TIRANA, Oct. 10 – Albanian households have become slightly more optimistic, but unemployment, the poor economic situation and corruption remain top concerns, and one out of two Albanians is considering leaving the country and working abroad, according to a Balkan Barometer survey published by the Regional Cooperation Council this week.
Business perception also slightly improved but corruption, macroeconomic instability and the tax administration and tax rates were rated as the top three obstacles for business operation and growth.
About 59 percent of Albanian households say they are mostly satisfied or completely satisfied with the way things are going in their society, a 3 percent deterioration compared to the 2016 Balkan Barometer.
However, when it comes to financial and national economy expectations for the next 12 months, Albanians are more optimistic compared to last year, with a third of respondents expecting the situation to improve.
In similar regional trends among six Western Balkans countries and EU member Croatia, Albanians express dissatisfaction about health and education systems, transport infrastructure, utility services, present jobs and high level of prices at slightly greater degree.
In the gender inequalities section, more than half of respondents urge the authorities to address violence against women and prejudice because of preconceived ideas about the image and role of women and men as the most pressing issues that should be dealt with most urgently.
Albanians are once again the most optimistic and positive about EU membership with 81 percent saying it’s a good thing and about 37 percent expecting the country to join the block by 2025, citing freedom to study and work in the EU and economic prosperity as the main personal benefits.
About 39 percent of Albanian households said they were unable to pay rent and utility bills for the past 12 months, considerably above the SEE-seven countries average of 23 percent.
Jobless Albanians say lack of jobs and not knowing the right people are the main two obstacles preventing them to get hired.
About 50 percent of Albanians, up 2 percent compared to 2016 and 12 percent more compared to 2015 said they would consider leaving and working abroad, but a majority of 82 percent said they were not willing to migrate to other economies in the region.
Earlier, this year a Gallup survey also showed more than half of Albania’s population is willing to leave the country for a better life elsewhere, placing Albania second in the world for this indicator.
Albania already has one of the world’s highest per capita out-migration rates, and more than a third of the country’s citizens now live abroad permanently. Albania’s resident population was 2.8 million according to the 2011 census compared to about 4.3 million in the civil registry.
Economy experts say the drain in human resources is dramatic, while demographers have warned Albania will turn into a country of old people and shrink to half its 1990 population in the next 30 years.
More than three-quarters of Albanians thinks law enforcement is not applied effectively and equally and tend to distrust the judiciary which is about to be reformed with the launch of a vetting process that will scan all judges and prosecutors over their professionalism, independence, assets.
When it comes to businesses, some 40 percent of companies say the economic situation deteriorated in the past 12 months, but about the same number expect it to improve over the next year.
Three-quarters of Albanian businesses say EU integration would be a good thing for their own companies, considerably more optimistic compared to Serbia and Montenegro which have launched accession talks with the EU.
Businesses in Albania complain the government does not take into account their concerns and corruption in public tenders is a key concern with companies refusing to take part citing reasons such as “the criteria seemed to be tailor-made for certain participants” and “the deal seemed to have been sealed before the tender was published.”
About 40 percent of companies in Albania say they occasionally and frequently bribe officials and provide gifts to get connected and maintain public services.
Due to the low exports to regional countries, Albanian companies say they find it equally the same to export to the CEFTA countries and the EU.
The opinion survey was conducted among 1,000 respondents in each economy collecting and analyzing data from region’s citizens and businesses across a variety of thematic areas such as employment, trade, investments and corruption.
