Key Stages in Albanian Emigration | Albania | bpb.de

There were three key stages on which this Albanian 'drama' of mass exodus was played: the very first post-communist years of extreme poverty, political and physical insecurity and general chaos (1990-1993); the break-down of law and order nearing civil war which followed the collapse of corrupt pyramid 'savings' schemes in 1997; and the destabilization of the country following the Kosovo war in 1999 and the resulting inflow of nearly half a million Albanian refugees fleeing Milosevic's terror. The 2000s have generally been a peaceful decade as far as the political scene is concerned, and, combined with the inflow of migrant remittances, the country's economic situation has significantly improved. Migration has continued, albeit not at the scale and with the same features of the previous decade.