10 Legal System: The Albanian legal system is based on a system of civil law. All legal acts must be in compliance with the Constitution, International treaties and conventions ratified by Parliament, which prevail in the event of an inconsistency with the Albanian legislation Legal acts are issued and approved by the respective organizations as follows: • University of Tirana
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important institution for producing knowledge and research in the country. Albania has a very young population with more than 50% under the age of 30 and the most multilingual population in the region. The official language is Albanian. Albanians learn Italian, French, and English as primary foreign languages. Greek is also spoken in the South of the country by the Greek minority. Albania offers the lowest labour costs in the region with the minimal wage Alb Lek 16.000 (app 130 Euros). The country ranks as offering the lowest average salary in the region, EUR 295 per month. Governing Structures and Political Parties: Albania is a Parliamentary Republic, which operates under a democratic Constitution. The state is based on the separation and balancing of the legislative, executive and judicial powers. Albania has opted for a unicameral legislature with the Parliament representing the legislative branch of the state. The executive branch is represented by the President as Head of State, Prime Minister as the Head of the Government, and the Council of Ministers. The judicial branch is composed of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, multiple Appeal Courts and District Courts, and is expected to add an Administrative Court.
Albanian Parliament: www.ibde.org
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Laws are proposed by the Council of Ministers, any member of the parliament or twenty thousand voters, approved by the parliament and proclaimed by the President. Decrees are issued by the President; normative acts, decisions, instructions, regulations and orders are issued by the Council of Ministers and each Ministry. Albania has adopted the 1993 Law on Foreign Investments which guarantees equal treatment for foreign and local investors. Foreign investments are protected from expropriation and nationalization.
Economy: Albania is a middle-income economy with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of EUR 2,572, which is around 35% of EU’s average. This means that Albania has tremendous potential for ‘catch up growth’ and thus offers a myriad of investment opportunities Albania’s economy has improved substantially over recent years and has outperformed many other countries in the region. During 2010, the GDP real growth rate was 3.5%, higher than that of the previous year (3.2%) according to the IMF. Whereas, during the period 20002008 Albania’s GDP grew on average by 6% annually. Albania’s GDP stood at EUR 8,748 million and EUR 8,169 million in 2010 and 2009 respectively.
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IBDE – Integrating World Markets