Albanian diaspora

Distribution of ethnic-Albanians in Europe
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The Albanian diaspora encompasses Albanians outside of Albania, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. The greatest concentrations are found in Italy, Greece, Germany and Turkey. There are also growing communities in Austria, Canada, France, Romania, Belgium, Russia, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK, and the USA

The Albanian exodus, caused by the collapse of the communist regime in 1991 and the ensuing economic crisis, has been the largest emigration movement in Europe since the population movements after World War II. Between 1989 and 2001, roughly 800,000 people have migrated out of Albania, about 440,000 of them settling in Greece, where Albanians make up 60% of immigrants.[1] 350,000 Albanians have migrated to Italy over the 1990s to 2000s.[2] The situation in Kosovo is similar. More than a million Albanians have left Kosovo since the late 1980s permanently, not counting those fleeing the Kosovo War who have subsequently returned.[3] An important destination for emigrating Albanians from Kosovo has been Switzerland and Germany.[4]

Lamerica poster based on the Albanian exodus to Italy in early 90s

In Albania, emigration dates back to the 15th century when many Albanians emigrated to Calabria in Southern Italy after the defeat of Skanderbeg by Ottoman forces. Other popular destinations were Turkey, Bulgaria, and later the United States and South America. Following the communist take over after World War II, emigration was outlawed and violations severely punished. At the same time, Albanian birth rates in both Albania and Kosovo were among the highest in Europe (see Demographics of Albania and Kosovo), and the economies were among the weakest (especially under the Hoxha regime), leading to a huge young population in both regions and a consequently huge demand for emigration once the borders were opened in the 1990s. Two major emigration waves in the 1990s were:

The preference for Italy, Greece and Western European countries during the first waves of emigration has given way to Canada and the United States due to stricter European immigration laws. The rate of emigration has decreased during the later 2000s.

In Albania, it is estimated that emigrant remittances account for 18% of GDP or $530 million annually, though declining in the late 2000s.[5] Those who have come back have opened micro-enterprises, while the proximity of Greece and Italy to Albania where more than half of immigrants are located has contributed to continuous labor mobility.[6] Recently, following the 2010–2011 Greek Crisis, many Albanian emigrants have returned either temporarily or permanently to Albania.[7]

The mass emigration of the 1990s to early 2000s has resulted in massive brain drain to Albania. In the period 1990–2003, an estimated 45% of Albania's academics emigrated, as did more than 65% of the scholars who received PhDs in the West in the period 1980–1990.[8] In 2006, a "brain gain" program compiled by Albanian authorities and the UNDP was put into action to encourage the skilled diaspora to contribute to the country's development, though its success remains to be seen.

Europe

Bulgaria

Main article: Mandritsa

In 1636, the Mandritsa, a typical village in Bulgaria, was found by Eastern Orthodox Albanian dairymen who supplied the Ottoman Army. They were allowed to pick a tract of land and were freed from taxes. In the 2001 census of Bulgaria, it was estimated that 278 Albanians live in the country.

Greece

There are Albanian immigrants, who have entered Greece in large numbers since the fall of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania, form the largest single expatriate group in the country today. After the fall of communism throughout Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a large number of economic refugees and immigrants from Greece's neighboring countries, Albania, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, as well as from more distant countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia, arrived in Greece, mostly as illegal immigrants, to seek employment. The vast majority of the Albanians in Greece is estimated to be between 65–70% of the total number of immigrants in the country. According to the 2001 census, there are 443,550 holders of Albanian citizenship in Greece, with the total of Albanian immigrants in Greece numbering well over 650,000.

Italy

Further information: Arbëreshë people and Albani family
Piana degli Albanesi Cathedral is in a Sicilian Arbëreshë town

The Albani were an aristocratic Roman family, members of which attained the highest dignities in the Roman Catholic Church, one, Clement XI, having been Pope. They were ethnic Albanians who originally moved to Urbino from the region of Malësi e Madhe in Albania.[9] and had been soldiers of Scanderbeg against the Ottoman Empire. Though eventually assimilated in their Italian environment, Clement XI's Albanian antecedents were evident in his having commissioned, during his reign as a Pope, the famous Illyricum Sacrum. Today it is one of the main sources of the field of Albanology, with over 5000 pages divided in several volumes written by Daniele Farlati and Dom. Coletti.

There is an Albanian community in southern Italy, known as Arbëreshë, who had settled in the country in the 15th and the 16th century, displaced by the changes brought about by the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Some managed to escape and were offered refuge from the repression by the Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily (both under Aragonese rule), where the Arbëreshë were given their own villages and protected. The Arbëreshë were estimated as numbering at a quarter million in the 1970s.

After the breakdown of the communist regime in Albania in 1990, Italy had been the main immigration target for Albanians leaving their country. This was because Italy had been a symbol of the West for many Albanians during the communist period, because of its geographic proximity. Italy reacted to the migration pressure by introducing the "Martelli" law, stipulating that any immigrant who could prove that he or she had come into the country before the end of 1989 be granted a two-year residency permit. From March 1997, Italy instituted a strict patrol of the Adriatic in an attempt to curb Albanian immigration. As a result, many Albanian immigrants in Italy do not have a legal status. Out of an estimated 450,000 Albanian immigrants in Italy in 1998, only some 82,000 were registered with authorities. In total there are 800,000 Albanians in Italy.[10]

The Italian Government has housed significant numbers of Albanians from Kosovo in the Arbëresh settlements, most notably in Piana degli Albanesi in Sicily.

Turkey

Turkey has about five million citizens of full or partial Albanian descent,[11] and most still feel a connection to Albania. There is also a strong Turkish minority in Kosovo, a country which is predominantly Albanian. The bond between these two nations stems from historical reasons, especially since many Albanians embraced Islam, the official religion of the Ottoman Empire.

Albania was the last nation in southeastern Europe to claim independence from the Ottoman Empire, on 28 November 1912. To this day, relations between the two countries are excellent, with Turkey being one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo, and with polls showing that Turks are one of the best-received ethnic groups in Albania.

Many Albanians emigrated to Turkey between 1950 and 1970. In that period, Islam in Yugoslavia was repressed, and both Albanians and Muslim Slavs were encouraged to declare themselves Turkish and emigrate to Turkey. In the 1990s, Turkey received a wave of Kosovan refugees, fleeing from conflict. Today, the number of ethnic Albanians in Turkey is estimated to be around 500,000.[12]

Germany

Main article: Albanians in Germany

There are an estimated 300,000 Albanians living in Germany. They mostly migrated to Germany from Kosovo during the 1990s.

Switzerland

There are an estimated 250,000 ethnic Albanians in Switzerland, most of them from Kosovo, a sizeable minority arriving from Macedonia.[13] Albanians have migrated to Switzerland since the 1960s,[14] but bulk of immigration took place during the 1990s, especially during 1998–1999. They account for about 2% of total Swiss population, making them the third largest immigrant community in Switzerland, after the Italian and German ones. The Albanian language is the second largest immigrant language spoken in Switzerland, following Serbo-Croatian. About 40,000 have been naturalized as Swiss citizens during the 1990s and 2000s, while an estimated 150,000 remain registered as nationals of either Serbia and Montenegro (carrying passports issued during the existence of that country, 1992–2006), the Republic of Kosovo (34,000 Kosovar passports registered with the Swiss authority by August 2010), the Republic of Macedonia, or Albania.

Overseas

The Albanian Orthodox cathedral of St. George in South Boston, MA

Canada

It is estimated that 22,395 Albanians live in Canada (2006 Census). The first Albanians arrived in Canada at the beginning of the 20th century, following internal pre-war revolutionary upheavals. Few immigrated to Canada after WWII. Most of the post-war Albanian immigrants settled in either Montreal or Toronto. Some found jobs in Calgary and a few in small communities in Ontario (e.g., Peterborough). After the inter-ethnic conflict in the former Yugoslavia between ethnic Albanians and Serbian military and police forces, many Albanians left Kosovo as refugees. Some have come to Canada, and in 1999 the Canadian government created a program to offer safe haven to 7000 Kosovar Albanian refugees. However, they continue to appreciate their ethnic heritage and their Albanian national history, even though their ancestors may have left Albania several decades ago. Those Albanians from Albania proper are active in their business and social organizations.

United States

Main article: Albanian American

Albanians began to settle in the USA in the early 1920s from Greece, Turkey, Southern Italy and Kosovo, and in the 1990s from Albania, Montenegro, the Republic of Macedonia, and refugees of war. The largest Albanian American (incl. Kosovar Albanian) populations are in New York City, Boston, Detroit, and Chicago. Another Albanian American community in Southern California such as the Los Angeles area. The Inland Empire (Riverside/San Bernardino) area of California includes Kosovars who entered the United States at the March Joint Air Reserve Base in Riverside. The Albanian-American population is currently 113,661 or 0.04% of the US population.

Table of Albanian population

Country Albanian population Percent Source(s)
 Albania 2,753,174 (2011 census) 98.32% [15]
 Kosovo[a] 1,616,869 (2011 census) 92.93% [16]
 Macedonia 509,083 (2002 census) 25.17% [17]
 Turkey 500,000 (2007) [18]
 Italy 497,761 (2013 statistics, Albanian citizenship) 0.83% [19]
 Greece 480,824 (2011 census, Albanian citizenship) 4.45% [20]
 Germany 300,000 (2010) [21]
 United States 172,149 (2006-2010 ACS) 0.06% [22]
  Switzerland 94,937 (2000 census) 1.32% [23]
 Canada 31,030 (2011 survey) 0.09% [24]
 Montenegro 30,439 (2011 census) 4.91% [25]
 United Kingdom 28,820 (2011 census) 0.05% [26][27][28]
 Austria 28,212 (2001 census) 0.35% [29]
 France 20,531 (2011 census) 0.41% [30]
 Croatia 17,531 (2011 census) 0.41% [31]
 Australia 13,142 (2011 census) 0.06% [32]
 Finland 8,214 (2014 statistics, mother tongue) 0.15% [33]
 Belgium 7,183 (2010 statistics, Albanian/Kosovar citizenship) 0.07% [34]
 Slovenia 6,186 (2002 census) 0.31% [35]
 Serbia 5,809 (2011 census) 0.08% [36]
 Sweden 5,439 (2013 statistics, Albanian/Kosovar citizenship) 0.06% [37]
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4,295 (1991 census) 0.1% [38]
 Ukraine 3,308 (2001 census) 0.01% [39]
 Denmark 2,560 (2014 statistics, Albanian/Kosovar citizenship) 0.05% [40]
 Norway 1,537 (2014 statistics, Albanian/Kosovar citizenship) 0.03% [41]
 Ireland 1,764 (2011 census) 0.04% [42]
 Netherlands 1,638 (2013 statistics, Albanian/Kosovar citizenship) 0.01% [43]
 Czech Republic 673 (2011 census) 0.01% [44]
 Romania 520 (2002 census) 0% [45]
 Poland 430 (2011 census) 0% [46]
 Bulgaria 278 (2001 census) 0% [47]
 New Zealand 246 (2013 census) 0.01% [48]
 Moldova 204 (1989 census) 0% [49]
 Lithuania 14 (2011 census) 0% [50]
 Latvia 13 (2014 statistics) 0% [51]
 Uzbekistan 16 (1989 census) 0% [52]
 Estonia 12 (2011 census) 0% [53]
 Iceland 12 (2011 census, Albanian citizenship) 0% [54]
 Turkmenistan 6 (1995 census) 0% [55]
 Belarus 3 (2009 census) 0% [56]
 Spain 1,787 [57]
 Slovakia 5,851 (2001) [58][59]

Notable Albanians from the Diaspora

See also

References

  1. ↑ Data on immigrants in Greece, from Census 2001
  2. ↑ Istituto nazionale di statistica: La popolazione straniera residente in Italia
  3. ↑ KOSOVO: ENDE der GEDULD – Ausland – FOCUS Online
  4. ↑ 150,000 Albanians resided in Switzerland as of 2000 (6% of the total population of Switzerland). Eidgenössiche Volkszählung 2000: Sprachenlandschaft in der Schweiz
  5. ↑ http://www.seedcenter.gr/projects/MNE/1stconfer/1stconf_papers/Gedeshi.pdf
  6. ↑ http://ec.europa.eu/ewsi/UDRW/images/items/docl_18313_173483905.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2011/06/21/feature-06
  8. ↑ Migration Information Source
  9. ↑ Herbermann, Charles George; Knights of Columbus, Catholic Truth Committee (1913). The Catholic Encyclopedia. The New York Public Library: Robert Appleton Company. p. 255. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  10. ↑ Chronology of Albanian Immigration to Italy, Migration Information
  11. ↑ Christopher Deliso (2007). The Coming Balkan Caliphate: The Threat of Radical Islam to Europe and the West. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-0-275-99525-6. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  12. ↑ "Türkiye'deki Kürtlerin sayısı!" (in Turkish). 6 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  13. ↑ "The Albanian fund-raising machine". BBC News. 2001-05-28. Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
  14. ↑ Migration Information Source – Switzerland Faces Common European Challenges
  15. ↑ "1.1.13 Resident population by ethnic and cultural affiliation" (PDF) (in Albanian). Statistics of Albania. p. 71. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  16. ↑ "Tab1.1. Population of Kosovo by ethnicity, gender and type of area" (PDF). Statistics of Kosovo. p. 11.
  17. ↑ "Tabel 3: Total population of the Republic of Macedonia according the ethnic affiliation" (PDF) (in Macedonian). Statistics of Macedonia. p. 34.
  18. ↑ "Türkiyedeki Kürtlerin Sayısı!" (in Turkish). Milliyet. 2008-06-06. Archived from the original on 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
  19. ↑ "I cittadini non comunitari regolarmente soggiornanti". istat.it (in Italian).
  20. ↑ "Announcement of the demographic and social characteristics of the Resident Population of Greece according to the 2011 Population - Housing Census" (PDF). Statistics of Greece. p. 9. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  21. ↑ Hans-Peter Bartels: Deutscher Bundestag - 16. Wahlperiode - 166. Sitzung. Berlin, Donnerstag, den 5. Juni 2008
  22. ↑ "2006-2010 American Community Survey Selected Population Tables". Government of the United States of America. Government of the United States of America. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  23. ↑ "Tableau 7: Population résidante selon la langue principale avec au moins 600 locuteurs, en nombres absolus, en 2000" (in French). bfs.admin.ch. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "2011 National Household Survey: Data tables". Statistics of Canada. Statistics of Canada. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  25. ↑ "Table CG1. Population by age and etnicity". Statistical Office of Montenegro. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  26. ↑ "QS211EW - Ethnic group (detailed)". nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  27. ↑ "Ethnic Group - Full Detail_QS201NI". Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  28. ↑ "Scotland's Census 2011 - National Records of Scotland, Language used at home other than English (detailed)" (PDF). Scotland Census. Scotland Census. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  29. ↑ "Tabelle 14: Bevölkerung nach Umgangssprache, Staatsangehörigkeit und Geburtsland" (PDF). Statistics of Austria (in German). Statistics of Austria. p. 75. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  30. ↑ "1. Population by ethnicity - detailed classification, 2011 census". Statistics of France. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  31. ↑ "1. Population by ethnicity - detailed classification, 2011 census". Statistics of Croatia. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  32. ↑ "The People of Australia - Statistics from the 2011 census" (PDF). SBS. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  33. ↑ "Language according to age and sex by region 1990 - 2013". Statistics Finland. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  34. ↑ "Population par nationalité, sexe, groupe et classe d'âges au 1er janvier 2010" (in French). Statistics of Belgium. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  35. ↑ "Population by ethnic affiliation, Slovenia, Census 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2002". Statistics of Slovenia. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  36. ↑ "Становништво према националној припадности". Statistics of Serbia. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  37. ↑ "Foreign citizens by country of citizenship, age and sex. Year 1973 - 2013". Statistics of Swedn. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  38. ↑ "Ethnic composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina population, by municipalities and settlements" (PDF). Zavod za statistiku Bosne i Hercegovine. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  39. ↑ "The distribution of the population by nationality and mother tongue". Ukrainian Census (2001). Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  40. ↑ "Population at the first day of the quarter by region and time: 2014Q2". Statistics of Denmark. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  41. ↑ "Table: 05196: Population, by sex, age and citizenship". Statistics of Norway. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  42. ↑ "Statistical tables" (PDF). cso.ie. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  43. ↑ "Population; sex, age, origin and generation, 1 January". Statistics of the Netherlands. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  44. ↑ "Tab. 614a Obyvatelstvo podle věku, národnosti a pohlaví" (in Czech). Statistics of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  45. ↑ "3. Populatia pe sexe si medii la recensamantul din 2002" (in Romanian). Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  46. ↑ "Tabl. 28. ludność według rodzaju i złożoności identyfikacji narodowo- -etnicznych w 2011 roku" (PDF). Glowny Urzad Statysty (in Polish). 15 July 2014. p. 262.
  47. ↑ "2001 census Bulgaria Етнически малцинствени общности" (in Bulgarian). Национален съвет за сътрудничество по етническите и демографските въпроси. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  48. ↑ "2013 Census totals by topic – tables (Excel, 59 sheets, 1.54MB)". Statistics of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  49. ↑ Demoscope. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР (in Russian). Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  50. ↑ Statistics Lithuania. "2 lentelė. Gyventojai pagal tautybę" (PDF) (in Lithuanian). Statistics Lithuania. p. 8. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  51. ↑ "Latvijas iedzīvotāju sadalījums pēc nacionālā sastāva un valstiskās piederības (Datums=01.01.2014)" (PDF). Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde (in Latvian). p. 4. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  52. ↑ Demoscope. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР (in Russian). Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  53. ↑ "PCE04: ENUMERATED PERMANENT RESIDENTS BY ETHNIC NATIONALITY AND SEX, 31 DECEMBER 2011". pub.stat.ee. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  54. ↑ "Population by country of citizenship, sex and age 31 Dec. 2011". Statistics Iceland. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  55. ↑ Итоги всеобщей переписи населения Туркменистана по национальному составу в 1995 году.. asgabat.net (in Russian). asgabat.net. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  56. ↑ Национальный статистический комитет Республики Беларусь (PDF). Национальный статистический комитет Республики Беларусь (in Russian). Национальный статистический комитет Республики Беларусь. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  57. ↑ http://www.ine.es/censo/en/consulta.jsp
  58. ↑ http://portal.statistics.sk/files/Sekcie/sek_600/Demografia/Migracia/2008/T4_AJ.pdf
  59. ↑ http://portal.statistics.sk/files/Sekcie/sek_600/Demografia/Migracia/2008/T5_AJ.pdf

Further reading