Even though we rank among the low-income countries and the countries with the lowest minimum wage in Europe, we spend as much as the European average of EU countries for clothing and footwear.
According to the budget survey data, clothing and footwear costs account for 4.8 percent of total spendings, only 0.1 percentage points less than the average for the European Union countries. A year ago, the cost of clothing and footwear was 4.9% of total spendings.
The data are based on INSTAT's 2016 Household Budget Survey and the EU Household Survey, published by Eurostat for 2016, measured both according to the COICOP nomenclature (Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose).But, according to Eurostat data, Albanians are ranked last with regard to the minimum wage in Europe, with only 180 euros per month, leaving behind the countries of the region like Serbia.
However, according to the Household Budget Survey in 2016, the Albanians lowered the spending on both food and non-alcoholic drinks and footwear by 0.1 percentage points, but doubled them for education.
Albanians spend more than ...
Comparing data between European Union countries, Albanians spend more than 14 member states of the EU. In 2016, Germans spent on clothing and footwear, 4.5 percent of total spendings, while Belgians spent 4.3 percent of the total for this group of goods.
Albanians spend more than some of the Balkan countries. In Greece, only 3.8 percent of spendings goes to clothes and shoes.
Countries that spend more
Undoubtedly, the Italians like clothing, at the same time as one of their biggest exporters across Europe, ranked among the first countries in terms of clothing and footwear. According to Eurostat data about 6.3 percent of total spending went to clothing and shoes for tje Italians.
Estonians and Portuguese spend over the European average. Costs for clothing and footwear accounted for 6.8 and 6.5 percent respectively of total expenditure.