Number of businesses increased by a total of about 5.5% on a national scale, but in the municipalities of Kamza and Saranda the number of businesses increased by twice the national average.
On the other hand, a series of small municipalities saw a decrease in the number of businesses, where Belshi, Maliqi, Patosi and Hasi had the biggest contraction.
INSTAT recently reported that Kamza was the municipality with the strongest increase in the number of businesses in the country, with about 11% within the year.
With a young population close to the capital, the Port of Durrës, Kamza seems to have become attractive for businesses. Kamza, which is one of the largest municipalities in terms of population, reported about 3,327 businesses in its territory in 2022, up from 2,998 in 2021.
After Kamza, the Municipality of Saranda recorded the largest increase in new registered businesses with 10.8% in 2022. The small coastal city, which in recent years has seen a strong increase in tourism from foreign demand, reported 2,280 businesses out of 2,057 such in 2021.
Kukësi and Himara also saw strong business growth of over 10% last year. The growth of new businesses was also high in the municipalities of Memaliaj, Kruja, Tirana, Vlora and Durrës from 7-8%.
On the contrary, in some small municipalities, the number of businesses has decreased. The decline comes from depopulation, as businesses in small municipalities are mostly based on commerce and services. For example, in the Municipality of Belsh, in 2022, only 560 legal businesses were counted, with a 5.6% decline, the strongest in the entire country.
The small town on the edge of a karst lake experienced a development boom a few years ago due to improved infrastructure. A strong boom in visitors boosted businesses in the small town five years ago, but now it seems tourism in this municipality has matured and businesses are back on the decline.
In the municipalities of Maliqi, Patos and Has, the decline of businesses was about 3% for each. Local sources inform that trade businesses have been closed due to the decrease in consumption due to the depopulation of the areas.
Out of 61 municipalities across the country, in 15 of them there was a decrease in the number of businesses, in three of them there was no change from 2022 to 2021 and in 46 an increase was reported.
About 64.8% of enterprises are concentrated in the districts of Tirana, Durrës and Vlorë. The largest number of enterprises is recorded in the District of Tirana with 58,828 enterprises, while the smallest number is in the District of Kukës with 1,342 enterprises. The predominance of the group of service producers is a phenomenon in all regions.
57.8% of the group of service producers are concentrated in Tirana and Durrës counties.
The Albanian economy is mainly focused on commercial activity and other services. Enterprises with commercial activity account for 26.5% of the total enterprises registered during 2022.
Commercial activity also realizes the largest annual turnover in the economy, with 35.8%.
About 85.6% of enterprises are small enterprises with 1-4 employees and their contribution is calculated at 22.0% in employment and 25.2% in the realization of the annual turnover.
Enterprises with 50 or more employees represent 1.6% of the total enterprises, employ 50.6% of the total employees, and realize 41.3% of the total annual turnover.
/abcnews.al
