Germany does not count ethnic Albanians, but the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) counted about 615,000 residents with a Kosovo migration background in the 2025 Mikrozensus, and the Central Register of Foreigners held 323,260 Kosovo citizens and 131,535 Albanian citizens on 31 December 2025. A conservative estimate from the official figures puts the number of people of Albanian origin in Germany at about 747,000 to 846,000; the method is shown below.
Germany is home to one of the largest Albanian communities in Europe, and one of the largest anywhere outside the Balkans. What makes it distinctive is not only its size, well over half a million people, but its makeup: unlike most diasporas, Germany’s Albanians are drawn from across the entire Albanian world. The majority are Kosovo Albanians, but a very large share come from the Albanian towns of western North Macedonia, and many others from Albania itself, Montenegro, and the Preseva Valley of southern Serbia. Built over sixty years, from guest workers to war refugees to a confident German-born generation, this is a community whose story runs through the whole of modern Balkan history. This guide, part of our Albanians Around the World series, tells it in full.
Quick Facts: Albanians in Germany
- Population: No official count of ethnic Albanians. At the end of 2025 Germany had 323,260 Kosovo citizens and 131,535 Albanian citizens (Destatis), and about 615,000 residents had a Kosovo migration background (Mikrozensus 2025). A conservative estimate from the official figures: about 747,000 to 846,000 people of Albanian origin (method shown below).
- Origins: Kosovo (the largest group), western North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and the Preseva Valley
- Migration: Four waves, from the 1960s guest-worker era to the asylum wave of 2015
- Where they live: North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria, and Berlin; Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and Cologne
- Economic weight: Germany is the single largest source of remittances to Kosovo
On This Page
- How Many Albanians Live in Germany?
- A Conservative Estimate, and How It Is Built
- Where They Come From: Not Just Kosovo
- Four Waves: How the Community Was Built
- Timeline: Albanians in Germany
- 2015: The Asylum Wave and Germany’s Response
- Where Albanians Live in Germany
- The Economic Lifeline: Remittances
- Community, Faith, and Everyday Life
- Notable German-Albanians
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Albanians Live in Germany?
There is no single official number, because German statistics measure origin and citizenship in different ways, and Albanians in Germany hold several different passports. On 31 December 2025, the Central Register of Foreigners recorded 323,260 Kosovar citizens living in Germany as foreign nationals (Destatis), alongside 131,535 Albanian citizens and 161,120 North Macedonian citizens, according to the Federal Statistical Office’s foreign population statistics (table 12521-03). The number of Kosovo citizens has risen every year since 2018, when it stood at 218,150. But those numbers leave out three large groups: people who have taken German citizenship, the German-born second generation, and ethnic Albanians who migrated on North Macedonian, Montenegrin, or Serbian passports. Destatis does not record naturalizations by ethnicity, but 9,710 Kosovo citizens and 6,150 Albanian citizens became German in 2025 alone (naturalizations of Albanian citizens rose 97 percent on 2024, Destatis reported), and about 41 percent of residents with a Kosovo migration background were born in Germany: 251,000 of 615,000 had no migration experience of their own (Mikrozensus 2025). There is no official count of ethnic Albanians, but the 2025 Mikrozensus found about 615,000 residents with a Kosovo migration background and 237,000 with a North Macedonian one, which makes Germany one of the largest Albanian communities in the world.
A Conservative Estimate, and How It Is Built
A conservative estimate from the official figures: about 747,000 to 846,000 people of Albanian origin in Germany. This is an estimate, not an official figure. Germany does not record ethnicity, so we build the range from the Federal Statistical Office’s published counts and state every assumption.
| Group | Official count | Share counted as Albanian | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albanian citizens (Central Register of Foreigners, December 31, 2025) | 131,535 | All | 131,535 |
| Residents with a Kosovo migration background (Mikrozensus 2025) | 615,000 | 90.79 percent, the Albanian share in Kosovo’s 2024 census | 558,358 |
| Residents with a North Macedonian migration background (Mikrozensus 2025) | 237,000 | 24.3 to 66 percent (see below) | 57,591 to 156,420 |
| Total | 747,484 to 846,313 |
The North Macedonia range runs from the Albanian share of that country’s resident population in its 2021 census (24.3 percent) to the Albanian share among citizens living abroad who took part in the same census (about 66 percent). The second figure is our own arithmetic from the published totals: Albanians were 29.52 percent of all 2,097,319 people counted and 24.3 percent of the 1,836,713 residents, which leaves about 173,000 Albanians among the 260,606 people counted abroad.
What the range leaves out. The Mikrozensus publishes a migration background figure, which covers people born abroad and their German-born children, for Kosovo and North Macedonia but not for Albania. The Albania row is therefore passport holders only, and it misses every Albanian who has become German (6,150 did so in 2025 alone) and children born with German citizenship. The Mikrozensus is a sample survey of private households rounded to the nearest thousand, so people in shared accommodation are not covered. The third generation and Albanians from Montenegro or Serbia are also outside the count. The real community is therefore likely to be larger than our range, but we do not put a number on what cannot be measured.
Last reviewed: September 18, 2026. Inputs: Destatis, Mikrozensus 2025 first results (table 12211-05) and Foreign Population 2025 (table 12521-03); Kosovo Agency of Statistics, Census 2024; State Statistical Office of North Macedonia, Census 2021.
Where They Come From: Not Just Kosovo
It is a common misconception that Germany’s Albanians are simply “Kosovars.” In reality, the community is a cross-section of the whole Albanian nation:
- Kosovo provides the single largest group by far, the product of guest-worker migration, the repression of the 1990s, and the Kosovo War.
- North Macedonia is the other great source. Many of Germany’s Albanians come from the Albanian-majority towns of the country’s west, above all Tetovo, Gostivar, Struga, Debar, and Kicevo, which have sent generations of migrants to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. For entire families in western North Macedonia, working in Germany has been a way of life for half a century.
- Albania itself contributes tens of thousands, most of whom arrived after the fall of communism in 1991 and during the migration wave of 2015.
- Montenegro and the Preseva Valley of southern Serbia round out the picture with smaller numbers.
This mixed origin is why the community feels, in a sense, like a gathering of the whole Albanian world in one country. See our guide to Albanians in North Macedonia for more on that homeland.
Four Waves: How the Community Was Built
The community was built in four distinct waves across roughly sixty years.
| Wave | Period | Who and Why |
|---|---|---|
| Guest workers | Late 1960s to 1970s | Labor migrants from Yugoslavia, mainly Kosovo and western North Macedonia, recruited during Germany’s postwar boom |
| The 1990s | 1990 to 1998 | Migrants from newly opened Albania, and Kosovo Albanians fleeing the breakup of Yugoslavia and Serbian repression |
| The Kosovo War | 1998 to 1999 | A large wave of Kosovo Albanian refugees fleeing the war |
| The 2015 wave | 2015 onward | A surge of asylum seekers from across the Western Balkans, followed by a shift to work and study migration |
The first Albanians came as guest workers in the late 1960s, when West Germany recruited labor from Yugoslavia for its economic miracle. Many were Kosovo Albanians and Albanians from western North Macedonia who worked hard, lived frugally, and expected to return home. Instead, they became the foundation of everything that followed. When Serbian repression tightened over Kosovo in the 1990s and the Kosovo War erupted in 1998 to 1999, hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians fled west, many to Germany, where they already had relatives.
The fall of communism in Albania itself opened a second source of migration. In July 1990, more than 3,000 Albanians forced their way into the West German embassy in Tirana to demand asylum, out of nearly 5,000 people who entered foreign embassies from 2 July (Exit News). It was one of the images that signalled the collapse of Europe’s most isolated dictatorship. The government eventually let them leave, and those in the German embassy were brought to West Germany by bus, ship and train.
Timeline: Albanians in Germany
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1904 | Actor Alexander Moissi, whose father came from Kavajë in Albania, first plays for Max Reinhardt in Berlin | Neue Deutsche Biographie |
| 12 October 1968 | West Germany and Yugoslavia sign the guest-worker recruitment agreement that brought Kosovo Albanians and Albanians from Macedonia to German factories | Humboldt University of Berlin |
| July 1990 | More than 3,000 Albanians enter the West German embassy in Tirana and are later brought to Germany | Exit News |
| 1998 to 1999 | Kosovo War: Kosovo Albanians flee to relatives already in Germany | Our Kosovo War history |
| 2015 | 53,805 first-time asylum applications from Albania and 33,427 from Kosovo | BAMF |
| 24 October 2015 | Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro classified as safe countries of origin | German Marshall Fund |
| 2016 | Western Balkan Regulation opens a work-visa route for people with a German job offer | German Marshall Fund |
| June 2024 | Annual Western Balkan Regulation cap raised from 25,000 to 50,000 | BDA position paper, 2026 |
| 31 December 2025 | 323,260 Kosovo citizens and 131,535 Albanian citizens registered in Germany | Destatis |
2015: The Asylum Wave and Germany’s Response
The most dramatic recent chapter came in 2015. Amid economic despair in the Western Balkans, tens of thousands of Albanians sought asylum in Germany. In 2015 Germany registered 53,805 first-time asylum applications from Albania and 33,427 from Kosovo, the second and third largest groups that year after Syria, and 120,882 first-time applications, 27.4 percent of the total, came from six Western Balkan countries (BAMF, December 2015 statistics).
Germany responded on two fronts. On 24 October 2015, it classified Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro as “safe countries of origin,” meaning asylum claims would almost always be rejected and applicants returned quickly. But at the same time, it opened a legal door: the Western Balkan Regulation, which let people from the region come to Germany on a temporary work visa if they had a job offer from a German employer. In 2016 and 2017, the first two years of the scheme, 117,123 work contracts were approved by the Federal Employment Agency and 44,093 work visas were granted (German Marshall Fund, 2018). The annual cap, set at 25,000 in 2020, was raised to 50,000 in June 2024; in 2026 the federal government announced plans to halve it again to 25,000, from 1 January 2027 according to the Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung. This combination, closing the asylum route while opening a labor route, is widely studied as a model, and it reshaped how Albanians come to Germany: today, more arrive to work and study than to seek asylum.
Where Albanians Live in Germany
323,260 Kosovo citizens and 131,535 Albanian citizens live in Germany (Destatis, 31 December 2025). These are passport counts: naturalized Germans and German-born children are not included, and not every North Macedonian citizen is Albanian, so the community is larger than any one figure. Hover or tap a state.
Shading shows Kosovo plus Albanian citizens by state. Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), foreign population by citizenship, Central Register of Foreigners, 31 December 2025.
Germany’s Albanians settled where the work was, concentrating in the economically strong states of the west and south: North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Wurttemberg, and Bavaria. Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and Cologne are among the main community centers. Berlin has seen newer growth tied to arrivals from Albania itself. Together with neighboring Switzerland and Austria, Germany forms one of the largest continuous Albanian diaspora spaces outside the Balkans, and Albanian bakeries, restaurants, and cultural clubs are now a familiar sight across its cities.
The Economic Lifeline: Remittances
The German-Albanian community is also an economic lifeline for the homeland. Money sent home, known as remittances, is a pillar of Kosovo’s economy, and Germany is its single biggest source. Remittances to Kosovo reached about 1.4 billion euros in 2025, up 59 million euros (4 percent) on 2024, according to the GAP Institute, which analyzes data from the Central Bank of Kosovo. In the most recent country breakdown we found, for the first half of 2023, 38.1 percent came from Germany, more than any other country, followed by Switzerland at 17.6 percent, so the two together sent more than half (KoSSev, citing the Central Bank of Kosovo). Behind that figure are hundreds of thousands of small acts of family loyalty: wages from Stuttgart or Munich paying for a home in Prizren or a cousin’s schooling in Gostivar. For the homeland, the German diaspora is rent paid, studies funded, and houses built.
Community, Faith, and Everyday Life
A community this large is densely organized. Cultural and folklore associations teach the music and dances of home; supplementary schools work to pass Albanian to the German-born generation; and religious life, predominantly Sunni Muslim with Catholic and Orthodox minorities, is served by dedicated institutions such as the Islamic Albanian Center in Stuttgart. Many mosque and community associations double as social hubs, running German-language courses, youth programs, and support for newcomers. It is a community both deeply woven into German working life and firmly rooted in its own identity, faithful to the idea, shared across the diaspora, that what unites Albanians is being Albanian, above any single religion. In recent years, as conditions have shifted, some families have even begun to return to towns like Tetovo, a reminder that the bond with the homeland never fully breaks.
Notable German-Albanians
Albanians have shaped German life for over a century. The great stage actor Alexander Moissi (died 1935; sources give his birth year as 1879 or 1880), whose father came from Kavajë in Albania (Neue Deutsche Biographie), moved to Berlin in 1904, became a protege of the legendary director Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater, and was celebrated as one of the finest actors of the European stage.
Today the community’s most visible face is its second generation, especially in music and sport. German-language rap and pop are full of artists of Kosovo Albanian descent: Azet‘s debut album Fast Life (2018) reached number one in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (Wikipedia); Dardan was born in Stuttgart in 1997 to a family from Deçan in Kosovo (Wikipedia); Mozzik is another Kosovo Albanian rapper with a large German-speaking audience; and Dhurata Dora, a major name in Albanian pop, was born in Nuremberg in 1992. In football, Fatmire “Lira” Bajramaj, who arrived as a Kosovo-born refugee, became a star of the German women’s national team, while Shkodran Mustafi, of Albanian origin, won the 2014 World Cup with Germany. Beyond the stage and stadium, figures such as the activist and author Zana Ramadani and the computer scientist Professor Mira Mezini reflect a community increasingly present in public and professional life. In the art world, Anri Sala and Petrit Halilaj, both based in Berlin, rank among the most acclaimed contemporary artists of their generation, shown at the Venice Biennale and in major museums worldwide. For more, see our guides to famous Albanian singers and Albanian soccer players.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Albanians live in Germany?
Well over half a million. Destatis counted 323,260 Kosovo citizens and 131,535 Albanian citizens on 31 December 2025, and the 2025 Mikrozensus found about 615,000 residents with a Kosovo migration background. There is no official count that also includes naturalized citizens and ethnic Albanians from North Macedonia and elsewhere. A conservative estimate from the official figures is about 747,000 to 846,000 people of Albanian origin, with the method shown in this guide, and the real figure is likely higher.
Where do Albanians in Germany come from?
Mostly from Kosovo, but also in large numbers from western North Macedonia (Tetovo, Gostivar, Struga, Debar), as well as Albania, Montenegro, and the Preseva Valley of Serbia.
Why did Germany declare Albania and Kosovo “safe countries”?
After asylum applications from the Western Balkans surged in 2015, Germany classified Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro as safe countries of origin in October 2015, so most claims would be rejected, while opening a separate legal work-visa route through the Western Balkan Regulation.
How important is the German diaspora to Kosovo?
Enormously. Kosovo received about 1.4 billion euros in remittances in 2025, according to the GAP Institute, and Germany is the largest single source: 38.1 percent of remittances in the first half of 2023, according to Central Bank of Kosovo figures.
How many Kosovars live in Germany?
On 31 December 2025, 323,260 Kosovo citizens were registered in Germany, according to Destatis. Counting people who have become German and the German-born children of immigrants, the 2025 Mikrozensus found about 615,000 residents with a Kosovo migration background. Not everyone from Kosovo is Albanian, but Albanians made up 90.79 percent of Kosovo’s population in its 2024 census.
How many Albanian citizens live in Germany?
131,535 at the end of 2025, according to the Central Register of Foreigners as published by Destatis. This counts only Albanian passport holders, so it leaves out Albanians who hold German, Kosovo or North Macedonian citizenship.
Can Albanians and Kosovars work in Germany?
Yes, with a work visa. Besides the general skilled-worker routes, citizens of Albania, Kosovo and the other Western Balkan countries can use the Western Balkan Regulation if they have a job offer from a German employer. Its annual cap has been 50,000 since June 2024; in 2026 the federal government announced plans to reduce it to 25,000, reported to take effect from 1 January 2027. Visa-free travel to the Schengen area, which Kosovo citizens have had since 1 January 2024, does not include the right to work.
Who are some famous Albanians in Germany?
Historically the actor Alexander Moissi; today, musicians such as Azet, Dardan, Mozzik, and Dhurata Dora, footballers such as Fatmire “Lira” Bajramaj and Shkodran Mustafi, and public figures such as Zana Ramadani and Professor Mira Mezini.
Sources
- Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), foreign population by citizenship
- Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), migration and integration reports
- Neue Deutsche Biographie: Moissi, Alexander
- Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo, remittance statistics
- GAP Institute, research on Kosovar migration to Germany
- Wikipedia: Albanians in Germany
- Destatis: Population in private households 2025 by migration background and country of birth
- Government of Kosovo: First final results of the 2024 Census (ethnic composition)
- Balkan Insight: North Macedonia census 2021, residents and non-residents counted
- Destatis: Foreign population 2018 to 2025 by selected citizenships (Central Register of Foreigners)
- Destatis: 332,500 naturalizations in 2025 (press release, June 2026)
- BAMF: Aktuelle Zahlen zu Asyl, December 2015
- German Marshall Fund: Bither and Ziebarth, the Western Balkan Regulation (2018)
- BDA: Position paper on the Western Balkan Regulation (August 2026)
- Deutsche Handwerks Zeitung: Western Balkan access to be cut
- GAP Institute: Remittances in Kosovo, 2025 (March 2026)
- KoSSev: Diaspora sent 635 million euros to Kosovo in six months (2023)
- Exit News: Monument commemorates escape of Albanian refugees to foreign embassies in 1990 (2020)
- Humboldt University of Berlin: 50 years of the German-Yugoslav recruitment agreement (2018)
Related Reading
- Albanians Around the World: The Global Diaspora
- Albanians in North Macedonia
- Is Kosovo Albanian?
- Albanians in Switzerland
Author: Dardanë Halimi
Dardanë Halimi is a writer and communications professional with an M.A. in Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication from James Madison University. Her work focuses on storytelling, digital content, higher education, and strategic communication, with experience writing for academic, nonprofit, and marketing organizations in both the United States and Kosovo.
