Albania posts record current account surplus

Albania’s economy has entered a new phase of balance-of-payments stability in 2025, as the current account – which tracks the country’s foreign currency inflows and outflows – posted another surplus in the third quarter, the central bank said.

The current account surplus for July-September reached 658 million euros, up 90% from the same period last year, according to the Bank of Albania, CE Report quotes ATA.

The strong performance helped move the economy temporarily out of its previously negative external position. For the first time, the first nine months of the year closed with a positive balance of 51 million euros, reversing 233 million euros deficit a year earlier.

A sharp rise in tourism revenues continues to be the key factor behind the record surplus. Travel receipts in the third quarter totaled 2.3 billion euros, up 21.6% year on year, while net tourism income hit a historic high of 1.3 billion euros.

Over the full nine-month period, net tourism revenues amounted to 2.1 billion euros, a 19.6% increase from last year.

Beyond tourism, the broader services sector also strongly supported the improvement in the external position.

In the third quarter, services posted a net balance of 1.9 billion euros, an annual increase of 26.7%. For January- September as a whole, the sector generated 3.5 billion euros in net income.