Albania is among the countries with the lowest household energy consumption per capita in Europe, according to the latest Eurostat data for 2024. Final household energy consumption was 220 kilograms of oil equivalent (kgoe) per capita, well below the European Union average of 507 kgoe per capita. (This indicator measures energy from different sources, such as electricity, gas, oil/oil products, wood and other fuels, converted into a common unit: kilograms of oil equivalent (kgoe) per year).
At this level, Albania ranks among the countries with the lowest consumption in Europe, behind only Malta. Albanian consumption was less than half the EU average and significantly lower than countries in the region, such as North Macedonia (261 kgoe), Montenegro (472), Serbia (508) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (513).
Internal data explains this ranking by the way homes are heated in Albania. According to iNSTAT, the use of wood, coal and other solid materials remains widespread as the main source of heating in some regions, while in other areas the use of electricity is higher.
A study on energy poverty in Albania, based on Eurostat data, has also shown that individual stoves are the most common heating system, while some families do not have a heating system at all, causing consumption per capita to remain low, especially compared to European countries where home heating is based on liquefied gas.
In the European Union, in 2024, 61.5% of the energy used by households went to heating homes, 15.6% to heating water and 14.8% to lighting and electrical appliances. This shows that climatic conditions and the need for heating are important factors in the level of household energy consumption.
Meanwhile, INSTAT data shows that housing expenses, which include electricity, water, fuel, and rent, accounted for 9.6% of the monthly budget of Albanian families in 2024, with an average expenditure of 8,944 lek per month.
Albania still does not have a project for the gasification of the country and a large portion of consumers, especially families, are unable to heat their homes with any type of energy during the winter./ Monitor
