Economy - overview:
Albania, a formerly closed, centrally-planned state, is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. Macroeconomic growth averaged around 6% between 2004-08, but declined to about 3% in 2009-11. 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. Remittances, a significant catalyst for economic growth declined from 12-15% of GDP to 9% of GDP in 2009, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy. The agricultural sector, which accounts for almost 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 - 98% of the electrical power produced in Albania - and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment and lack of success in attracting new foreign investment needed to expand the country's export base. FDI is among the lowest in the region, but the government has embarked on an ambitious program to improve the business climate through fiscal and legislative reforms. The completion of a new thermal power plant near Vlore has helped diversify generation capacity, and plans to upgrade 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. The country will continue to face challenges from increasing public debt, approaching its statutory limit of 60% of GDP. Strong trade, remittance, and banking sector ties with Greece and Italy make Albania vulnerable to spillover effects of the global financial crisis.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - composition by sector: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: Investment (gross fixed): Budget: Taxes and other revenues: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): Public debt: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Market value of publicly traded shares: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Electricity - production: Electricity - consumption: Electricity - exports: Electricity - imports: Oil - production: Oil - consumption: Oil - exports: Oil - imports: Natural gas - production: Natural gas - consumption: Natural gas - exports: Natural gas - imports: Natural gas - proved reserves: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Exchange rates:
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Albania on this page is re-published from the 2012 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Albania Economy 2012 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Albania Economy 2012 should be addressed to the CIA.
$24.99 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 116
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
[see also: GDP country ranks ]
$13.3 billion (2011 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
2.5% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 139
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$7,800 (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
agriculture: 20.2%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 19.5%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks ]
services: 60.3% (2011 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks ]
1.053 million (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 47.8%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 23%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services: 29.2% (September 2010 est.)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]
13.4% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140
note: these are official rates, but actual rates may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
12.5% (2008 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: 3.5%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: 29% (2008)
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]
34.5 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 91
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]
31% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 27
[see also: Investment (gross fixed) country ranks ]
revenues: $3.405 billion
[see also: Budget revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $3.87 billion (2011 est.)
[see also: Budget expenditures country ranks ]
25.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]
-3.5% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]
59.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]
3.9% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
5% (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 71
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
13.2% (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$2.741 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$6.37 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$8.506 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
$NA
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]
wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products
food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
3% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
5.201 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 113
[see also: Electricity - production country ranks ]
6.593 billion kWh
country comparison to the world: 102
note: 35% of electricity is lost in the system as a result of transmission inefficiencies and theft (2009 est.)
[see also: Electricity - consumption country ranks ]
0 kWh (2009 est.)
[see also: Electricity - exports country ranks ]
1.884 billion kWh (2009 est.)
[see also: Electricity - imports country ranks ]
10,930 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
[see also: Oil - production country ranks ]
33,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
[see also: Oil - consumption country ranks ]
1,004 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119
[see also: Oil - exports country ranks ]
22,880 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108
[see also: Oil - imports country ranks ]
30 million cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
[see also: Natural gas - production country ranks ]
30 million cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 110
[see also: Natural gas - consumption country ranks ]
0 cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
[see also: Natural gas - exports country ranks ]
0 cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 150
[see also: Natural gas - imports country ranks ]
849.5 million cu m (1 January 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 101
[see also: Natural gas - proved reserves country ranks ]
-$1.38 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 144
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$1.886 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
Italy 50.8%, Kosovo 6.2%, Turkey 5.9%, Greece 5.4%, China 5.5% (2010 est.)
$5.022 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals
Italy 28%, Greece 13%, China 6.3%, Turkey 5.6%, Germany 5.6% (2010 est.)
$2.725 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$5.7 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
leke (ALL) per US dollar -
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 07-Mar-12