FAO Report: Around 32% of Albanians Face Food Insecurity, Four Times the European Average

Around 31.8% of Albania’s population experienced moderate or severe food insecurity during the 2023–2025 period, according to an assessment by the FAO.

The indicator has shown a slight improvement, but remains significantly higher than in Europe and other Western Balkan countries, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Over the course of a year, food insecurity declined by 1.2 percentage points. Nevertheless, Albania’s level is around 4.3 times higher than the European average of 7.4% and approximately 5.5 times higher than the Southern European average, which stands at 5.8%.

Compared with other Western Balkan countries, Albania has a much more severe situation. For 2023–2025, moderate or severe food insecurity was estimated at 9.2% in North Macedonia, 9% in Montenegro, 8.7% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 6.7% in Serbia.

Of the total population, 8.3% of Albanians fall into the category of severe food insecurity.

This category includes cases in which families have no food, are forced to consume less than they need, experience hunger, or go an entire day without eating because of a lack of money or other resources.

Meanwhile, data on children show a positive trend. The rate of children under five with stunted physical development fell from 16.5% in 2012 to 7.4% in 2024. During the same period, the rate of overweight children declined from 20.9% to 16.7%.

The opposite trend was observed in adult obesity. In 2024, 24.1% of people over the age of 18 were obese, compared with 17.8% in 2012. The number of obese adults was estimated at around 500,000.

There was also a deterioration in anemia among women aged 15–49, with the indicator rising from 20.1% in 2012 to 24.7% in 2023.

The daily diet of Albanians costs 70% more than it did in 2017 and 30% more than the European average.

According to data for 2025, a person in Albania must spend at least 5.16 international dollars per day, based on purchasing power parity, to afford a healthy diet.

This cost was 3.04 dollars in 2017, meaning that by last year the price of such a diet had risen by around 70%, according to the latest edition of the “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026” report.

The figure in Albania is around 30% higher than the European average of 3.97 dollars and 12% above the Southern European average, which stands at 4.62 dollars.

According to the FAO methodology, 5.16 dollars represents the minimum daily cost of providing a healthy diet for one person in Albania.

This amount is determined by selecting the lowest-priced foods that provide the necessary energy and dietary diversity, serving as the minimum economic threshold for a balanced diet.

Although the cost of the diet has increased, the share of the population unable to afford it has declined significantly. In 2025, this percentage was 11.9%.