A total of 50,000 people left Kosovo over the past six months, driving the seven-year old country with its 1.8 million inhabitants to the edge of catastrophe.
The primarily reason for the migration is a disastrous economic situation. Kosovo is the poorest country in the southeastern Europe, and many people prefer to leave their homeland in search for a better life.
Already before its independence the country depended on international funding. Many people live on money transfers their run-away relatives send them from abroad. Kosovars earn an average of 250 euros a month. Unemployment is officially at 27 percent, but in fact, the rate is probably twice more. According to the data of the World Bank, one third of the population in Kosovo lives below the poverty line.
The situation raises concerns among German officials as Germany is a major destination for Kosovars to migrate. German official Luise Amtsberg told “Berliner Zeitung” that it is important to improve the constitutional structures in the country. Poor economic situation and uncertain political status of Kosovo are the main factors driving people away from their homes.
Meanwhile, the Kosovo Interior Minister Skender Hyseni has called on the EU to expel illegal immigrants to Kosovo as soon as possible. However, such measure would hardly stop desperate people from leaving their homeland, at least until the inner situation improves.
