The Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) has published today the preliminary final results of the population, household, and flats. According to KAS, based on the preliminary final results, Kosovo has 1,602,515 residents. This number shows a decline compared to the 2011 population census, where Kosovo had 1,739,825 residents.

The Acting Executive Director of ASK, Avni Kastrati, emphasized that regarding the population registration on the northern part, the overwhelming majority boycotted the process due to political influence. However, he adds that according to the assessment of international experts, around 24,000 people live there, and this number has been included in the population census figures.

Kastrati: In the northern part of Kosovo, live around 24,000 residents, and this number has been added to the registered population of this area

“We started an awareness campaign and informed all communities in Kosovo about the population census. A part of the Serbian community in the north was not registered, over 6,000 citizens were registered, but the majority did not participate in registration. We discussed with international experts, and the population assessment for the Serbian community in that area was mainly conducted by international experts. We have concluded that around 24,000 residents live in the northern part of Kosovo, and this number has been added to the registered population of this area. Therefore, that was the number above 1,602,000,” Kastrati added.

In this presentation, Kastrati also spoke about the war damages. He said that according to the results, a total of 154,272 economies were affected, while the damages to household economies were estimated to be over 5 billion euros.

Regarding the war damages, Kastrati estimates that there is an underreporting, as, according to him, not all the people who were confronted during the registration were present, some of them may have moved outside of Kosovo.

“These data will serve to various institutions, especially the War Crimes Institute, but they are only a reflection of the situation as reported during the population registration. Regarding this data, ASK estimates that there is an underreporting, because not all the people who were confronted during the registration were present, some of them may have moved outside Kosovo. Based on the results, a total of 154,272 economies were affected, and the damages to household economies are estimated to be over 5 billion euros. The war damages to people include 11,417 killed, 1,047 missing, 5,682 wounded, 3,312 imprisoned, and 193,765 others for torture, violence, psychological consequences, etc.,” said Kastrati.

Regarding the number of registered diaspora members, he said that the process is ongoing, however, according to him, so far, around 550,000 citizens from the diaspora have been registered.

The registration of population started on April 5 and will conclude on May 24, 2024. The population census is a process of counting all residents and collecting demographic, economic, social, educational, agricultural, and other information for each individual.