Multi-dimensional Review of the Western Balkans

Facts and figures of the Western Balkans

 

People: Towards better lives for all
	Albania	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Kosovo	Montenegro	North Macedonia	Serbia	Western Balkans	OECD members
Population (millions)	2 854 191	3 301 000	1 788 878	622 028	2 083 459	6 945 235	17 594 791	1 360 092 863
Aged 0 to 14 (% of population)	17.4	14.7	-	18.2	16.4	15.5	-	17.1
Age 65+ (% of population)	14.2	17.2	-	15.4	14.1	18.7	-	17.8
Life expectancy at birth (years)	78.6	77.4	72.5	76.9	75.8	75.7	76.1	80.7
Income inequality (Gini index: disposable income)	38.4 (2012)	39.2 (2015)	28.2**	29 (2014)	33.6 (2016)	33.6 (2017)	-	-
Unemployment rate (% of total labour force)	11.5	15.7	25.7	15.1	17.3	10.4	15.9	5.8
Labour force participation rate (% of total population aged 15 to 64)	69.6	57.7	38.8	66.3	66.1	67.6	61.0	75.0
NEET rate	30.3	21.2	32.7	15.7	23.1	17.5	23.4	13.1
Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment)	51.2	19.1	-	13.3	17.2	24.3	-	12.8
Education outcomes: PISA 2018 score (average of reading, mathematics and science)	420	402	361	422	400	442	408	488
Share of women in parliament (% of seats in national parliaments)	29.5	21.4	32.5	28.4	39.2	37.7	31.4	30.5
Prosperity: Boosting productivity
	Albania	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Kosovo	Montenegro	North Macedonia	Serbia	Western Balkans	OECD members
GDP in current USD billion	15.3	20.0	7.9	5.5	12.7	51.4	112.9	53 581.3
GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2017 international USD)	13 680	14 875	11 402	21 534	16 607	18 292	16 065	46 047
Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)	31.6	40.1	29.2	43.7	62.3	51.0	43.0	54.2
Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)	45.3	55.2	56.3	64.8	76.5	61.0	59.9	50.5
Current account balance (% of GDP)	-8.0	-3.1	-5.6	-15.1	-3.3	-6.9	-7.0	1.3
Net FDI inflows (% of GDP)	7.9	1.9	3.6	7.6	4.4	8.3	5.6	1.8
Personal remittances received (% of GDP)	9.6	11.2	15.8	10.5	2.5	8.2	9.6	0.9
Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people)	15.1	22.6	-	28.5	21.8	18.5	-	33.6
Partnerships and financing: Sustainably financing development
	Albania	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Kosovo	Montenegro	North Macedonia	Serbia	Western Balkans	OECD members
General government revenue (% of GDP)	27.4	41.8	26.8	42.2	29.6	42.1	35.0	39.6
General government total expenditure (% of GDP)	29.4	40.4	29.6	44.8	31.6	42.1	36.3	40.3
General government gross debt (% of GDP)	66.7	33.3	18.2	81.1	40.7	52.7	48.8	65.8
Domestic credit to the private sector (% of GDP)	34.4	58.1	46.5	49.0	51.5	42.0	46.9	95.1
Tax revenue (% of GDP)	18.3	20.1	23.1*	36.5*	24.1	24.1	30.6*	34.3*
Peace and institutions: Strengthening governance
	Albania	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Kosovo	Montenegro	North Macedonia	Serbia	Western Balkans	OECD members
Intentional homicides (per 100 000 inhabitants)	2.3*	1.2*	2.4*	2.2*	1.2*	1.2*	1.8*	2.8
Corruption perceptions index1	35	36	36	45	35	39	38	67
BTI ranking 2020	28	53	50	21	22	26	33	-
% of population who feel safe walking alone at night	63	70	75	79	68	79	72	732
Planet: Conserving nature
	Albania	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Kosovo	Montenegro	North Macedonia	Serbia	Western Balkans	OECD members
Land area (1 000 km2)	27.4*	51.2*	10.9**	13.5*	25.2*	87.5*	215.6*	35 586*
Forest area (% of land area)	28.8*	42.7*	45.0(2012)	61.5*	39.7*	31.1*	41.5	35.3*
CO2 emissions from fuel combustion per capita (tonnes)	1.5**	6.4**	4.5**	3.5**	-	6.6**	-	8.9**
Fine particulate matter concentration (PM2.5 µg/m3), mean annual exposure	18.6**	28.6**	24.8***	22.3**	33**	25.1**	25.7**	12.5**

Notes: NEET = not in employment, education or training, PISA = Programme for International Student, FDI = Foreign Direct Investment, BTI = Bertelsmann Transformation Index. Indicators are based on 2019 data. Data are for 2019 or latest available year: in particular, * for 2018, ** for 2017, *** for 2015.

1. Index ranges from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt).

2. Exclude the Czech Republic (the data are until 2018).

Source: Authors’ calculations based on various sources; World Bank (2021), World Development Indicators (database), https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics; IMF (2021), Fiscal Monitor, https://data.imf.org/?sk=388dfa60-1d26-4ade-b505-a05a558d9a42; Kosovo Agency of Statistics (2020), Kosovo Agency of Statistics website, https://ask.rks-gov.net/en/kosovo-agency-of-statistics; Transparency International (2019), Corruption Perception Index, https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2019/index/nzl; BTI (2021), BTI Transformation Index, https://www.bti-project.org/en/home.html?&cb=00000; Norwegian Forestry Group (2012), Kosovo Forest Inventory, https://nfg.no/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Microsoft-Word-NFI-Kosovo_folder_201113_final.docx.pdf; IEA Statistics (2018), IEA Statistics (database), https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics.