| 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 2% in 2009. 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 needed to expand the country's export base. 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. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $22.59 billion (2009 est.) $22.13 billion (2008 est.) $20.85 billion (2007 est.) note: data are in 2009 US dollars Albania has an informal, and unreported, sector that may be as large as 50% of official GDP |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $11.73 billion (2009 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 2.1% (2009 est.) 6.1% (2008 est.) 6% (2007 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $6,200 (2009 est.) $6,100 (2008 est.) $5,800 (2007 est.) note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 20.6% industry: 18.8% services: 60.6% (2009 est.) |
| Labor force: | 1.103 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (2009 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 58% industry: 15% services: 27% (September 2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 12% (2009 est.) 12.5% (2008 est.) note: these are official rates, but actual rates may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming |
| Population below poverty line: | 25% (2004 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 25.9% (2005) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 26.7 (2005) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.1% (2009 est.) 3.4% (2008 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 23.7% of GDP (2009 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $3.46 billion expenditures: $4.099 billion (2009 est.) |
| Public debt: | 54.9% of GDP (2009 est.) 51.9% of GDP (2008 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products |
| Industries: | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
| Industrial production growth rate: | -4% (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 2.888 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 3.603 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2008 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 2.475 billion kWh (2008 est.) |
| Oil - production: | 5,985 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: | 34,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | 749 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
| Oil - imports: | 24,080 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
| Oil - proved reserves: | 199.1 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 30 million cu m (2008 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 30 million cu m (2008 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2008 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2008 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 849.5 million cu m (1 January 2009 est.) |
| Current account balance: | $-1.195 billion (2009 est.) $-1.906 billion (2008 est.) |
| Exports: | $1.194 billion (2009 est.) $1.345 billion (2008 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco |
| Exports - partners: | Italy 55.9%, Greece 11.6%, China 7.2% (2008) |
| Imports: | $3.602 billion (2009 est.) $4.898 billion (2008 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
| Imports - partners: | Italy 32.2%, Greece 13.1%, Turkey 7.2%, Germany 6.6%, China 4.5%, Russia 4.4% (2008) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $1.747 billion (31 December 2009 est.) $2.364 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $1.55 billion (2004 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $NA |
| Exchange rates: | leke (ALL) per US dollar - 93.928 (2009), 79.546 (2008), 92.668 (2007), 98.384 (2006), 102.649 (2005) |
