Kukes, the poorest region in the country! How much was the per capita income in the year we left behind

The economic performance of Kukës region shows the indiscriminate use of natural resources, the use of which does not bring income to the city.

Cities with such conditions in Europe are the richest because they benefit through the rent of income from the use of assets.

If the economy of Tirana remains in place, Kukës would take at least 20 years to grow by 2% per year to reach the level of the capital. The northern city is also ranked among the poorest in Europe and for this fact is rapidly depopulating by external and internal emigration.

The Covid-19 pandemic has further deepened inequality between regions of the country. The North, the economically weakest region of the country has been further impoverished during 2020, as its economy fell at a faster pace than in the other two regions of the country, the Center and the South.

The national economy fell by 3.5% during the pandemic year 2020, but in the Northern Region, which includes the regions of Shkodra, Kukes, Dibra, Lezha and Durres, the decline was 5.25%. In the Center region, which includes the regions of Tirana and Elbasan, the economic decline during the pandemic was 2.8%, while in the South region, which includes the regions of Berat, Fier, Korça, Gjirokastra and Vlora, the decline was 3.23 percent.

In recent years economic growth is being distributed unevenly increasing the concentration of the economy and income in the center of the country. During 2021 only Tirana, Fieri and Gjirokastra had incomes above the national average./Monitor/