Kosovo Population

Quick facts about the population of Kosovo

Current population (as of Monday, March 08, 2021)

1,768,073

Population rank

152 (0.02% of world population)

Total area

10,887 km2 (4,203 mi2)

Population density

162.4 per km2 (420.6 people/mi2)

Sex ratio

1.06 (910,618 men to 857,455 women)

Life expectancy

69.0 years (67.0 - men, 71.0 - women)

(Population figures are estimates by Countrymeters based on the latest United Nations data)

Kosovo population 2021

During 2021 Kosovo population is projected to increase by 1,061 people and reach 1,768,942 in the beginning of 2022. The natural increase is expected to be positive, as the number of births will exceed the number of deaths by 4,243. If external migration will remain on the previous year level, the population will be declined by 3,182 due to the migration reasons. It means that the number of people who leave Kosovo to settle permanently in another country (emigrants) will prevail over the number of people who move into the country (to which they are not native) in order to settle there as permanent residents (immigrants).

Population change rates in 2021

According to our estimations, daily change rates of Kosovo population in 2021 will be the following:

• 35 live births average per day (1.45 in an hour)
• 23 deaths average per day (0.97 in an hour)
• -9 emigrants average per day (-0.36 in an hour)

The population of Kosovo will be increasing by 3 persons daily in 2021.

Demographics of Kosovo 2020

As of 1 January 2021, the population of Kosovo was estimated to be 1,767,881 people. This is an increase of 0.06 % (1,060 people) compared to population of 1,766,821 the year before. In 2020 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 4,240. Due to external migration, the population declined by 3,180. The sex ratio of the total population was 1.062 (1,062 males per 1,000 females) which is higher than global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1,016 males to 1,000 females as of 2020.

Below are the key figures for Kosovo population in 2020:

• 12,721 live births
• 8,481 deaths
• Natural increase: 4,240 people
• Net migration: -3,180 people
• 909,686 males as of 31 December 2020
• 858,195 females as of 31 December 2020

Kosovo population density

Kosovo population density is 162.4 people per square kilometer (420.6/mi²) as of March 2021. Density of population is calculated as permanently settled population of Kosovo divided by total area of the country. Total area is the sum of land and water areas within international boundaries and coastlines of Kosovo. The total area of Kosovo is 10,887 km² (4,203 mi²) according to the United Nations Statistics Division .

Religion in Kosovo

Religion	Number of followers	Percentage of total population
Islam	1,538,224	87.0 %
Christianity	201,560	11.4 %
Religiously Unaffiliated	28,289	1.6 %

Source: Pew Research Center. The Global Religious Landscape .

Number of followers estimated by Countrymeters (Monday, March 08 2021).

Kosovo age structure

As of the beginning of 2021 according to our estimates Kosovo had the following population age distribution:

27.2

66.1

6.7

	- percentage of population under 15
	- percentage of population between 15 and 64 years old
	- percentage of population 65+

In absolute figures (estimate):

• 480,369 young people under 15 years old ( 249,908 males / 230,461 females)
• 1,169,100 persons between 15 and 64 years old ( 610,414 males / 558,703 females)
• 118,395 persons above 64 years old ( 50,031 males / 68,364 females)

We prepared a simplified model of the population distribution pyramid which is broken down into 3 main age groups. The groups are the same as we used above: population under 15, between 15 and 64 and population which is over 65 year old.

65+

15-64

0-14

male

female

Note: The pyramid provided is not corresponding to data given above because the age groups have different number of years.

As we can see the Kosovo population pyramid has an expanding type. This type of pyramid is common for developing countries with high birth and death rates. Relatively short life expectancy, as well as low level of education and poor health care are also describe such kind of population age distribution model.

Source: The estimation data for section "Kosovo age structure" is based on the latest demographic and social statistics by United Nations Statistics Division .

Age dependency ratio

Dependency ratio of population is a ratio of people who are generally not in the labor force (the dependents) to workforce of a country (the productive part of population). The dependent part includes the population under 15 years old and people aged 65 and over. The productive part of population accordingly consists of population between 15 and 64 years.

This ratio shows the pressure on productive population produced by the dependent part of population.

The total dependency ratio of population in Kosovo is 51.2 %.

What does this value mean? It shows that the dependent part of population is more than a half of the working part. It means that the working population (labor force) in Kosovo must provide goods for itself and cover expenditure on children and aged persons (this population is more than a half of working population). The value of more than 50% shows that the pressure on productive population in Kosovo is relatively high.

Child dependency ratio

Child dependency ratio is a ratio of people below working age (under 15) to workforce of a country.

Child dependency ratio in Kosovo is 41.1 %.

Aged dependency ratio

Aged dependency ratio is a ratio of people above working age (65+) to workforce of a country.

Aged dependency ratio in Kosovo is 10.1 %.

Source: The estimation data for section "Kosovo age dependency ratio" is based on the latest demographic and social statistics by United Nations Statistics Division .

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth is one of the most important demographic indicator. It shows the number of years a newborn infant would live assuming that birth and death rates will remain at the same level during the whole lifetime.

Total life expectancy (both sexes) at birth for Kosovo is 69 years.
This is below the average life expectancy at birth of the global population which is about 71 years (according to Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations).

Male life expectancy at birth is 67 years.
Female life expectancy at birth is 71 years.