The rising cost of basic products has directly affected household consumption. Citizens say that, although these are essential foods, they are now buying smaller quantities and often giving up fruits and vegetables because of their cost.

Pensioners are among the groups feeling the increase in expenses most acutely. They say their pensions are mainly divided between medicine and food, while their income is not enough to cover their daily needs.

“They are very expensive; they are unaffordable. Unemployment is high, and everything is even more difficult for older people. Apart from medicine and other expenses, we have no means. My daughter is unemployed, even though she completed higher education and graduated as a teacher. My son used to work, but with those low wages he can barely get by himself,” one pensioner says.

Another citizen says that prices across the entire consumer basket have increased and that her pension is not enough even to cover medical expenses. She stresses that her children’s assistance has become essential to prevent her from being left without the means to live, while her medicines alone cost 36,000 lekë.

“Things could not get any worse. Everything has become more expensive, without exception. How can a pensioner afford everything on the pension they receive? Without our children’s help, we would be finished. My medicines alone cost me 36,000 lekë,” she says.

The increase in costs has not been observed only in food products. Citizens point out that bread, one of the main products consumed daily, has also become more expensive, placing an additional burden on household budgets.

Beyond the financial difficulties, food quality is also a concern. Citizens mention cases of products rejected abroad because of the presence of pesticides, saying that consumption is being limited both by prices and by uncertainty over product safety.

“With these incomes and these pensions, you cannot afford much. You are forced to choose the cheapest products, but this contributes to malnutrition and many other problems, especially when you hear about toxins and pesticides. Meat has become a rarity. People buy a meatball now and then just to satisfy their craving, without knowing what it contains,” one citizen says.

As prices continue to rise and pensions, according to citizens, remain insufficient for basic needs, families are being forced to reduce their shopping baskets even further. For many of them, choosing between buying food and securing medicine has become a daily problem.

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A new package of economic measures is expected to bring significant changes for pensioners, public and private sector employees in Greece. According to government announcements, pensioners will receive an extra payment of 400 euros every November, while salary increases and other benefits are foreseen in the coming years, Protothema reports.

The 400-euro payment will start in November 2026 and will be granted permanently every year.

The number of beneficiaries is expected to increase from 1.87 million to about 2.2 million, as income and wealth criteria will be removed. The main condition will be that the pensioner has reached the age of 65.

The measure will also be extended to persons with disabilities and uninsured elderly.

The payment has been increased by 100 euros, from 300 to 400 euros, approaching the current level of the national pension, which is about 446 euros.

Increase for all pensioners

At the end of December, another important change is expected: the final abolition of the “personal difference” mechanism.

This will mean that all approximately 2.5 million pensioners will receive the full annual increase. About 670 thousand pensioners who still have a personal difference will also receive the full increase.

According to examples presented by the prime minister, a pensioner receiving 823 euros will benefit from an annual increase of 208 euros, and together with the 400-euro payment, the annual benefit will reach 608 euros.

For a pensioner with a pension of 1086 euros, the annual benefit will be 684 euros, while for a pension of 1716 euros, the benefit will reach 849 euros.

500-euro bonus for public sector employees

From December 2027, about 720 thousand public sector employees are expected to receive a gross bonus of 500 euros every year for Christmas.

The measure is considered partly as a return of the 13th salary, while pension contributions will also be calculated on the bonus, affecting the future benefit of employees after retirement.

Public administration employees, at all salary levels, will also benefit from a 30-euro increase from April 1, 2027.

Minimum wage heading towards 1000 euros

Private sector employees paid the minimum wage are also expected to benefit from successive increases.

According to the presented plan, the minimum wage will exceed 950 euros in April 2027, while the goal is to reach 1000 euros in January 2028.

The increase will also affect the wages of employees who benefit from the system of three-year work experience increments.

According to the example given, an employee with one three-year experience increment will be able to receive a salary of about 1045 euros after the increase.

Salary increase for employees with experience

Private sector employees with a contract receive a 10% supplement for each three-year experience increment, up to three increments. This means that an employee with at least nine years of experience can receive up to a 30% supplement on top of the base salary.

Meanwhile, from April 1, 2027, a reduction of social security contributions by 0.5 percentage points is also planned. The measure is expected to increase employees’ net income and at the same time reduce labor costs for businesses.

According to estimates, the reduction in contributions will cost the insurance fund about 220 million euros per year.

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Pensioners enjoy the sunshine and high temperatures in Skanderbeg Square park in central Tirana. The Rama government has allocated a spring bonus for pensioners, the distribution of which began on Monday, March 3, 2025.

Documents accompanying the new territorial reform proposed by the ruling majority reveal a stark demographic divide across the country.

Emigration and internal migration have emptied small towns and rural areas, while residents and economic activity have become concentrated in a limited number of urban centers.

One of the documents, “Administrative-Territorial Reform 2.0,” drafted by Socialist Party experts on the Special Parliamentary Committee, identifies a series of local government units with recurring operational, economic, demographic and financial problems. These data are being used to justify reconfiguring the territorial map.

The report is based on three indices that present a polarized picture of municipalities in demographic, economic and functional terms.

On one side are several urban centers where the population and economic development are concentrated, while on the other is the periphery, particularly the northeast, southeast and mountainous areas.

These territories face population decline and aging, subsistence economies with few formal jobs, and budgets dependent on the central government that are used mainly to pay local government employees.

The Urban Mass Index, or IMU, is one of the three analyses underpinning the proposal for a new map with 46 municipalities. Under this plan, 15 local government units would be merged with larger municipalities within the same county.

The index documents Albania’s territorial changes since the 1990s and shows that the number of growing centers is shrinking, while the number of municipalities losing residents is rising.

The processed data divide the country into three realities: a very small number of municipalities that continue to attract residents and economic activity, a group of units with intermediate potential, and most of the territory, which is losing its critical population mass.

The analysis, based on data from the 2023 Census and included in the reform’s technical report, suggests that Albania’s population is becoming concentrated in an ever-smaller number of urban centers.

Meanwhile, the rest of the territory is losing residents, functions and development opportunities. Only 13 municipalities are classified as having high urban mass, but they are home to 62.5% of the country’s population.

Thirty municipalities, nearly half of the administrative map, are ranked at the low level and are home to only 14.2% of the population. Another 18 municipalities fall into the intermediate or medium category.

The capital remains the main center of population concentration, with more than half a million residents. After Tirana, by a considerable margin, come the municipalities of Durrës, Vlorë, Elbasan, Shkodër, Fier, Kamëz and Berat.

At the opposite end of the demographic ranking are Pustec, Libohovë, Himarë, Këlcyrë, Memaliaj, Selenicë, Dropull, Finiq, Delvinë and Kolonjë. According to the index, these municipalities have lost weight both in terms of population and urban importance.

The IMU does not assess population size alone. Its calculations also include actual residential density, the distribution of residents across the territory, the demographic dependency ratio and the level of urbanization. As a result, a municipality covering a large area may be considered structurally weak if its residents are concentrated in a small town and the rest of its territory has been left empty.

One of the analysis’s main findings is that, on average, 57% of the territory is uninhabited. Nationwide, the “Gini” coefficient, which measures the ratio of residents per square kilometer, reaches 0.86. This figure indicates that the population is concentrated in a few areas while large parts of the country are being emptied.

This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in Kolonjë and Korçë, where the indicator reaches 0.97. Although these municipalities cover large territories, residents are concentrated in several urban areas. Kamëz Municipality has the lowest value, at 0.42, indicating that its territory is inhabited. Overall, the data also point to the aging of municipal populations, while an average of around 57% of a municipality’s territory is empty.

The dependency ratio, which measures the burden of children and elderly people on the working-age population, is above the national average in most municipalities—51 of them. In many local government units, the number of elderly people has surpassed the number of children.

Urbanization levels are also low. Across 60 municipalities, excluding Tirana from the analysis, the average rate is 29.8%. Moreover, 25 municipalities do not have a single settlement that meets the criteria to be classified as a town. According to this assessment, only 6 municipalities can be classified as cities, 13 as towns/peripheral areas and 42 as rural.

This demographic change is one of the arguments put forward by the Socialists on the Special Parliamentary Committee on Territorial Reform, who support the creation of a new map with 46 municipalities.

The Socialist Party document notes that the population distribution is no longer what it was in 2014, when the current administrative-territorial division was approved with the aim of creating larger and more efficient municipalities. The report emphasizes that some areas have expanded, while others have lost a significant share of their residents. As a result, some municipalities face difficulties securing sustainable funding, qualified staff and administrative capacity.

The report acknowledges that the problem is not related solely to administrative boundaries. Population movement toward larger centers, demographic aging, territorial inequalities and economic concentration have changed the way municipalities function. The document stresses that changing boundaries is not enough to resolve the challenges associated with emigration, population aging and economic concentration.

The Socialists have submitted a bill to Parliament to reorganize the administrative-territorial map, providing for the merger of several small units with larger municipalities. However, the proposal does not explain how the new map would resolve these problems.

Under the proposal, Fushë-Arrëz, Klos, Rrogozhinë, Dimal, Poliçan, Patos, Divjakë, Selenicë, Maliq, Këlcyrë, Memaliaj, Libohovë, Cërrik, Belsh and Prrenjas would lose their status as independent local self-government units and be merged with larger neighboring municipalities.

The plan has been opposed by residents of these areas, who have staged protests. They say that dissolving the local government units would leave them without access to public services.

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