Prices in Albania are increasing faster than in European countries

Prices in Albania are increasing faster than in European countries. This is confirmed by the latest figures supplied by the country’s office for statistics, INSTAT.  These figures suggest that prices in Albania during the month of February increased by 2.1%, while in European countries they increased on average by 1.6%. What’s more, prices for consumer goods are the ones to register the biggest increase in Albania, but also prices for rents, power supply, etc.  “Food and beverage have also seen the biggest increase in prices with 4.9%. This group is followed by ‘Hotels, bars and restaurants’ with 2.8%; ‘Rent, water, fuel and power supply’ have increased by 0.6%’; ‘Goods and different services have increased by 0,3%”, experts of INSTAT say.

These figures suggest that living costs for Albanians have risen, something that doesn’t even happen in European developed countries such as France, Austria, Finland or Denmark, where price increase in the month of February has been lower than the average increase for the EU, namely 1.6%. But even in neighbouring countries such as Italy or Greece, average price increase was around 1%. Meanwhile, it must be stressed that Albania could be compared to countries such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, etc, because price increases in these countries were around 2%. Meanwhile, the biggest increase for February was in Romania, where prices have increased by as much as 4%.

Which goods are costing less than before?

While the price for food products is always on the rise, there are also other things in the country that cost cheaper. What are they? According to the Institute of Statistics, they include transport, leisure, etc. This seems to be favouring the sector of tourism, although it needs to be said that prices of accommodation in hotels have also increased.