About 31.8% of Albanians face moderate or severe food insecurity in the period 2023-2025, FAO estimates. Although the indicator has improved slightly, it remains much higher than in Europe and other Western Balkan countries, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

In the space of a year, the indicator has decreased by 1.2 percentage points. Despite the improvement, the level in Albania is about 4.3 times higher than the European average of 7.4% and about 5.5 times higher than the Southern European average of 5.8%.

Albania also performs much worse than other Western Balkan countries. For the period 2023–2025, moderate or severe food insecurity is estimated at 9.2% in North Macedonia, 9% in Montenegro, 8.7% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 6.7% in Serbia.

Within the overall group, 8.3% of the population of Albania is classified as severely food insecure.

Severe insecurity is related to situations where households run out of food, consume less than they need, experience hunger or go an entire day without eating due to lack of money or other resources.

Indicators for children have improved. The percentage of children under five with delayed physical development fell from 16.5% in 2012 to 7.4% in 2024. Overweight among children was also reduced from 20.9% to 16.7%. Meanwhile obesity among adults has moved in the opposite direction. In 2024, it affected 24.1% of the population over 18 years of age, up from 17.8% in 2012. The number of obese adults was estimated at about 500,000.

Anemia in women aged 15–49 has also worsened, increasing from 20.1% in 2012 to 24.7% in 2023.

In 2025, the minimum cost of a healthy diet in Albania reached 5.16 international dollars, according to purchasing power parity, per person per day. The cost has increased from 3.04 dollars in 2017, becoming about 70% more expensive by last year, according to the latest report “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026”.

A healthy diet in Albania is about 30% more expensive than the European average of Dollar 3.97 and 12% above the Southern European average of $4.62. According to FAO methodology, the value of $5.16 is the minimum daily cost of a healthy diet for a person in Albania.

It is calculated by choosing the cheapest foods that provide the necessary energy and nutritional diversity and indicates the minimum economic threshold for a balanced diet.

Despite the increase in cost, the percentage of Albanians who cannot afford a healthy diet has decreased significantly. In 2025, it was estimated at 11.9% of the population, Monitor reported.