Gogic: The census results indicate a demographic decline and manipulation of the number of Kosovo's diaspora

Political scientist Ognjen Gogic assessed that the preliminary results of the population census in Kosovo fit into the regional trend of demographic decline, but also that it is an attempt by the authorities in Pristina to conceal this through an unrealistic portrayal of the number of citizens in the diaspora.

"I think the manipulation occurred in the sense that some people who were counted as permanent residents are actually more part of the diaspora than realistically being on the territory of Kosovo. I believe there will be some form of manipulation here. We won't have a true picture of how many people have actually left Kosovo. So, there is a decline in birth rates, but there is also a high rate of emigration, which the results of this census will not properly reflect," Gogic told Kosovo Online.

According to him, Kosovo, like all other countries in the region, is facing a demographic decline in population, while at the same time experiencing an increase in people leaving for abroad, which is why census takers were "flexible."

"It actually seems, based on the information I have from the field, that they were a bit more flexible and that it is possible that some residents counted as permanent population living in Kosovo actually spend most of their time abroad. Household members were allowed to count their family members who are temporarily working abroad, so the demographic decline in Kosovo is probably greater than this census shows, and more people have emigrated than will be determined based on the census," Gogic points out.

He adds that the trend of emigration is also recorded among other minority communities in Kosovo, primarily Bosniaks and Gorani, while a growth trend is noticeable only in the Roma population.

Commenting on claims by some analysts that the preliminary census results are alarming and require an "emergency situation," Gogic says that these are politicized statements because the entire region is facing this phenomenon, which cannot be solved "overnight" but requires long-term planning and strategy.

"Whoever tried to solve the demographic crisis overnight saw that it doesn't work that way. But yes, indeed, Kosovo, like the entire region, must ask itself who will live there in the future, and above all, why this trend of emigration exists, due to economic reasons. This is something that requires serious thinking in politics," Gogic concludes.