Marriage in Albania used to be a journey that began as soon as you finished school.
Today? First you need a house, a good salary, some emotional stability, two vacations a year, and maybe then the wedding.
State institutions themselves tell us through data that Albanians are getting married less often and much later.
By giving more importance to education, the average age of marriage has increased significantly in recent years, from 23.4 years old for women in 2010 to 27.5 years old in 2024, while for men at a slower pace, from 29.2 to 31.4 years old.
In other words, “I’m waiting a little longer” is becoming a national status.
But it’s not just age that’s changing. The number of marriages has also declined over the years, from 25,556 in 2011 to 16,120. In a decade and a half, marriages in Albania have dropped by almost 40%.
The same situation occurs in all regions of the country. In Tirana, the region with the highest number of marriages, out of over 8 thousand marriages in 2011, in 2024 around 6 thousand were registered.
The same picture is seen in Durrës, Elbasan, Korçë or Fier, where numbers have dropped significantly compared to a decade and a half ago.
The reasons are many and not so romantic. The cost of living, immigration, economic insecurity, and changing lifestyles have led many young people to see marriage as a step that should be thought through carefully.
After all, many young people would say that people today can barely find parking, not the man of their lives anymore.
Most importantly, the decline in marriages is directly related to the decline in fertility and the aging of the population.
So, while once the classic question was “when are you getting married?” today we hear more “can you afford the rent?”
However, Albanians don’t seem to have lost faith in love. It’s just that now love is waiting a little longer, perhaps until apartment prices drop./Top Channel
