Eurostat: Northern Albania between the two poorest areas in Europe

Northern Albania together with the Van Region in Turkey turn out to be the poorest in Europe, based on the per capita income indicator measured by purchasing power in relation to the EU average, Eurostat's 2024 Regional Yearbook refers.

According to Eurostat, the purchasing power in the Northern Region of Albania (Durrës, Dibër, Kukës, Lezhë and Shkodër) is 25% of the EU average, leaving behind the Eastern Van Region in Turkey with 24% of the EU average. .

The region of the Center of the country with the districts of Elbasan and Tirana has the greatest convergence with the economic level of the EU. In this region, the purchasing power is 38% of the EU average, reports Eurostat, which refers that the Southern Region in Albania (Berat, Fier, Gjirokastër, Korçë and Vlorë) has the purchasing power of 28% of the EU average in 2022 , one of the poorest in Europe.

In total, Albania's per capita income in relation to purchasing power is 34% of the EU average in 2022. Although our economy is growing faster than in the countries of the Western Balkans, Albanian families and individuals are still poorer than the countries other neighboring ones, especially when measured by income according to purchasing power.

The data show that regional differences within the country are deepening.

According to INSTAT data, the country's economy grew by 27.8% from 2011 to 2021, while the GDP of the North Region grew by only 16.4%.

Within the North region, the weakest performance is the Kukës District, whose economy has declined by 6.6% in the last decade. While the real GDP growth in the Shkodër region was only 1.7% during 2011-2022 at a time when the national economy grew by almost 28%.

The country's economic growth in the last decade has been unevenly distributed across its regions. Year after year, the center of the country is getting stronger economically, while the North and South regions have grown below the national average.

The counties of Dibra and Kukës, which were rated as the poorest in 2011, have further impoverished in the last decade. The economic and social policies are not ensuring social cohesion and because of this phenomenon, the regions of the country, especially the North, are rapidly depopulating, mainly choosing emigration, even though they have many natural resources.

In Albania, there is a lack of regional development policies and often central government funding does not have a fair distribution in relation to needs. For example, despite the fact that official data shows that Kukësi and Shkodra are worsening their economic level, the government directs investments to districts that have less local needs and have more potential to develop.

Data from the Ministry of Finance show that in 2023, a total of 16.6 billion ALL (own funds + central budget transfer) was invested in the 12 large municipalities of the country, representing the centers of the prefectures, out of 31.6 billion ALL of planned.

More detailed data show that the municipalities of the North had a better realization of funds in relation to the program compared to other municipalities./Monitor