Albanian families are spending more and more on alcohol and tobacco,
while the weight of these products in the family budget has increased even during 2025.
According to INSTAT data, expenses for alcoholic beverages and
tobacco products accounted for 4.3% of the average monthly expenses of Albanian families,
from 4.2% which was this percentage in 2024.
Considering that an Albanian family spends an average of 95,227 ALL per month, it turns out that about 4,100 ALL go to alcohol and tobacco alone. In one year, this amount reaches approximately ALL 49 thousand, almost as much as a monthly minimum wage.
What stands out is the pace of growth of these expenses. During 2025, spending on alcohol and tobacco increased by 5.1%, more than double the increase in overall household spending, which was 2.3%.
Comparison with other categories highlights another fact. Albanian families share a larger part of the budget for alcohol and tobacco than for health, which occupies 3.4%, education with 3.3%, communication with 3.7%, or entertainment and culture with 2.8%.
Nationally, the numbers are even higher. Of the approximately 72.3 billion ALL that are spent every month for consumption by Albanian families, it is estimated that approximately 3.1 billion ALL is used for the purchase of alcohol and tobacco.
This translates into about 37 billion ALL per year, a significant amount that goes to only two categories of products.
However, these values are calculations based on INSTAT statistics and not figures published directly by the institution.
Also, the data includes alcoholic beverages and tobacco products purchased for home consumption, while spending in bars and restaurants is recorded in another category. For this reason, the real amount that Albanians spend on these products can be even higher.
The data shows that alcohol and tobacco are taking up an increasing share of the household budget, at a time when spending on some basic services remains at lower levels.
