Agriculture and industry are declining, who is contributing to economic growth?

One of the arguments most often heard in public opinion is that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is growing. And it is true. According to INSTAT, the Albanian economy also grew during 2025.

But the question that thousands of young people who are protesting today are asking is much more important than the numbers themselves: What economy is growing? Who is contributing to its growth? The INSTAT report shows that agriculture, one of the most important sectors of the Albanian economy, made a negative contribution. Industry made a negative contribution. Meanwhile, a significant part of the growth came from public administration, education, health and net taxes on products.

So, while the productive economy weakens, the distributive economy continues to expand.

This is where the problem begins. And this problem did not arise today. For more than a decade, Albania has not been moving towards an economy based on production, competition and merit. On the contrary, a model has been gradually built where the weight of the state has constantly increased and where public administration has become an important instrument of power.

Meanwhile, in many Western countries, administrative bloat is avoided, as governments know very well what consequences it brings. They know that a state that artificially expands beyond the real needs of society harms productivity, burdens taxpayers, and creates a relationship of dependence between citizens and the government.

In developed democracies, the success of a government is measured by the number of businesses created, productivity that increases, exports that expand, and opportunities that open up for citizens.

For years, a different philosophy has been cultivated in our country. Many people have become accustomed to seeing the state not as a guarantor of equal rules, but as the main source of economic privilege.

Meanwhile, public funds, which should have gone to the development of production, education, agriculture, scientific research, or support for entrepreneurship, have been used largely to feed an increasingly large and expensive state.

But something has changed. The young. The generation protesting today seems to have understood better than anyone else that this economic and political model only produces dependence instead of freedom.

Because it's not just a protest against a government. It's a protest for meritocracy. For economic freedom. For dignity. For the right of every young person to build their life thanks to the skills they have and not thanks to the connections they can provide. After all, the protesters are not asking how much GDP has increased.

They are asking a much deeper question:

If this is the path to success, why is the generation that should build the future of Albania leaving? And until this question is given an honest answer, the protests will not only continue, but will find more and more citizens who will join them. /Eduart Sharka, Monitor