2025, Tirana with the highest living costs in the Region, from food

2025-01-09 07:40:00, Ekonomi CNA

Out of 141 European cities, Tirana was ranked 92nd for the high cost of living according to the index published earlier this year by "Numbeo", a global database that measures the cost of living anywhere in the world.

According to the index for January 2025, Tirana is the most expensive capital in the region, leaving behind Serbia, Skopje, Sarajevo, Podgorica, and even Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest, etc.

The cost of living index is calculated as a percentage of the cost of New York. For example, living costs in Tirana are 41.9% of NY. In Belgrade the cost of living is 39.4% of New York, in Podgorica 35%, in Sarajevo 33.5%, in Skopje 31.7% and Prishtina 25.3%

The cost of living index takes into account rent costs, other monthly expenses other than rent, the grocery index, restaurant prices and the local purchasing power index.

The high cost of living in Tirana is mostly influenced by the prices of food products. According to "Numbeo", in 2025 the price index of food products reached 42.5%, which means that a resident of Tirana spends per month as much as 42.5% of a resident of New York.

The cost of food has a high weight in the cost of living in Tirana, since unlike other European countries, Albanians spend more than 43% of their monthly income on buying food.

While Albania has the lowest salaries in the Region on average (30% lower) with official data, on the other hand it has higher prices of food products.

On the other hand, Albania has a cheaper rent index. The expenses of a resident in Tirana are as much as 13.6% of a citizen in New York.

The high cost of living in Tirana is on the one hand due to high prices and on the other hand, low income to afford the purchase of goods and services.

Tirana, together with the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, were ranked the weakest of all other European cities for the local purchasing power index.

In Tirana, the purchasing power is 43.1% of the New York average, while half of the European cities have a purchasing power above the NY average. Meanwhile, in Sarajevo, the purchasing power is as much as 63.1% of NY, in Podgorica it is as much as 62.4%, in Skopje 59.8%, Belgrade 57.7% and in Pristina 56.9%

Tirana is also the most expensive in the Region after Serbia for restaurant prices. Prices in Tirana are 39.6% of the NY average, while in Belgrade 40.9%, in Podgorica 34.8%, in Sarajevo 25.1% and in Skopje 26.6%.

Prishtina is the cheapest with restaurants that have prices as much as 21.8% of the New York average./ Monitor Magazine