TIRANA, Oct. 21 – Albania is seeing some good economic growth in 2021, following the first pandemic year and the related negative growth, but recovery will be sluggish in the next two years, according to the World Bank’s periodic report on economic developments in the Western Balkans.
The Albanian economy is expected to grow this year by 7.2 percent, one of the highest levels in the region, ranking second after Montenegro, where the GDP growth is projected to reach 10.8 percent growth. Kosovo trails in closely after Albania at 7.1 percent
The growth in Albania’s economy is mainly based on the services and construction sectors.
According to the head of the World Bank office in Tirana, Emanuel Salinas, “more stable growth in other sectors is still an area of opportunity for the country.”
The World Bank forecasts that growth will decline significantly in the next two years, being reduced to an average of 3.8 percent for 2022 and 3.7 percent for 2023.
Its further performance, according to the World Bank, will be affected by the pandemic situation, including the vaccination process, which in Albania is progressing at a slow pace, but also by other factors that are expected to affect the entire region, such as rising energy prices that will have an impact on the economy in the coming months.
“Uncertainty remains high and this requires action or caution in policy-making by the authorities,” Salinas said.
Albania is also one of the highest fiscal deficit and public debt countries in the region.
According to the World Bank, the rapid recovery of the economy has also affected poverty, the level of which is expected to fall in the pre-pandemic quotas.
However, according to the World Bank data, Albania is the country with the highest level of poverty in the region, at 30.8 percent, while other countries are in significantly lower quotas.
