TIRANA, Nov. 3 – Albania improved its position in the 2015 Prosperity Index published by London-based Legatum Institute think tank by one place ranking 83rd globally, but yet leaving behind only Bosnia and Herzegovina among its regional competitors.
The Index, distinctive because of being the only global measurement of prosperity based on both income and well-being, shows Albania’s best performance is in the Safety & Security sub-index ranking 47th among 142 economies globally. Health ranks Albania 65th on a low level of health expenditure per person, but a life expectancy of 77.5 years compared to a global average of 71.
Albania ranked 71st on education with about 56 percent of the surveyed people saying they are satisfied with the quality of education in the area they live compared to a global average of 65 percent.
The report ranks Albania 73rd on ‘entrepreneurship & opportunity’ with 54 percent of people describing the country as a good place for entrepreneurs to start a business.
Personal freedom ranks Albania 82nd with 73.5 percent of people saying they are satisfied with their freedom of choice.
Albania ranks 91st in governance with poor public confidence in the judicial system and a perception of highly corrupt business community and government. The report ranks Albania’s economy 109th on a small market size, high level of non-performing loans and high unemployment.
Only about half of surveyed people, some 48 percent, said they were satisfied with their living standards compared to a global average of 60 percent.
Albania’s lowest rank is in the ‘social capital’ sub-index, where it ranks 138th. Only two-thirds of the people say they can rely on friends and family for help compared to a global average of 80.4 percent. Only 9 percent of the people said they had volunteered in the past month compared to an average of 20 percent globally.
This year’s prosperity index was led by Norway, Switzerland and Denmark.
