In 2022, approximately 8.3% of the population in the EU were unable to afford a meal containing meat, fish, or vegetarian equivalent once every two days, which is a higher percentage compared to 2021 (7.3%).

Meanwhile, 19.7% of people at risk of poverty were unable to afford such a meal.

For Albania, the data belongs to the year 2021, but it is among the highest in Europe, reflecting the inability to purchase and prepare adequate food.

According to Eurostat, 67.9% of people at risk of poverty in Albania in 2021 were unable to afford a meal containing meat, fish, or vegetarian equivalent once every two days, more than three times higher than the European average.

This figure is the highest in Europe, while there is no data reported for Kosovo. Turkey follows with 62.9%, North Macedonia with 54.8%, Bulgaria with 44.9%, and Serbia with 37%.

Not only the poor struggle to secure sufficient meals. 34.3% of the Albanian population were unable to afford a meal containing meat, fish, or vegetarian equivalent once every two days (compared to the European average of 8.3%). In this indicator, Albania ranks third highest in Europe, following Turkey with 37.3% and North Macedonia with 36.5%.

The inability to secure sufficient food is primarily linked to low-income levels and relatively high prices. Despite having lower average wages compared to other countries in the region (except Kosovo), Albanian families and individuals face higher prices in their daily purchases.

In Albania, prices were 61.3% of the European Union average, according to data reported by the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). Compared to other countries in the region, Albania is the second relatively most expensive, following Serbia with a score of 62.8%. Prices in Montenegro are 60.4% of the European Union average, in Bosnia and Herzegovina 57.6%, while North Macedonia is the cheapest in the region at 51%.

In Albania, products that are more expensive than the European average are butter (111.7%), oil (106.7%), non-alcoholic beverages (108%), and electricity (122%), according to Eurostat. Tobacco is the cheapest at 44%.

In terms of income per capita, Albania ranks last in Europe, at 34% of the European average.

• Europe

According to Eurostat, in 2022, the difference between the total population and those at risk of poverty in terms of being able to afford proper food was also noticeable across all EU countries: the highest percentage of people at risk of poverty unable to afford proper food was recorded in Bulgaria (44.6%), followed by Romania (43%) and Slovakia (40.5%).

On the other hand, the lowest percentage was recorded in Ireland (5.0%), followed by Luxembourg (5.1%) and Cyprus (5.6%).