Emigration
83% of Albanians want to leave their country, according to a survey published in 2023 by the Regional Cooperation Council, the European Union's agency for Balkan integration. In fact, some 80,000 people leave Albania every year. Of these, 70% choose France and the UK. According to the Regional Cooperation Council, the main reasons for this massive exodus are the cost of living, unemployment and lack of educational prospects.
Poverty
With an average net salary of €700 per capita in 2024, Albania is the fourth poorest country in Europe, behind Ukraine, Moldavia and Northern Macedonia. Yet it still boasts a relatively high growth rate: +4.8% in 2022, +3.6% in 2023, +3.3% in 2024. But this only benefits part of the population. In 2022, the World Bank estimated that 22% of Albanians were living below the poverty line, compared with an EU average of 10%. Some 14% of Albanians live on less than €7 a day. Around half of the working population is employed in agriculture, although this sector accounts for only 21% of GDP. Unemployment is expected to be around 11% in 2024. But this figure hides, once again, profound inequalities: among 18-34 year-olds, it exceeds 50%.
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(entdossierthemarub)2620:texteMafia
The term "Albanian mafia"(Mafia Shqiptare) refers to the local criminal organizations that have sprung up since 1990. Some fifteen clans or families are said to be involved in various illegal trades on an international scale. Their weight in the national economy, though difficult to estimate, is considerable. Since the mid-2010s, a number of institutions and the media have emphasized that Albania has become "Europe's leading narco-state". Not only is it the continent's leading marijuana-producing country, but the Albanian mafia now controls the majority of drug networks: marijuana from North Africa, cocaine from South America, heroin from Central Asia and synthetic drugs. The mafia is also heavily involved in human trafficking, with smuggling and prostitution networks throughout Europe.
