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Although in the first months of this year Albania had the lowest inflation rates in the Region, its citizens are the most worried in relation to the other 5 countries regarding the high level of prices, the Balkan Barometer 2022 revealed.
As can be seen from the attached table, about 64% of respondents in Albania are totally dissatisfied with the level of prices, as they consider them high and unaffordable with their income.
Albania had the highest percentage of people who were very concerned about prices at around 64% compared to the regional average (52%). The data from the tables show that 92% of Albanians are worried and dissatisfied with the level of prices, while 84% of Bosniaks, 72% of Serbs, 59% of Kosovars, 84% of Montenegrins feel this way.
Albania had no citizen who considered the price level normal, while in other countries of the Region, this category occupied from 1 to 10%.
The survey data show that Kosovo Albanians had the lowest levels of dissatisfaction with prices in relation to the countries of the Region, while Albanians from Albania had the highest.
The statistical data of the countries show that Albania had the lowest level of price increase this year. In May, inflation in Albania was 6.7%, while in Bosnia 14.4%, in Serbia 10.4%, in Montenegro 11.7%, Macedonia 11.9% and Kosovo with 12.5%.
The World Bank recently pointed out that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the Balkans Region does not necessarily reflect the inflation experienced by the poorest households, as their expenditure composition differs from that of the average household and this is more visible in Albania.
Households in the poorest decile experience systematically higher inflation than the average and wealthiest households. In the case of Albania and North Macedonia, the CPI reflects more closely the composition of the consumption of the richest households than of the average households.
The higher inflation faced by the poor partly reflects the higher burden of food spending. For an average household in the Western Balkans, food is the largest expenditure category, ranging from 28 percent of total expenditures in Serbia, to 44 percent in Albania and 52 percent in Kosovo.
The share of food in monthly expenditure is highest among the poorest families, who spend up to 78 percent of their total consumption expenditure on food.
According to the official CPI, in the entire region, in 2021, food prices increased faster than the total basket of goods tracked by inflation, except for North Macedonia./B.Hoxha/Monitor.al
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