The two Albanian cities with the largest increase in monthly expenses
2025-10-10 09:42:08
TiranaPost
Families in the regions of Gjirokastra, Kukës and Fier had the highest increase in spending power in 2024 compared to 2023 compared to other regions of the country. INSTAT data on the Household Budget Survey show that monthly household spending in Gjirokastra increased by 2.9% in 2024, the highest level nationally, followed by Kukës with 2.5% and Fier with 2.3%. In these regions, household spending increased by more than the national average of 1.5%.
In Gjirokastër, growth is linked to the sustainable development of tourism, which, especially after the pandemic, has encouraged the opening of new family businesses. The Kukës region has experienced massive emigration of young people, mainly to the United Kingdom, in the last 15 years. The new wave of emigration has positively affected family consumption in this region, which, despite the growth, remains last in terms of the lowest level of family spending in the country.
On the other hand, households in cities such as Korça and Tirana experienced the lowest increase in spending with 0.4 and 0.5% each, registering a lower change. The slowdown in spending increases in the Capital is reflecting the maturation of the capital's economy, whose households have the largest budgets nationwide.
A family in Tirana spent an average of 108,588 lekë last year, 14.4% higher than the national average and 31% more than Kukës, the country’s poorest region. Families in the capital face higher costs than the rest of the country, due to higher housing rents and generally higher prices for food, educational services, and other goods and services in general.
Cities with the lowest household spending growth by 2024, such as Korça (0.4%), Tirana (0.5%), Lezha (0.5%) and Durrës (0.7%), are at a more mature stage of economic development. Tirana and Durrës already have consolidated markets, where the space for rapid expansion is more limited, while growth is focused more on the quality of services and innovation than on quantity.
In Korça, although agriculture and seasonal tourism have developed, the lack of new industrial investments and the departure of young people to Tirana and abroad has slowed the pace of growth. On the other hand, areas starting from a lower economic base have higher growth rates, while cities that have reached a stable level of development are moving at slower rates.
*This article was published by Monitor.al and reposted by Tiranapost.al
