Economy - overview An extremely poor country by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993-95 after a severe depression accompanying the collapse of the previous centrally planned system in 1990 and 1991. However, a weakening of government resolve to maintain stabilization policies in the election year of 1996 contributed to renewal of inflationary pressures, spurred by the budget deficit which exceeded 12%. The collapse of financial pyramid schemes in early 1997 - which had attracted deposits from a substantial portion of Albania's adult population - triggered severe social unrest which led to more than 1,500 deaths, widespread destruction of property, and an 8% drop in GDP. The new government installed in July 1997 has taken strong measures to restore public order and to revive economic activity and trade. The economy continues to be bolstered by remittances of some 20% of the labor force which works abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP and help offset the large foreign trade deficit. Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes.

GDP purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate -8% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,370 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 56%
industry: 21%
services: 23% (1995)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 40% (1997 est.)

Labor force
total: 1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed)
by occupation: agriculture (nearly all private) 49.5%, private sector 22.2%, state (nonfarm) sector 28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%); note - includes only those domestically employed

Unemployment rate 14% (October 1997) officially, but likely to be as high as 28%

Budget
revenues: $624 million
expenditures: $996 million, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower

Industrial production growth rate 6% (1995 est.)

Electricity - capacity 1.892 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production 4.435 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 1,314 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock

Exports
total value: $228 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
partners: Italy, Greece, Germany, Belgium, US

Imports
total value: $879 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: machinery, consumer goods, grains
partners: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Debt - external $645 million (1996)

Economic aid
recipient: $630 million pledged 1997

Currency 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars

Exchange rates leke (L) per US$1 - 152.28 (January 1998), 148.93 (1997), 104.50 (1996), 92.70 (1995), 94.62 (1994), 102.06 (1993)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Albania on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Albania Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Albania Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.