Every Albanian was 1600 euros richer in 2023, in... paper

In the new fiscal indicators that accompanied the 2025 draft budget, the per capita income of the past years at least from 2020 was corrected upward, as a result of the update of the Cens 2023 population data.

According to the latest indicators from the Ministry of Finance, the country's population in 2023 was 2.4 million inhabitants and per capita income was at least 19% higher than at the beginning of the year, where the country's GDP was divided by 2.8 million inhabitants.

Due to the change in the population figure in 2023, the Domestic Product per capita is estimated at 986 thousand ALL, from 829.9 thousand ALL that was at the beginning of the year when the country's population due to economic indicators was calculated by the Ministry of Finance 2.8 million inhabitants.

As a result of these statistical changes, every Albanian was 156,000 lek, or almost 1,600 euros, richer than before the Census, but this was only on paper.

These changes are also valid for this year, where the GDP per capita is expected to reach at the end of the year over 1 million ALL or 18.7% more than the forecasts when the country's population was estimated at 2.8 million inhabitants.

The population indicator is the most important in the statistical hierarchy for a country.

If the data about it is incorrect, then all other indicators have a high margin of error. Above all, inaccurate population figures lead to failure of all long-term reforms.

For example, a pension reform that took place in 2014 proved short-lived as the projections regarding the population had great inaccuracies.

Reading outside the indicators, GDP per capita in Euros has increased significantly in recent years due to developments in the exchange rate and population correction from 2.8 to 2.4 million inhabitants, but in reality Albania has almost half of its population 43% at risk of poverty, the highest level in Europe.

The country's population after the 2023 Census resulted in 2.4 million inhabitants with a reduction of 420 thousand inhabitants compared to the 2011 Census data.

In addition to being reduced in number, the population structure has undergone a series of changes, with the reduction of the dependency ratio of young people and the increase of the dependency ratio of the elderly, which will have multiple and complex impacts on the country's official indicators such as and in services provided, the education system, primary health care, pension scheme, urban development, etc.

2023 Census data show that one in five individuals (19.7 percent) are 65 or older, compared to one in nine individuals (11.3 percent) in the 2011 Census and 7.5 percent in the of 2001.

An aging population is a cost and burden to working age, also an elderly population has a high prevalence of chronic disease and hospital care, which is associated with the cost of occupying hospital beds or the costs of therapies or medications.

Cens data announce that after the correction with GDP growth, more funds are needed for social protection and health, which have not been reflected in the 2025 draft budget./Monitor