On 15.11.2024, the Report on Municipal Performance Indicators was presented, a decade of transformation from the Administrative-Territorial Reform and an overview according to the results of the CENS 2023. The purpose of this report is to identify municipalities according to the areas of financial management and its evolution, good governance and transparency, as well as the provision of services by municipalities.

Municipalities are the main service providers in the territory and since 2015 have increased their responsibilities with additional functions, increasing their economic capacity. The report presents the results and highlights the progress of municipalities, as well as identifying areas where improvements and changes are needed. The performance indicators are calculated based on the results of the 2023 Population and Housing Census.

The main goal of this report is the functioning of municipalities with higher standards and prepared for the European integration process. A decade after the implementation of the Territorial Administrative Reform, the functioning and autonomy of municipalities in Albania have marked significant improvements. Local budget expenditures as a percentage of GDP have increased from 2.4% in 2015 to 3.2% in 2023, while municipalities’ own revenues have increased by 166%, constituting 51% of total budgets. Per capita investments have increased by 78%, reflecting the improvement of services and infrastructure projects. Administrative efficiency has benefited from the transition from 373 LGUs to 61 municipalities, reducing administrative costs by 30%. At the same time, arrears have been significantly reduced and property taxes have increased by 60%. The reform has also helped European integration, bringing in grants of €46 million for 2023 alone. Improvements have been seen in transparency, with 91% of municipal decisions published online, as well as in the representation of women, who occupy 44% of leadership roles. However, challenges remain in the management of natural resources, the dependence on social assistance in less developed regions, and the training of staff, where differences between large and small municipalities are visible. The reform has had a positive impact on strengthening local government and increasing its role in the country’s economic development.