Albania poorest in Europe, Eurostat report

TIRANA, June 22 – Albania ranks last in Europe for its per capita GDP performance with only 27 percent of EU average despite being one of the few countries which did not suffer a recession last year, according to the latest Eurostat data.
Albania ranked last in the 37-country lists behind Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina which scored, 43, 37 and 30 percent of the EU27 average GDP per inhabitant expressed in purchasing power standards, an artificial reference currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries.
Kosovo, whose rate is probably worse than Albania was not included in the study.
The latest Eurostat statistics, based on preliminary estimates for 2009, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS) varied from 41 per cent to 268 per cent of the EU27 average among members.
Bulgaria and Romania once again fared badly in a recent Europe-wide survey of GDP per capita performance, occupying the last two places in the European Union with 41 and 45 per cent of the EU average respectively.
Revised estimates will be published in December 2010.
The Albanian economy saw a significant decline in its growth rate in 2009, from 7.9 per cent in 2008 to an estimated 3.3 per cent in 2009, but remained one of the few European economies which did not suffer a recession.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says Albanian GDP will grow by 1.4 percent this year while the IMF expects 2.3 percent in 2010 and 3.2 in 2011.