TIRANA, April 06ؔhe Ministry of Finance declared that the average GDP per person increased to 3160 EUR (4200 USD) in 2008 from 2370 EUR (3150 USD) in 2007. However, part of the average GDP increase was not only due to growth in real economy, but also as due to favorable exchange rates. Average income per person in Albania is measured in USD while economic activity is measured in Albanian leke (ALL). As a result, the strengthening of ALL toward a weak USD during 2008 favors the conversion of economic growth from ALL to USD.
Up to 2006, Albania has registered slower growth compared to the average growth in South Eastern Europe (SEE). SEE’s average growth in 2006 was 6.8% while Albania grew by only 5%. However, the situation has changed considerably during the last two years due to the effects of the global economic crisis.
Data from Raiffeisen REASERCH and Thomson Financial Datastream (Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies) forecast Albania to have the highest GDP growth in 2009 than all the other countries in SEE. Albania, together with Romania and Montenegro, has experienced the highest growth in 2007 and the small Balkan country is expected to keep a positive growth trend in the next years.
Average income per person in Albania has gradually increased in the last 14 years, suffering a single hiccup in 1997 when Albanians lost an estimated 1.2 billion USD in pyramidal schemes.
Average Income per Person since 2000
Year GDP per person in USD
2000 1333
2001 1421
2002 1510
2003 1950
2004 2560
2005 2336
2006 2883
2007 3153
2008 4200
