Albania » Introduction

Basic Economic Facts

By Western European standards Albania is a poor country. Albania's per capita income is among the lowest in Europe, but economic conditions in Albania are gradually improving. Mostly people are employed in the agricultural sector but the construction and services sector is growing and would provide more job opportunities. The tourist industry seems to be doing better, it attracted 170m Euros in revenue in 2007 according to the Bank of Albania. Between 2003-2007, Albania experienced an average 5.5% annual growth in GDP. The GDP is comprised of agriculture (approximately 24%), industry (approximately 13%), service sector (approximately 39%), transport and communication (12%), construction (11%), and remittances from Albanian workers abroad mostly in Greece and Italy (approximately 12.8%). The unemployment rate is 13.5% (2007). Albania is trying hard to attract foreign investment and promote domestic investment. There are ofcourse difficulties but the situation has improved and looks promising. The Albanian Government faces the daunting task of rationalizing and uniformly applying business laws, improving transparency in business procedures, restructuring the tax systems (including tax collection), reducing corruption in the bureaucracy, and resolving property ownership disputes.