Demographics of Kosovo

The Kosovo Agency of Statistics monitors various demographic features of the population of Kosovo, such as population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Censuses, normally conducted at ten-year intervals, record the demographic characteristics of the population.
According to the last census of the April 2024 by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, there were 1,588,566 inhabitants, of which 795,552 are men and 790,014 are women. The same year, US CIA World Factbook estimate put the country's population at 1,977,093. According to the first census conducted after the 2008 declaration of independence in 2011, the permanent population of Kosovo was 1,739,825.
Kosovo is a fairly ethnically and linguistically homogeneous country. The 2024 census shows that ethnic Albanians make the overwhelming majority of Kosovo, with 91.8% of the population, while minorities include Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Ashkali and other ethnicities all less than 1%.
The official languages of Kosovo are Albanian and Serbian. Albanian is the native language for 93.67% of the population, while minority languages are also officially recognized in certain municipalities, depending on their ethnic makeup. The main religions of Kosovo are Islam, Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholic. The average urbanization of Kosovo is at 50.18% with a growing trend.
Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe. The average age is 34.8 and median age is 32, as of 2024. In 2008, half of its population was under the age of 25 and more than 65 percent of the population was younger than 30.

2011 census

The 2011 census recorded Kosovo as having 1,739,825 inhabitants. The European Centre for Minority Issues has called "for caution when referring to the 2011 census", due to the boycott by Serb-majority municipalities in North Kosovo and the large boycott by Serbs and Roma in southern Kosovo. The recorded total population was below most previous estimates. The census enjoyed considerable technical assistance from international agencies and appears to have been endorsed by Eurostat; it was, however, the first full census since 1981, and not one of an uninterrupted series. The results show that there were no people temporarily resident in hotels or refugee camps at the time of the census; that out of 312,711 conventional dwellings, 99,808 were unoccupied; and that three municipalities designed under the Ahtisaari Plan to have Serb majorities – Klokot, Novo Brdo, and Štrpce – in fact had ethnic Albanian majorities.

Vital statistics

Source: Kosovo Agency of Statistics
Population estimates in the table below may be unreliable during the 1990s period. Besides, vital statistics do not fully include data from Serb-majority territories. Since 2011, in accordance with European statistical norms, live births and deaths record figures in Kosovo only.

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Natural change	Crude migration rate	Total fertility rate	Female fertile population
1950	764,000	35,222	12,991	22,231	46.1	17.0	29.1		7.70	164,096
1951	780,000	29,299	14,833	14,466	37.6	19.0	18.5	2.4	6.17	169,877
1952	793,000	35,619	13,867	21,752	44.9	17.5	27.4	-10.7	7.23	175,660
1953	813,000	34,595	16,726	17,869	42.6	20.6	22.0	3.2	6.62	181,445
1954	832,000	38,595	13,201	25,394	46.4	15.9	30.5	-7.1	7.16	185,718
1955	842,000	36,736	15,292	21,444	43.6	18.2	25.5	-13.5	6.62	189,992
1956	859,000	37,819	13,692	24,127	44.0	15.9	28.1	-7.9	6.56	194,265
1957	873,000	34,159	15,300	18,859	39.1	17.5	21.6	-5.3	5.84	192,596
1958	890,000	39,285	11,598	27,687	44.1	13.0	31.1	-11.6	6.62	195,341
1959	921,000	37,364	12,878	24,486	40.6	14.0	26.6	8.2	6.14	199,359
1960	944,000	41,631	13,365	28,266	44.1	14.2	29.9	-4.9	6.64	203,954
1961	967,353	40,561	11,759	28,802	41.9	12.2	29.8	-5.1	6.26	208,550
1962	994,676	41,336	15,024	26,312	41.6	15.1	26.5	1.7	6.23	212,149
1963	1,022,218	41,525	12,423	29,102	40.6	12.2	28.5	-0.8	6.13	217,556
1964	1,051,498	42,557	12,731	29,826	40.5	12.1	28.4	0.2	6.14	224,326
1965	1,082,170	43,569	11,767	31,802	40.3	10.9	29.4	-0.2	5.97	233,584
1966	1,118,003	42,429	10,266	32,163	38.0	9.2	28.8	4.3	5.66	240,125
1967	1,150,622	44,001	11,308	32,693	38.2	9.8	28.4	0.8	5.71	248,992
1968	1,182,952	44,627	10,781	33,846	37.7	9.1	28.6	-0.5	5.64	257,056
1969	1,189,140	46,480	10,892	35,588	39.1	9.2	29.9	-24.7	5.69	267,271
1970	1,219,996	44,496	10,829	33,667	36.5	8.9	27.6	-1.7	5.40	268,960
1971	1,253,975	47,060	10,312	36,748	37.5	8.2	29.3	-1.4	5.74	270,050
1972	1,290,965	47,943	10,270	37,673	37.1	8.0	29.2	0.3	5.57	283,885
1973	1,327,853	47,714	10,358	37,356	35.9	7.8	28.1	0.5	5.35	293,340
1974	1,365,879	49,847	10,075	39,772	36.5	7.4	29.1	-0.5	5.40	303,396
1975	1,404,977	49,310	10,018	39,292	35.1	7.1	28.0	0.6	5.19	313,611
1976	1,446,001	51,355	10,149	41,206	35.5	7.0	28.5	0.7	5.24	324,297
1977	1,486,816	49,849	9,811	40,038	33.5	6.6	26.9	1.3	4.92	334,581
1978	1,525,960	49,027	9,776	39,251	32.1	6.4	25.7	0.6	4.66	344,970
1979	1,565,995	48,125	9,575	38,550	30.7	6.1	24.6	1.6	4.51	349,520
1980	1,552,779	53,147	8,909	44,238	34.2	5.7	28.5	-38.9	4.82	354,068
1981	1,594,451	48,111	9,677	38,434	30.2	6.1	24.1	2.7	4.55	351,396
1982	1,634,893	52,865	10,479	42,386	32.3	6.4	25.9	-0.5	4.71	361,232
1983	1,676,325	49,645	11,040	38,605	29.6	6.6	23.0	2.3	4.29	372,615
1984	1,716,884	55,243	10,573	44,670	32.2	6.2	26.0	-1.8	4.58	391,155
1985	1,760,132	53,925	11,826	42,099	30.6	6.7	23.9	1.3	4.30	403,640
1986	1,803,579	54,519	10,446	44,073	30.2	5.8	24.4	0.3	4.18	415,407
1987	1,848,111	56,221	10,307	45,914	30.4	5.6	24.8	-0.1	4.12	429,439
1988	1,894,131	56,283	10,257	46,026	29.7	5.4	24.3	0.6	3.96	441,867
1989	1,938,794	53,656	10,181	43,475	27.7	5.3	22.4	1.2	3.63	454,260
1990	1,987,056	55,175	8,214	46,961	27.8	4.1	23.6	1.3	3.59	472,145
1991	1,967,675	52,263	8,526	43,737	26.6	4.3	22.2	-32.0	3.52	454,214
1992	2,007,978	44,418	8,004	36,414	22.1	4.0	18.1	2.4	2.83	478,108
1993	2,043,740	44,132	7,804	36,328	21.6	3.8	17.8	0	2.71	492,412
1994	2,079,234	43,450	7,667	35,783	20.9	3.7	17.2	0.2	2.57	506,408
1995	2,115,020	44,776	8,671	36,105	21.2	4.1	17.1	0.1	2.55	521,049
1996	2,152,545	46,041	8,392	37,649	21.4	3.9	17.5	0.2	2.56	535,873
1997	2,188,083	42,920	8,624	34,296	19.6	3.9	15.7	0.8	2.33	549,826
1998	2,127,795	41,752	8,123	33,629	19.6	3.8	15.8	43.4	2.34	543,799
1999	2,067,507	40,020	7,569	32,451	19.4	3.7	15.7	-44.0	2.28	537,773
2000	2,007,219	38,687	7,115	31,572	19.3	3.5	15.7	-44.9	2.31	531,747
2001	1,946,932	37,412	6,672	30,740	19.2	3.4	15.8	-45.8	2.26	525,719
2002	1,886,644	36,136	5,654	30,482	19.2	3.0	16.2	-47.2	2.22	519,692
2003	1,826,356	31,994	6,417	25,577	17.5	3.5	14.0	-46.0	2.00	513,664
2004	1,766,068	35,063	6,399	28,664	19.9	3.6	16.2	-49.2	2.21	507,639
2005	1,743,780	37,218	7,207	30,011	21.3	4.1	17.2	-29.8	2.38	501,613
2006	1,719,536	34,187	7,479	26,708	19.9	4.3	15.5	-29.4	2.24	495,586
2007	1,733,404	33,112	6,681	26,431	19.1	3.9	15.2	-7.1	2.21	489,559
2008	1,747,383	34,399	6,852	27,547	19.7	3.9	15.8	-7.7	2.32	483,531
2009	1,761,474	34,240	7,030	27,210	19.4	4.0	15.4	-7.3	2.36	477,507
2010	1,775,680	33,751	7,234	26,517	19.0	4.1	14.9	-6.8	2.38	471,479
2011	1,786,229	27,626	7,111	20,515	15.5	4.0	11.5	-5.6	1.99	465,452
2012	1,806,441	27,743	7,317	20,426	15.4	4.1	11.3	0.4	2.02	459,662
2013	1,812,600	29,327	7,135	22,192	16.2	3.9	12.2	-6.1	2.17	453,872
2014	1,793,401	25,929	7,634	18,295	14.5	4.3	10.2	13.0	1.95	448,082
2015	1,744,785	24,594	8,202	16,392	14.1	4.7	9.4	-22.7	1.88	442,291
2016	1,715,459	23,416	8,495	14,921	13.6	5.0	8.7	-14.4	1.82	436,501
2017	1,720,720	23,402	8,721	14,681	13.6	5.1	8.5	-0.6	1.86	430,711
2018	1,716,109	22,761	8,998	13,763	13.3	5.2	8.0	-4.3	1.84	424,921
2019	1,693,981	21,798	9,430	12,368	12.9	5.6	7.3	-11.5	1.79	419,131
2020	1,684,355	21,907	12,987	8,920	13.0	7.7	5.3	-4.3	1.85	413,341
2021	1,665,246	22,830	13,019	9,811	13.7	7.8	5.9	-7.8	1.96	407,550
2022	1,624,337	22,632	9,845	12,787	13.9	6.1	7.9	-20.9	1.98	401,760
2023	1,603,115	21,654	9,622	12,032	13.5	6.0	7.5		1.93	395,970
2024	1,585,590	21,487	10,137	11,350	13.6	6.4	7.2		1.95	390,180

Marriages and divorces

	Average population	Marriages	Divorces	Crude marriage rate	Crude divorce rate	Divorces per 1000 marriages
1950	764,000	8,686	481	11.4	0.6	55.4
1951	780,000	7,300	475	9.4	0.6	65.1
1952	793,000	7,052	406	8.9	0.5	57.6
1953	813,000	7,208	382	8.9	0.5	53.0
1954	832,000	7,390	352	8.9	0.4	47.6
1955	842,000	6,815	445	8.1	0.5	65.3
1956	859,000	5,723	426	6.7	0.5	74.4
1957	873,000	5,860	403	6.7	0.5	68.8
1958	890,000	6,924	374	7.8	0.4	54.0
1959	921,000	6,794	498	7.4	0.5	73.3
1960	944,000	6,822	417	7.2	0.4	61.1
1961	967,353	7,426	479	7.7	0.5	64.5
1962	994,676	7,481	451	7.5	0.5	60.3
1963	1,022,218	7,183	346	7.0	0.3	48.2
1964	1,051,498	8,340	388	7.9	0.4	46.5
1965	1,082,170	8,226	347	7.6	0.3	42.2
1966	1,118,003	8,246	514	7.4	0.5	62.3
1967	1,150,622	7,569	314	6.6	0.3	41.5
1968	1,182,952	8,719	244	7.4	0.2	28.0
1969	1,189,140	10,083	226	8.5	0.2	22.4
1970	1,219,996	11,280	258	9.2	0.2	22.9
1971	1,253,975	11,006	238	8.8	0.2	21.6
1972	1,290,965	10,571	272	8.2	0.2	25.7
1973	1,327,853	11,139	198	8.4	0.1	17.8
1974	1,365,879	9,885	337	7.2	0.2	34.1
1975	1,404,977	9,928	261	7.1	0.2	26.3
1976	1,446,001	10,268	248	7.1	0.2	24.2
1977	1,486,816	10,470	472	7.0	0.3	45.1
1978	1,525,960	11,552	460	7.6	0.3	39.8
1979	1,565,995	11,568	355	7.4	0.2	30.7
1980	1,552,779	12,666	333	8.2	0.2	26.3
1981	1,594,451	11,936	280	7.5	0.2	23.5
1982	1,634,893	12,368	289	7.6	0.2	23.4
1983	1,676,325	12,406	256	7.4	0.2	20.6
1984	1,716,884	12,560	237	7.3	0.1	18.9
1985	1,760,132	12,483	332	7.1	0.2	26.6
1986	1,803,579	11,921	364	6.6	0.2	30.5
1987	1,848,111	13,644	260	7.4	0.1	19.1
1988	1,894,131	14,613	389	7.7	0.2	26.6
1989	1,938,794	14,343	320	7.4	0.2	22.3
1990	1,987,056	12,742	509	6.4	0.3	39.9
1991	1,967,675	12,559	354	6.4	0.2	28.2
1992	2,007,978	13,367	266	6.7	0.1	19.9
1993	2,043,740	13,372	248	6.5	0.1	18.5
1994	2,079,234	11,959	299	5.8	0.1	25.0
1995	2,115,020	12,979	352	6.1	0.2	27.1
1996	2,152,545	12,244	559	5.7	0.3	45.7
1997	2,188,083	11,866	396	5.4	0.2	33.4
1998	2,127,795	13,149	524	6.2	0.2	39.9
1999	2,067,507	14,432	652	7.0	0.3	45.2
2000	2,007,219	15,714	780	7.8	0.4	49.6
2001	1,946,932	16,997	909	8.7	0.5	53.5
2002	1,886,644	18,280	1,037	9.7	0.5	56.7
2003	1,826,356	17,034	1,165	9.3	0.6	68.4
2004	1,766,068	16,989	1,293	9.6	0.7	76.1
2005	1,743,780	15,732	1,445	9.0	0.8	91.9
2006	1,719,536	15,825	1,480	9.2	0.9	93.5
2007	1,733,404	16,824	1,558	9.7	0.9	92.6
2008	1,747,383	17,950	1,026	10.3	0.6	57.2
2009	1,761,474	20,209	1,555	11.5	0.9	76.9
2010	1,775,680	18,289	1,453	10.3	0.8	79.4
2011	1,786,229	16,619	1,469	9.3	0.8	88.4
2012	1,807,126	17,169	1,328	9.5	0.7	77.3
2013	1,818,119	14,664	1,040	8.1	0.6	70.9
2014	1,812,788	16,239	1,243	9.0	0.7	76.5
2015	1,788,274	16,274	1,268	9.1	0.7	77.9
2016	1,777,568	16,051	1,110	9.0	0.6	69.2
2017	1,791,019	17,112	1,072	9.6	0.6	62.6
2018	1,797,086	16,871	999	9.4	0.6	59.2
2019	1,788,891

Administrative divisions

Kosovo is administratively subdivided into seven districts, and 38 municipalities. With the current estimation on population, Kosovo ranks as the 150th largest country in the world based on how populous it is.

Ethnic groups

The official results of the censuses in Kosovo after World War II are tabulated below. The figures for Albanians in the 1991 census were estimates only, since that census was boycotted by most Albanians. Similarly, the figures for Serbs in the 2011 census omit those in North Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zubin Potok and Zvečan, while the number of Serbs and Romani in the rest of Kosovo is also deemed unreliable, due to the partial boycott.

Ethnic groups by municipality

The results of the 2011 census of ethnic groups in municipalities are tabulated below.
The 2000 Living Standard Measurement Survey by Statistical Office of Kosovo found an ethnic composition of the population as follows:

92% Albanians
8% others

A more comprehensive estimate for these years:

92% Albanians
4% Serbs
4% Bosniaks, Turks, Romani and others

During the Kosovo War in 1999, around 700,000 ethnic Albanians, over 100,000 ethnic Serbs and more than 40,000 Bosniaks were forced out of Kosovo to neighbouring Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Serbia.
After the United Nations took over administration of Kosovo following the war, the vast majority of the Albanian refugees returned.
The largest diaspora communities of Kosovo Albanians are in Switzerland and Austria accounting for some 200,000 individuals each, or for 20% of the population resident in Kosovo.
Many non-Albanians – chiefly Serbs and Romani – fled or were expelled, mostly to the rest of Serbia at the end of the war, with further refugee outflows occurring as the result of sporadic ethnic violence. As of 2002, the number of registered refugees was around 250,000. The non-Albanian population in Kosovo is now about half of its pre-war total. The largest concentration of Serbs in the country is in the north, but many remain in Kosovo Serb enclaves surrounded by Albanian-populated areas.

Languages

As defined by the Constitution of Kosovo, Albanian and Serbian are official languages in Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, almost 95% of the citizens speak Albanian as their native language, followed by South Slavic languages and Turkish. Due to North Kosovo's boycott of the census, Bosnian came in as the second-largest language after Albanian. However, Serbian is in reality the second-most spoken language in Kosovo.

Language	Native speakers	%
Albanian	1,644,865	94.5
Bosnian	28,989	1.7
Serbian	27,983	1.6
Turkish	19,568	1.1
Romani	5,860	0.3
Other/Not specified	12,560	0.7

Health

Harvard Medical School and NATO published a study on the impact of the conflict on Kosovo health system in 2014.
The data in the table below are from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics.

Religion

The country has no official religion. The constitution establishes Kosovo as a secular state that is neutral in matters of religious beliefs and where everyone is equal before the law and freedom to belief, conscience and religion is guaranteed.
The 2011 Kosovo population census was largely boycotted by the Kosovo Serbs, especially in North Kosovo. That left the Serb population underrepresented. The International Monitoring Operation said that questions complied with international standards: respondents can declare their ethnicity and religion but are not obliged to do so. Serbs predominantly identify as Orthodox Christians. The results of the 2011 census gave the following religious affiliations for the population included in it:

Religion	Population 2011	%	Population 2024	%
Islam	1,663,412	95.6%	1,482,276	93.5%
Christianity Catholic Orthodox	64,275 38,438 25,837	3.7% 2.2% 1.5%	64,498 27,815 36,683	4.06% 1.75% 2.31%
Other	1,188	0.1%	7,175	0.45%
No religion	1,242	0.1%	7,899	0.50%
Not stated Prefer not to answer Missing	9,708 7,213 2,495	0.6% 0.4% 0.1%	23,718	1.50%
Total	1,739,825	100%	1,585,566	100%

Most Albanians in Kosovo are Muslim. Almost all Muslims in Kosovo are Sunni. A small amount of Muslims in Kosovo practice Sufism, mainly in Western Kosovo. Most Muslims in Kosovo follow the Hanafi Madhab.
The Serb population is largely Serbian Orthodox. The Catholic Albanian communities are mostly concentrated in Gjakova, Prizren, Klina and a few villages near Peć and Vitina. Slavic-speaking Catholics usually call themselves Janjevci or Kosovan Croats. Slavic-speaking Muslims in the south of Kosovo are known as the Gorani people.

Migration

According to a 2015 report by Geoba.se, Kosovo's current net migration rate is at −3.72, ranking Kosovo 197th, due to the ongoing political and economic crisis. The same source gives −0.71 for the 2023 estimate.

Internally displaced persons

According to the US CIA, as of 2022, there were 16,000 internally displaced persons, primarily Serbs displaced during the Kosovo War. Also, a smaller number of Serbs, Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians fled their homes in 2004 as a result of violence.