TIRANA, Sept. 28 – Albania climbed 13 steps to rank 80th among 138 economies, leaving behind almost all regional competitors, but corruption was rated as a top concern for enterprises, according to the latest Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum, a Switzerland-based think tank.
This year’s report showed corruption is the most problematic factor for doing business in Albania, differently from last year when it was rated as the third top concern. Corruption was the top concern for 23.6 percent of respondents in 2016 compared to 13.8 percent in 2015 when tax rates were ranked as the most problematic factor. The latter were the second top issue of concern for 21.3 percent of respondents.
Albania has recently approved a long-awaited justice reform that is expected to transform the highly perceived corrupt judiciary, a key concern for the business community in the country.
Since 2014, the corporate income tax and the withholding tax on dividends, rents and capital gains have increased by 5 percent to 15 percent, making the tax burden in Albania one of the region’s highest.
Inadequately educated workforce climbed to the third most problematic factor for doing business in 2016.
Access to financing and policy instability were a concern for about 19 percent of respondents, showed the survey.
The 2016-2017 global competitiveness report ranked Albania 74th on basic requirements which includes institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment and health and primary education. Efficiency enhancers, involving higher education and training, labour market efficiency, financial market development, rank the country 86th. Albania ranked slightly worse on innovation and sophistication factors at 106th.
Only neighboring Macedonia outperformed Albania among EU aspirant Western Balkans competitors, ranking 68th in the report which measures competitiveness as a set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of an economy’s productivity.
Neighboring Montenegro ranked 82nd, Serbia 90th and Bosnia and Herzegovina 107th in the 2016-2017 report highlighting that declining openness is threatening growth and prosperity.
The report describes Albania as a country with a population of 2.8 million people and a GDP per capita of $3,995.
Albania achieved its best rating at the global competitiveness report in the 2011-2012 report when it ranked 78th.
