Albania and Kosovo record the lowest average wages in the Balkans

Albania’s average gross annual salary for 2025 is €10,300 (about €860 per month), placing it at the bottom of the Western Balkans wage rankings. Kosovo’s average gross annual salary is even lower at €7,668, also ranking last among the region’s countries. By contrast, Serbia, Bosnia‑Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia report average gross salaries of €15,480, €14,940, €14,472 and €13,200 respectively. The European Union average gross annual salary is roughly €50,000 – about five times higher than Albania’s figure – with Germany paying €66,700 and the United Kingdom €65,340. The large wage gap is a key driver of Albanian and Kosovar migration; Eurostat data show that between 2022‑2024 an average of 20,000 work permits per year were issued to Albanian nationals, mainly for Germany, Italy and Greece. The European Union has granted about 72,000 new residence permits since 2021 for Albanian workers, representing roughly 13 % of private‑sector employment outside agriculture.