Albanians in Germany
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (350,000 to 500,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Munich | |
| Religion | |
| Muslim, Christian (Roman Catholic, Albanian Orthodox), Irreligion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Albanians |
Approximately 350,000 to 500,000 ethnic Albanians live in Germany. They migrated to Germany from Albania, Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia.
The first Albanian immigration wave to Germany began in 1968; they moved as guest workers and worked mainly in the industry. They were usually regarded as Yugoslavs and not as Albanians, because they came from Kosovo, which at that time belonged to Yugoslavia. Due to the political situation in Kosovo, more and more Albanians arrived since the beginning of the 1980s.
During the Kosovo war in 1999, many Kosovo Albanians sought asylum in the Federal Republic of Germany. By the end of 1999, the number of Kosovo Albanians in Germany was about 480,000, about 100,000 had returned voluntarily after the war in their homeland or been forcibly removed.
According to German Mikrozensus data there were 323.000 migrants from Kosovo and 70.000 foreigners with Albanian nationality living in Germany at the end of 2015. There are also Albanians among the migrants from the Republic of Macedonia in Germany. But official data say nothing aboout the ethnic background. Currently, the cities with the largest population of Germans of Albanian descent are the metropolitan regions of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart. In Berlin in 1999, there were about 25,000 Albanians, the number dropped because of remigration and Germany's general population decline. It is quite hard to know the true number of Albanians in Germany, as they were defined as Yugoslavs or Macedonians when they came to Germany. There is also a significant number of Albanians from Kosovo and Macedonia living in Germany illegally. So an exact number of the population with Albanian descent in the Federal Republic of Germany can hardly bei given. Germany is the most popular destination for Kosovar Albanians seeking to emigrate to Western Europe.
...
Wikipedia