In addition to food, electrical appliances, oil and others, Albanian consumers pay more than the European Union for communication and information. According to Eurostat data, processed by Monitor, the price index according to purchasing power for information and communication for Albania for the year 2025 was 107.6% of the European Union average.
This means that to communicate via mobile phone, fixed number, or to use the Internet, local consumers pay 7.6% more than a European citizen, measured according to purchasing power parity. Communication prices have risen steadily in recent years, as the market has reverted to a duopoly with just two companies. In 2022, prices were 9% cheaper than the EU average. In 2023, for the first time, the EU average was easily exceeded (100.5%) to continue the increase and in 2024 (103.1), to reach the record in 2025.
The whole region, in general, is expensive in communication, but Albania holds the record. The cheapest is North Macedonia (84.9%), the only one in the EU average. Bosnia and Herzegovina (99.9), Serbia (102.7), Montenegro (106.1) are ranked next. There is no data for Kosovo. The most expensive in Europe for communication are Switzerland (167.0%), Norway (164.1), Iceland (151.6), Belgium (146.3), Sweden (137.5). The cheapest are North Macedonia (84.9), Turkey (70.2), Poland (67.6), Romania (56.1).
Internet costs us more
The Authority for Electronic and Postal Communications (AKEP) in its annual report 2025 has carried out an assessment of the affordability of electronic communications services in Albania, in accordance with the methodology of the International Telecommunication Union, which measures the cost of ICT standard baskets in relation to the gross national income per capita (GNI/inhabitants). The threshold of 2% of GNI/inhabitants serves as a reference limit for determining the affordability of basic services.
The data shows that the most expensive is the Internet, which has been increasingly used in recent years. Albania has the highest cost of internet from mobile networks, relative to income, in the Western Balkans region. According to data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the average cost of the monthly broadband Internet basket for 2025 in Albania was 1.69% of gross monthly income (GNI).
With such a level, Albania ranks significantly above other countries in the region and the world average. After Albania, North Macedonia ranks, with 1.31% of GNI, followed by Bosnia-Herzegovina, with 1.17%, Montenegro with 1.01% and Serbia, with 0.96%. ITU does not publish data for Kosovo. Albania also has significantly higher costs than the world average, at 1.38% of GNI. Albania is positioned near the highest levels in the region and above the world average even in the basket of communication with high usage (140 minutes, 20 SMS and 5 GB), with 1.95% of GNI.
At this level, Albania is the second country with the highest costs of the package in question in the region, after North Macedonia, with 2.1% of GNI. After Albania follow Bosnia-Herzegovina, with 1.86%, Serbia, with 1.49% and Montenegro, with 1.01%. The world average cost for this basket is at the level of 1.54%.
