TIRANA, Aug. 9 – Albania’s mostly agriculture reliant northern regions are the country’s poorest with the GDP per capita at almost half of more industrialized Tirana and Fier regions and only a quarter of the EU 28, according to a study by INSTAT, the state statistical institute.
The report showed the 2014 GDP per capita in the northern Albanian regions of Dibra, Lezha, Shkodra and Kukes ranged from 320,000 lek (€2,318) to 343,400 lek (€2,485), compared to an average nationwide of 482,000 lek (€3,492). The gap is considerably huge compared to the regions of Tirana and Fier which had a GDP per capita of 665,300 lek (€4,817) and 592,300 lek (€4,288) respectively.
The northern Albanian statistical region which also includes central Durres, one of the country’s most prosperous regions, had a GDP per capita expressed in purchasing power standard, an artificial currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries, at only 23.6 percent of the EU 28 in 2014.
The Albanian economy grew by 2 percent in 2014, before accelerating to 2.6 percent in 2015. Forecasts for 2016 range between 3 to 3.4 percent.
The industry sector accounted for almost 15 percent of the GDP in 2014 when it reached its peak just before receiving a severe blow following a slump in commodity prices affecting domestic oil and mineral production and exports.
INSTAT data shows the services sector accounted for 52.4 percent of the GDP in 2014 followed by agriculture 22.9 percent, industry with 14.7 percent and construction with 10 percent.
The southwestern region of Fier, mainly relying on oil production and agriculture, had a 0.59 percentage point contribution to the GDP in 2014, the second highest after Tirana’s 1.36 percentage point.
The INSTAT findings also contradict the latest 2016 Human Development Index on Albania saying traditional analysis of inequality in Albania, often pointing out to a north-south divide, is no longer borne by the HDI analysis.
Using Albania’s statistical division that divides the country into 12 prefectures, the UNDP report shows there are no major north-south differences in the Human Development Index focused on the average longevity, the level of education and per capita gross income.
The findings are however based on a state statistical division that also includes central Albania Durres region in the north along with the prefectures of Shkodra, Kukà«s, Dibra and Lezha. Central Albania comprises the prefectures of Tirana and Elbasan while Berat, Fier, Vlora, Gjirokastra and Korà§a regions are included in the south.
Albania has a resident population of 2.8 million people and is projected to further shrink as birth rates have significantly dropped and immigration continues. More than 1 million migrants live and work only in neighboring Italy and Greece.
Albania has one of Europe’s lowest consumer prices but suffers the poorest consumption per capita, according to a report by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Albania’s GDP per capita expressed in PPS was 70 percent below the EU average in 2015 better only compared to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 29 percent of the EU average.
The Albanian economy, whose current GDP is at about €10 billion, has grown between 1 to 3 percent in the past seven crisis years compared to a pre-crisis decade of 6 percent annually.
