| Economy | Albania |
 = Fields  = World Records  = Dictionary  = Bar graph  = Distribution map  = Fields History  = Definitions |
Economy - overview:
|
Lagging behind its Balkan neighbors, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. Macroeconomic growth has averaged around 5% over the last five years and inflation is low and stable. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime, and recently adopted a fiscal reform package aimed at reducing the large gray economy and attracting foreign investment. The economy is bolstered by annual remittances from abroad representing about 15% of GDP, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy; this helps offset the towering trade deficit. The agricultural sector, which accounts for over half of employment but only about one-fifth of GDP, is limited primarily to small family operations and subsistence farming because of lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots of land. Energy shortages because of a reliance on hydropower, and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment and lack of success in attracting new foreign investment. The completion of a new thermal power plant near Vlore has helped diversify generation capacity, and plans to improve transmission lines between Albania and Montenegro and Kosovo would help relieve the energy shortages. Also, with help from EU funds, the government is taking steps to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$21.82 billion (2008 est.)
$20.57 billion (2007)
$19.4 billion (2006)
note: Albania has a large informal sector that may be as large as 50% of official GDP |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$6,000 (2008 est.)
$5,700 (2007 est.)
$5,400 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$13.52 billion (2008 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
|
6.1% (2008 est.)
6% (2007 est.)
5.5% (2006 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 20.6%
industry: 19.9%
services: 59.5% (2008 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
|
22.8% of GDP (2008 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
|
25% (2004 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 24.4% (2004) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
26.7 (2005) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
4% (2008 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
|
6.25% (31 December 2007) |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
|
14.1% (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money:
|
$2.707 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
|
744 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
|
$6.433 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
|
1,768 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
|
$7.341 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
|
2,018 USD per capita |
Labor force:
|
1.09 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (September 2006 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
|
29.95 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture: 58%
industry: 15%
services: 27% (September 2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate:
|
12.5% official rate, but may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming (2008 est.) |
Budget:
|
revenues: $3.771 billion
expenditures: $4.538 billion (2008 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
|
1,037 USD per capita |
Public debt:
|
51.2% of GDP (2008 est.) |
Industries:
|
food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
Industrial production growth rate:
|
3% (2008 est.) |
Electricity - production:
|
2.892 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
|
795 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
|
3.607 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
|
992 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - imports:
|
2.8 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Oil - production:
|
6,425 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
|
1,766 bbl/day per capita |
Oil - consumption:
|
30,900 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
|
3.10 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
|
748.9 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Oil - imports:
|
24,860 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
|
199.1 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
|
30 million cu m (2006 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
|
9 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - consumption:
|
30 million cu m (2006 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
|
9 cu m per capita |
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
|
0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
849.5 million cu m (1 January 2008 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
|
wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products |
Current account balance:
|
-$1.639 billion (2008 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
|
-450 USD per capita |
Exports:
|
$1.416 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) |
Exports per capita:
|
390 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
|
textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco |
Exports - partners:
|
Italy 72%, Greece 8.8%, China 2.7% (2007) |
Imports:
|
$4.844 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) |
Imports per capita:
|
1,331 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
|
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
Imports - partners:
|
Italy 27.6%, Greece 14.8%, Turkey 7.4%, China 6.8%, Germany 5.6%, Switzerland 5%, Russia 4.2% (2007) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$2.479 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
|
682 USD per capita |
Debt - external:
|
$1.55 billion (2004) |
Debt - external - per capita:
|
426 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
|
void |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
$NA |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
|
void |
Economic aid - donor:
|
void |
Economic aid - recipient:
|
ODA: $318.7 million
note: top donors were Italy, EU, Germany (2005 est.) |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
|
88 USD per capita |
Currency (code):
|
lek (ALL)
note: the plural of lek is leke |
Exchange rates:
|
leke (ALL) per US dollar - 79.546 (2008 est.), 92.668 (2007), 98.384 (2006), 102.649 (2005), 102.78 (2004) |
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |
|
= Fields = World Records = Dictionary = Bar graph = Distribution map = Fields History = Definitions |
|
Home 
Geographic Names
Chiefs of State
Intl. Organizations
Intl. Environmental Agree.
Other References
