Albania’s construction sector expanded rapidly between 2020 and 2024, ranking among Europe’s fastest-growing markets. The latest Eurostat data show that real construction activity rose by 36% over the four-year period.

Eurostat measures construction’s gross value added in real terms, using comparable prices and 2020 as the base year. Albania’s index reached 136 in 2024, up from 100 in 2020. Annual growth peaked in the first two years, reaching 9.5% in 2021 and 13.2% in 2022. Growth then slowed to around 5% in 2023 and 4.5% in 2024.

The gap with the European Union remains substantial. The EU’s construction index reached 103.8 in 2024, representing growth of just 3.8% from 2020. Albania’s expansion therefore stood at almost ten times the EU average.

Albania also outperformed most regional neighbours. Between 2020 and 2024, construction grew by 23.2% in Serbia, 20% in North Macedonia, 18.8% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 12.9% in Kosovo. Montenegro moved in the opposite direction, with real construction activity falling by around 7%.

Only a few European countries recorded stronger growth than Albania. Greece led with a 66.3% increase, followed by Croatia at 63.9% and Italy at 51.4%. Albania ranked among the continent’s strongest performers, with growth reaching 36%.

However, the main drivers differed across these markets. Infrastructure investment largely fuelled construction growth in Greece, Croatia and Italy. In Albania, residential building accounted for most of the expansion.

The figures highlight construction’s role as one of Albania’s fastest-growing economic sectors in recent years. Although annual growth has eased since the 2021–2022 surge, real activity in 2024 remained more than one-third above its 2020 level.