Why do 83% of Albanians want to leave Albania?
Novi magazin 02.04.2023 | EU Observer
Last week, Albania's prime minister Edi Rama angrily rejected the UK home secretary Suella Braverman's mischaracterisation of Albanians as illegal migrants and criminals during his visit to London. Albanians flee their homeland because they seek a better life and have nothing left to lose.
But there has been a rapid increase in the number of Albanian migrants crossing the English Channel. Albanians represent about a third of illegal immigrants seeking sanctuary in the UK. In 2020, 50 arrived on small boats. In 2021, 800 made the crossing. In 2022, 12,301 arrived. Many are single, adult men. According to Eurostat, the numbers represent around one percent of Albania's working age men. Research by the Balkan Barometer indicates that 83 percent of