A large number of Albanian immigrants in Greece are returning to their country because of the financial crisis, unemployment and reduced wages. According to figures released on Tuesday by Albania’s Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), in the period 2009-2013 about 133,544 immigrants, mainly from Greece and Italy, returned to Albania. INSTAT reports that 70.8% of migrants came from Greece and 23% from Italy. INSTAT figures also show that the average age of migrants returning home is 38.6 years. The number of Albanian immigrants returning to their country increased after the beginning of the financial crisis in 2011. The Greek Statistical Service (ELSTAT) shows that the number of Albanian nationals who left the country in the period 2011-2012 amounted to 133,787. Moreover, the number of bank deposits from non EU citizens, mainly depositors from Albania, has decreased by 30 billion euros during the past 4 years, with deposits down by 3.5 billion in the period June 2013-June 2014 alone. Data by Social Security Fund (IKA) show that the number of Albanian nationals insured in 2009 reached 121,902, while at the end of 2013 the number decreased to 85,893. The greatest drop was observed in the construction sector, where just one-third of those insured in 2009 are still registered, since construction is the sector most affected.
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