Historical and prospective dimensions of aging in the Western Balkans

The background paper provides literature review of Historical and Prospective Dimensions of Aging in the Western Balkans. It represents one of the most comprehensive regional analyses of demographic transition, ageing, and socioeconomic transformation in the post-socialist Western Balkans—specifically Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia. Produced by the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM), this study addresses a growing policy and academic gap: the absence of integrated demographic, economic, and institutional analyses that connect low fertility, out-migration, and population ageing to fiscal sustainability, social protection, and labourmarket performance in non- EU Southeastern Europe. The study to this end advances a comparative framework linking demographic processes to macroeconomic variables— employment, productivity, fiscal balance, and social expenditure. The Historical and Prospective Dimensions of Aging in the Western Balkans thus serves as both a diagnostic and strategic instrument: a foundation for evidence-based policymaking to support EU accession, as well as crossregional cooperation on social inclusion and demographic as well as economic resilience.