Poor Albanians, but they spend more on clothes than...

Although Albanians are one of Europe's poorest people, where income is 30% of the European Union average, they do not save for appearance.

Comparative data of INSTAT and Eurostat, in terms of the weight of spending according to the goal of consumption, shows that Albanian consumers spend 4.9% of the total on clothing and shoes, while for Europeans that burden is almost the same at 5% and for the 19 eurozone states is the same as Albania.

The data is according to the 2015 Institute of Family Budget Survey of INSTAT and the EU family survey published by Eurostat, both measured according to COICOP nomenclature. (Classification of Individual Consumer Consumption to Purpose ] Individual Consumption Classification.

Albanians manage to spend 4.9% of their total on clothing, a relatively luxury product, though they, due to low income rates, have the highest weight of food spending, a necessary product, with nearly 49%, out of 12.3% spending Europeans on feeding.

But what are the countries that spend most on clothing in relation to the total cost? There is no surprise that Italy is first, with 6.3% of the total. Italians are not spared in what is known for high - fashion. The second are Portuguese, with 6.1% of total, followed by Austria. Baltic countries, such as Lithuania, Latvia also matter to clothing.

Lower weights than Albania have 14 states, with less emphasis on appearances, Greeks, Hungarians, Romanians (see the graph).

 Expensesport

The data shows that while Albanian families spend nearly half of their spending (48.7%) on nonalcohol food and drink, consumers in EU countries are only 12.3% of their budget to meet their daily dietary needs.

With the other half of the budget, which will remain after consuming food, Albanian families have little choice, and although they are not spared for clothes, others collect the belt. Unlike Europeans, who spend nearly 9% of the budget for entertainment and culture, for Albanian families this burden is only 3%. Even for restaurants, Europeans spend 8.2% of their money, down from 3.6% for Albanians (however in Albania, of absolute value, lunch at a restaurant is much cheaper than in other European countries).

The opening of private universities and the increase in state university tariffs has increased Albanians' spending to 2.1% of the budget, while for Europeans it is 1.1%. Not that the latter do not prefer to be educated, but they have more options with public education.

For health, expenditures are similar, 3.6% in Albania and 3.7% in EU countries. /Monitor/