an ethnic composition of the population as follows:

• 92% Albanians
• 8% others

A more comprehensive (October 2002) estimate (for the 1.9 million inhabitants) for these years:

• 92% Albanians
• 4% Serbs
• 4% Bosniaks, Turks, Romani and others

During the Kosovo War in 1999, around 700,000 ethnic Albanians, over 100,000 ethnic Serbs and more than 40,000 Bosniaks were forced out of Kosovo to neighbouring Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Serbia. After the United Nations took over administration of Kosovo following the war, the vast majority of the Albanian refugees returned. The largest diaspora communities of Kosovo Albanians are in Switzerland and Austria accounting for some 200,000 individuals each, or for 20% of the population resident in Kosovo.

Many non-Albanians – chiefly Serbs and Romani – fled or were expelled, mostly to the rest of Serbia at the end of the war, with further refugee outflows occurring as the result of sporadic ethnic violence. As of 2002, the number of registered refugees was around 250,000. The non-Albanian population in Kosovo is now about half of its pre-war total. The largest concentration of Serbs in the country is in the north, but many remain in Kosovo Serb enclaves surrounded by Albanian-populated areas.

Languages

As defined by the Constitution of Kosovo, Albanian and Serbian are official languages in Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, almost 95% of the citizens speak Albanian as their native language, followed by South Slavic languages and Turkish. Due to North Kosovo's boycott of the census, Bosnian came in as the second-largest language after Albanian. However, Serbian is in reality the second-most spoken language in Kosovo.

Health

Healthcare in Kosovo Harvard Medical School and NATO published a study on the impact of the conflict on Kosovo health system in 2014. The data in the table below are from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics.

Religion

The country has no official religion. The constitution establishes Kosovo as a secular state that is neutral in matters of religious beliefs and where everyone is equal before the law and freedom to belief, conscience and religion is guaranteed.

The 2011 Kosovo population census was largely boycotted by the Kosovo Serbs, especially in North Kosovo. That left the Serb population underrepresented. The International Monitoring Operation said that questions complied with international standards: respondents can declare their ethnicity and religion but are not obliged to do so. Serbs predominantly identify as Orthodox Christians. The results of the 2011 census gave the following religious affiliations for the population included in it:

Most Albanians in Kosovo are Muslim. Almost all Muslims in Kosovo are Sunni. Sufism is the main form of Islam practised. Dervishes are shunned by the official government-supported Islam.

The Serb population is largely Serbian Orthodox. The Catholic Albanian communities are mostly concentrated in Gjakova, Prizren, Klina and a few villages near Peć and Vitina (see laramans). Slavic-speaking Catholics usually call themselves Janjevci or Kosovan Croats. Slavic-speaking Muslims in the south of Kosovo are known as the Gorani people.

Migration

According to a 2015 report by Geoba.se, Kosovo's current net migration rate is at −3.72, ranking Kosovo 197th, due to the ongoing political and economic crisis. The same source gives −0.71 for the 2023 estimate.

Internally displaced persons

According to the US CIA, as of 2022, there were 16000 internally displaced persons, primarily Serbs displaced during the Kosovo War. Also, a smaller number of Serbs, Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians fled their homes in 2004 as a result of violence.

See also

• Demographics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
• Yugoslavia § Demographics
• Demographics of Albania
• Demographics of Montenegro
• Demographics of North Macedonia
• Demographics of Serbia
• Kosovo Albanians
• Bosniaks in Kosovo
• Montenegrins of Kosovo
• Kosovo Serbs
• Turks in Kosovo
• Roma in Kosovo
• Gorani people
• Janjevci
• Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians
• History of the Jews in Kosovo

Notes and references

Notes

1. Due to political issues, Serbs have avoided participating in the population censuses conducted by the Republic of Kosovo. The 2011 census is therefore inaccurate to explain the real demographic spread in Kosovo. Serbs form the second largest ethnic group in Kosovo, after Albanians. Estimates are that Serbs hold 6-7% of the population.
2. ^ Due to the boycott of the 2011 census by most municipalities in the Serb-inhabited north (see North Kosovo), the real number of the population of Leposavić, North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok and Zvečan is unknown. Estimates are taken according to a 2014 OSCE report.

1. ^ "The preliminary data of the Census of Population, Family Economies and Housing in Kosovo are published – Zyra e Kryeministrit". Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo. Kosovo Agency of Statistics. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
2. ^ "Kosovo". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
3. ^ "Series 1: General Statistics: Kosovo in Figures (2015)" (PDF). Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës. September 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
4. ^ Cocozelli, Fred (2016). Ramet, Sabrina (ed.). Ethnic Minorities and Politics in Post-Socialist Southeastern Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-1316982778.
5. ^ Judah, Tim (7 November 2019). "Kosovo's demographic destiny looks eerily familiar". Balkan Insight.
6. ^ "Kosovo Population 2019". 28 July 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
7. ^ Khakee, Anna; Florquin, Nicolas (1 June 2003). "Kosovo: Difficult Past, Unclear Future" (PDF). Kosovo and the Gun: A Baseline Assessment of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Kosovo. 10. Pristina, United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and Geneva, Switzerland: Small Arms Survey: 4–6. JSTOR resrep10739.9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2023. Kosovo—while still formally part of the so-called State Union of Serbia and Montenegro dominated by Serbia—has, since the war, been a United Nations protectorate under the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). However, members of the Serb minority of the territory (circa 6–7 per cent in 2000) have, for the most part, not been able to return to their homes. For security reasons, the remaining Serb enclaves are, in part, isolated from the rest of Kosovo and protected by the multinational NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR).
8. ^ "Community Profile: Serb Community" (PDF). ECMI Kosovo. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
9. "Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës -". Esk.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
10. ^ "Kosovo (unrecognized state)". Minority Rights Group. March 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
11. Kosovo's Birth Rate Falling but Still High. BalkanInsight. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
12. "Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës". Esk.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
13. ^ "ECMI: Minority figures in Kosovo census to be used with reservations". Infoecmi.eu. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
14. ^ "Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës -". esk.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
15. "Kosovo agency of statistics/Figures/Population". ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original on 18 September 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
16. "Eurostat database". ec.europa.eu.
17. "Kosovo Agency of Statistics". ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
18. "Demographic changes of the Kosovo population 1948–2006" (PDF). ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
19. "Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Kosovo, 2019" (PDF). ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
20. "Birth Statistics in Kosovo, 2019". ask.rks-gov.net. 12 June 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
21. "Death Statistics in Kosovo, 2019". ask.rks-gov.net. 25 June 2020. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
22. "Birth Statistics in Kosovo, 2020" (PDF). ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
23. "Death Statistics in Kosovo, 2020" (PDF). ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
24. "Birth Statistics in Kosovo, 2021" (PDF). ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
25. "Death Statistics in Kosovo, 2021" (PDF). ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
26. "Quarterly Bulletin". ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
27. "Monthly Bulletin". ask.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
28. "Births by the place where the birth took place and the permanent place of the mother in the municipality". askdata.rks-gov.net.
29. "Deaths by place of death and place of permanents residence in the municipality". askdata.rks-gov.net.
30. "CIA- The World Factbook". Cia.gov. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
31. "OSCE Leposavic estimates". OSCE. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
32. "OSCE Mitrovica North estimate". OSCE. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
33. "OSCE Zubin Potok estimate". OSCE. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
34. "OSCE Zvecan estimates". OSCE. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
35. "People on Move,pg.20". Esk.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
36. "BBC News – World – Kosovo Albanians: Who's left?". News.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 December 2006. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
37. "Coordination Centre of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Republic of Serbia for Kosovo and Metohija". Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
38. UNHCR: 2002 Annual Statistical Report: Serbia and Montenegro, p. 9
39. "USCR: Country Information: Yugoslavia". 29 October 2004. Archived from the original on 29 October 2004. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
40. "Language in Kosovo". Kosovo Agency of Statistics. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015.
41. "Health 2009". Esk.rks-gov.net. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
42. Perritt, Henry H. Jr. (28 September 2009). The Road to Independence for Kosovo: A Chronicle of the Ahtisaari Plan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139479431 – via Google Books.
43. Naamat, Talia; Porat, Dina; Osin, Nina (19 July 2012). Legislating for Equality: A Multinational Collection of Non-Discrimination Norms. Volume I: Europe. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 978-9004226128 – via Google Books.
44. Perparim Isufi (14 September 2017). "Kosovo Police Stop 'Illegal' Serb Census Attempts". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
45. Çollaku, Petrit (29 March 2011). "Kosovo Census to Start Without the North". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
46. "Kosovo Population and Housing Census 2011 – Final Results: Quality Report". unstats.un.org. United Nations Statistics Division. 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
47. ^ Alexe, Dan (1 December 2010). "The influence of Sufi Islam in the Balkans". Euobserver. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
48. "The World: Net Migrants per 1000 (2015)". GEOBA.se. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.

External links

• Statistical Office of Kosovo
• Kosovo (unrecognized state) (May 2018)
• Groups working with all demographics in Kosovo

v t e Ethnic groups in Kosovo
Albanians Bosniaks Circassians Croats Gorani Jews Montenegrins Roma (Ashkali & Egyptians) Serbs Turks

• Demographics of Kosovo
• Demographics of Yugoslavia