Creating Markets in Albania: Country Private Sector Diagnostic

Albania ― a small economy endowed with considerable natural assets and a key geographical location ― has made major strides in raising per capita income and integrating into the world economy. In the 2000s, strong and sustained gross domestic product (GDP) growth enabled Albania to become an upper-middle-income country. A dynamic private sector has been the engine of the country’s economic growth and trade integration with global and European markets. However, over the last decade, total factor productivity growth has been weak and, coupled with a fairly undiversified export base, has left the economy highly vulnerable to external shocks and unable to sustain a higher GDP growth path.