Business
Poverty line doubles in six years to 29,130 lek a month per person; average pension stays below it
INSTAT data show the at-risk-of-poverty threshold for a person living alone reached about 315 euros a month in 2025. Pensioners on an average pension and families on social assistance remain far below it.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 21, 2026, 07:36 · Updated 12:22 · 2 min read
In brief
- The at-risk-of-poverty threshold for a person living alone reached 349,565 lek a year in 2025, or 29,130 lek a month.
- Compared with 14,232 lek a month in 2019, that is an increase of 104.7%.
- The average urban old-age pension, about 20,100 lek, remains roughly 9,000 lek below the threshold, while in rural areas the gap reaches almost 16,800 lek.
The line separating the poor from the rest of the population in Albania has doubled in six years. According to INSTAT data from its survey on income and living conditions, analyzed by Monitor magazine, the at-risk-of-poverty threshold for a one-person household reached 349,565 lek a year in 2025, or about 29,130 lek a month, roughly 315 euros.
In 2019 the same threshold was 14,232 lek a month. The 104.7% increase, about 15,000 lek more a month, has come gradually: in 2022 the threshold was about 18,800 lek and in 2024 about 27,000 lek. INSTAT defines this line as 60% of the median disposable income per equivalent unit, making it a relative measure of income compared with the rest of the population.
Pensions and social assistance fall well short
The speed at which the threshold has risen highlights the gap with social payments. According to Social Insurance Institute data for 2025, the average old-age pension in urban areas was about 20,100 lek a month, nearly 9,000 lek below the poverty line. In rural areas the average pension was about 12,300 lek, almost 16,800 lek below the threshold. In other words, a pensioner who lives alone and has no income other than the average pension falls below the at-risk-of-poverty line, whether in town or in the countryside.
The gap is even wider for families receiving social assistance. The average monthly payment to a beneficiary family in 2025 was about 7,253 lek, far less than the 29,130 lek counted as the threshold for a single person. For larger families the threshold is even higher, deepening the gap.
Poverty rate almost unchanged
Meanwhile, the at-risk-of-poverty rate stayed almost the same: 19% of the population in 2025, from 19.2% a year earlier. The analysis stresses that the rapid rise in the threshold reflects growth in median incomes in the country, but that pensions and social programs are not keeping pace, leaving those who depend solely on them more exposed.
