That dollar amount results from a 65.6% acceleration from $2.42 billion 5 years earlier in 2020.
Over the most recent annual period, Albania’s revenues from exported products fell by -8.5% in 2024 compared to $4.37 billion for 2023.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, the Albanian lek diluted by -17% against the US dollar since 2020 and fell by -7.9% from 2023 to 2024. Albania’s weaker local currency made Albanian exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers starting from American currency.
Albania’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 86% of products exported from Albania was bought by importers in: Italy (43.7% of the Albanian total), Serbia (12.1%), Greece (6.3%), Germany (5.9%), Spain (3.5%), North Macedonia (3.2%), mainland China (2.8%), Montenegro (2.1%), United States of America (1.9%), Slovakia (1.8%), Czech Republic (1.4%) and Türkiye (1.3%).
From a continental perspective, 91.9% of Albania’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 5.6% was sold to importers in Asia. Albania shipped another 2.1% worth of goods to buyers in North America.
Tinier percentages went to customers in Africa (0.2%), Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (0.17%), then Oceania led by Australia (0.02%).
Given Albania’s population of 2.722 million people, its total $4 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $1,450 for every resident in the Southeast European country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $1,400 per capita one year earlier during 2023.
Albania’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Albanian global shipments during 2024, at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Albania.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$484 million (12.1% of total exports)
- Footwear: $476.4 million (11.9%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $377.5 million (9.4%)
- Iron, steel: $309.7 million (7.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $274.7 million (6.9%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $223.8 million (5.6%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $152.3 million (3.8%)
- Vegetables: $131.4 million (3.3%)
- Aluminum: $131.1 million (3.3%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $130.7 million (3.3%)
Albania’s top 10 export categories generated over two-thirds (67.3%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Articles made from iron or steel represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 14.9% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales was the ores, slag and ash grouping via a 10.5% advance led by copper ores and concentrates.
Albania’s shipments of vegetables posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 4.6%.
The leading decliner among Albania’s top 10 export categories was the metals group iron and steel, recording a -31.4% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, insoles and heel cushions represent Albania’s most valuable exported product totaling an estimated 7.2% of Albania’s total. In second place was unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits and trousers (5.2%), trailed by leather footwear (4.2%), insulated stranded wire or cable (3.8%), iron or non-alloy steel bars and rods (2.5%), electrical energy (2.3%), hydraulic cements (2%), chromium ores and concentrates (1.9%), iron ferroalloys (1.8%), then miscellaneous iron and steel structures (1.7%).
Products Generating Albania’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of Albanian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Footwear: US$348.7 million (Down by -17.2% since 2023)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $175.3 million (Down by -8%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $152.1 million (Up by 11.5%)
- Vegetables: $85.3 million (Down by -8.1%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $49.1 million (Up by 24.2%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $37.6 million (Down by -57.9%)
- Oil seeds: $36.7 million (Up by 15%)
- Meat/seafood preparations: $21.4 million (Down by -55.7%)
- Arms, ammunition: $18.6 million (Reversing a -$655,000 deficit)
- Copper: $4.7 million (Up by 823.3%)
Albania has highly positive net exports in the international trade of footwear. In turn, these cashflows indicate Albania’s strong competitive advantages under the footwear product category.
Products Causing Albania’s Worst Trade Deficits
Overall Albania incurred an estimated -US$5.6 billion product trade deficit in 2024, expanding by 30.5% from -$4.1 billion in red ink one year earlier for 2023.
Below are exports from Albania that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Albania’s goods trail Albanian importer spending on foreign products.
- Vehicles: -US$917.5 million (Up by 27.2% since 2023)
- Machinery including computers: -$701 million (Up by 20.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$449.4 million (Up by 15%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$441.1 million (Up by 73.2%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$300 million (Up by 13.3%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$290.8 million (Up by 12.7%)
- Iron, steel: -$206.3 million (Up by 280.4%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$190.4 million (Up by 8.2%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$122.9 million (Up by 5.8%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: -$119.8 million (Up by 28.8%)
Albania has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the vehicles-related product category, notably for cars and to a lesser extent trucks.
Albanian Export Companies
Not one Albanian corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists some exports-related companies from Albania. Selected examples are shown below.
- AlbChrome (chrome, ferrochrome)
- Albpetrol (oil, gas)
- Antea Cement (cement)
- Birra Tirana (beer)
- Birra Korça (beer)
- Military Export Import Company MEICO (military equipment)
- Taçi Oil (oil, gas)
In macroeconomic terms, Albania’s total exported goods represent 6.8% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($59.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 6.8% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 7.3% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Albania’s total economic performance, albeit based on short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Albania’s unemployment rate averaged 8.8% for 2024, down from an average 9.5% in 2023 according to from International Monetary Fund metrics.
Albania’s capital city is Tirana.
See also Italy’s Top Trading Partners, Serbia’s Top 10 Exports, Montenegro’s Top 10 Exports, Italy’s Top 10 Exports and Top EU Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Albania. Accessed on July 16, 2025
EXCHANGE-RATES.org, Albanian Lek (ALL) To US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rate History. Accessed on July 16, 2025
FlagPictures.org, Flag of Albania. Accessed on July 16, 2025
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 16, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity) . Accessed on July 16, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 16, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 16, 2025
Wikipedia, Albania. Accessed on July 16, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on July 16, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Albania. Accessed on July 16, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on July 16, 2025