The number of active companies in Albania rose by 14% to 130,338 in 2023, the country's statistical office said.

Producers of services accounted for 86% of the total number of active enterprises in 2023, data published from INSTAT on Tuesday shows. In the services sector, 44,267 companies operate in retail and wholesale.

Foreign enterprises made up 5.3% of the total number of active firms, maintaining the same share as in 2022. Of these, Italian companies had the largest share, 44%.

Large enterprises with more than 50 employees constituted 1.57% of the total number of enterprises in Albania, employing 50% of all employees in active companies, from 50.6% in 2022. Nearly 47% of the total are registered in Tirana.

According to INSTAT data, the number of legal business units in total reached 226,778, but over 96 thousand are farmers equipped with a Taxable Person Identification Number (NIPT) compared to 84,369 farmers registered until the end of 2022.

About 1,600 enterprises exercise economic activity in more than one location compared to 1,686 at the end of 2022.

13,636 enterprises were registered during 2023, from 15,700 registered during 2022. About 86% of enterprises are service producers, from 86.5% that were respectively in 2022.

Large enterprises with 50 or more employees account for only 1.6% of the total enterprises, 5.3% of enterprises are foreign and joint enterprises, of which 43.6% are of Italian origin, 7.5% from Kosovo, and 5.8% from Turkey.

31.2% of enterprises are run by women, this value is the same as in 2022. In the municipalities of Tirana, Durrës, and Vlorë, most of the enterprises are concentrated, while the municipality of Pustec has the lowest number.

The total employees in trade account for 19.1% of the total number of employees. The Albanian economy is mainly focused on commercial activity and other services.

Enterprises with commercial activity account for 25.6% of the total number of enterprises registered during the year 2023. Commercial activity also realizes the largest annual turnover in the economy, with 40.8%.

About 85.9% of enterprises are small enterprises with 1-4 employees and their contribution is calculated at 22.6% in employment and 20.2% in the realization of the annual turnover.

Enterprises with 50 or more employees represent 1.6% of the total enterprises, employ 50.0% of the total employees, and realize 45.3% of the total annual turnover.

About 65.6% of enterprises are concentrated in the districts of Tirana, Durrës, and Vlora. The largest number of enterprises is recorded in the district of Tirana with 61,602 enterprises, while the smallest number is in the district of Kukës with 1,408 enterprises.

The predominance of the group of service producers is a phenomenon in all regions. 58.2% of the group of service producers are concentrated in Tirana and Durrës counties.