TIRANA, Aug 25 /ATA/ – Albania has witnessed a significant rise in the number of foreign residents and the country has doubled the number of residence permits issued to nationals from third countries, highlighting its growing appeal as a destination for both work and study.

According to the data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), the number of foreign residents in Albania rose 18.2% year-on-year to 21 460 people by the end of 2023.

According to INSTAT report, the number of foreign residents in the country is dominated by males, who account for 63.8% of the total, 36.2 % of them are females.

Applications for residence permits hit 12,430 in 2023, a 22.7% rise from the previous year.

The majority of foreign residents in 2023 came from Kosovo, Italy, and Türkiye, 3 712, 3 375 and 1 693 nationals respectively.

The number of foreigners of European origin reached 15 223 in 2023, accounting for 70.9 % of the total number of foreign residents in the country, down from 73.3 % in 2022.

Nearly half, 48.3%, of the residence permits were issued for work, followed by family reunification at 22.2%. Humanitarian reasons accounted for 12.4%, while studies made up 3.7%.

Interestingly, Italian nationals are leading the charge in choosing Albania as a place to pursue higher education.

A total of 6 630 irregular migrants have been found in the territory of the country in 2023, with 44 % of them coming mainly from Afghanistan and Syria.