According to data from Eurostat, Albania is the poorest country in Europe with a GDP that is 31% of the EU average.
This means it will take the country decades to reach the economic standards of the rest of the EU and it has poor economic potential.
Those with the highest GDP in Europe were Luxembourg followed by Ireland, both with 93% above the EU average. Other top performers included Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands. In terms of EU member states, Bulgaria was the worst-performing with 47% of the EU average.
Other Western Balkan countries performed poorly with Bosnia and Herzegovina narrowly outpacing Albania. North Macedonia had the third-lowest GDP, and Serbia the fourth-lowest
Democratic Party Leader Lulzim Basha commented on the results, claiming that Albanians also received the lowest amount of aid during the pandemic, leading to higher levels of poverty.
