Albanian businesses are failing to grow into large, well-structured companies, leaving the economy dependent on microenterprises. 
The latest INSTAT statistics on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) show that in 2023 there were only 168 companies with more than 250 employees in the country, down from 181 the previous year, resulting in 12 large entities closing, a decrease of 7%. 
Medium-sized enterprises were also in decline, with 50,249 employees, with 20 such enterprises closing, reducing to 1,286 enterprises. 
In total, there are 32 fewer enterprises with over 50 employees. Their decline is assessed to be related to the industry sector, which is one of the main employers in the country. 
In contrast, micro-sized enterprises have increased, with about 3,529 opened in 2023, bringing their number to 109.7 thousand, with an increase of 3.3%. 
In total, at the end of 2023 there were 117.29 thousand enterprises, with an increase of 3.4% on an annual basis. 
According to INSTAT, the Albanian economy is highly dependent on microenterprises in terms of employment and sales. The percentage of SMEs is 99.9% in Albania from 99.8 in the EU; the percentage of employees in this group of enterprises is 82.5% in Albania from 64.2% in the EU; the added value generated by SMEs in Albania constitutes 78.2% from 48.9% in the EU. 
Large enterprises have a higher potential to make investments that increase the added value in the economy, train employees, and provide jobs that require more qualifications and high salaries. In reality, the Albanian economy still seems dependent on bars and restaurants, with microenterprises, which have the highest percentage of net sales in the Accommodation and food service sector with 50.5%, which have also been influenced by the good performance of tourism. 
According to INSTAT, the Structure of the main indicators for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based on the results of the Structural Enterprise Statistics survey, for the year 2023, shows that: The percentage of SMEs is 99.9% in Albania from 99.8 in the EU; the percentage of employees in this group of enterprises is 82.5% in Albania from 64.2% in the EU; the value added generated by SMEs in Albania constitutes 78.2% from 48.9% in the EU 99.9% of active enterprises are SMEs from 99.8% in 2022; 
SMEs have contributed to the main indicators for 2023, respectively with: 3.4 percentage points in the number of enterprises; 2.3 percentage points in the number of employees; 1.7 percentage points in net sales; 9.6 percentage points in value added; 6.6 percentage points in total investments.