Albania’s inflation rises to 3.4% in July as transport costs jump 8%

ANNUAL INFLATION REACHES 3.4%

Albania’s annual inflation rate reached 3.4% in July 2026, up from 2.5% in the same month last year, according to the official release published by the Institute of Statistics on 10 August.

Compared with June 2026, the overall consumer-price level rose by 0.2%. The figures show a faster annual rate while the change within the month remained more limited.

TRANSPORT POSTS THE SHARPEST INCREASE

Transport recorded the largest annual increase, at 8.0%, and prices in the group rose 4.7% from June alone. Transport added 0.52 percentage points to the overall annual inflation rate.

It was followed by recreation, sport and culture at 6.0%, insurance and financial services at 4.5%, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 4.1% year on year.

FOOD AND HOUSING CARRY THE GREATEST WEIGHT

Although transport had the highest percentage increase, food and housing costs contributed more to the headline rate because they account for a larger share of household expenditure.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 3.5% over the year and contributed 1.18 percentage points to the 3.4% inflation rate. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed another 0.83 percentage points.

Together, these two groups explain about 2.01 percentage points of the annual increase. This does not mean every household experienced the same change: the effect varies according to how each family divides its spending.

WHERE PRICES FELL

Two divisions recorded lower prices than in July 2025. Clothing and footwear declined by 1.8%, while information and communication fell by 0.9%.

Compared with June, food and non-alcoholic beverages fell by 0.5%, information and communication by 1.5%, clothing and footwear by 1.3%, and insurance and financial services by 0.6%.

HOW THE MEASURE IS CALCULATED

INSTAT defines the Consumer Price Index as Albania’s official measure of inflation. It tracks changes in the prices of goods and services used by households for their own consumption.

Since February 2026, the calculation has used the ECOICOP 2018 classification and a new reference period of 2025=100. The basket contains 411 products and services, with weights based on the structure of household expenditure.

DATA NOTE

ON MEDIA.AL uses the monthly figure of +0.2% shown in INSTAT’s Albanian-language release and official data table. The heading of the English-language release says prices “decreased by 0.2 percent”, while the table in the same document records +0.2%. The original Albanian statement and numerical table therefore form the basis for the wording in this article.

REPORTING BASIS

ON MEDIA.AL wrote this article from scratch using INSTAT’s official “Consumer Price Index, July 2026” release, published on 10 August 2026. The figures are national averages and do not necessarily describe the change in spending faced by every individual household.