Economy of Kosovo
 |
|
| Currency | Euro (€) |
|---|---|
| Calendar year | |
|
Trade organisations
|
CEFTA |
| Statistics | |
| GDP |
 $18.49 billion (PPP, 2016 est)$6.56 billion (Nominal, 2015 est.) |
| GDP rank | 148th (PPP, 2015 est.) |
|
GDP growth
|
 3% (Real, 2014 est.) |
|
GDP per capita
|
$10,000 (PPP, 2016 est.) |
|
GDP by sector
|
agriculture: 12.9% industry: 22.6% services: 64.5% (2009 est.) |
|
8.3% (CPI, 2012 est.) |
|
|
Population below poverty line
|
30%–45% |
| 30 (FY 2005–06) | |
|
Labour force
|
483,200 (2011 est.) Note: includes those elements estimated to be employed in the grey economy |
|
Labour force by occupation
|
Agriculture 5.9%, Industry 16.8%, Services 77.3% (2013) |
| Unemployment |
35.3%% (2014) |
|
Main industries
|
mineral mining, construction materials, base metals, leather, machinery, appliances, foodstuffs & beverages, textiles |
| 60th (2017) | |
| External | |
| Exports |
$349 million (2014 est.) |
|
Export goods
|
mining & processed metal products, scrap metals. leather products, machinery, appliances, prepared foodstuffs, beverages & tobacco, vegetable products, textile and textile articles |
|
Main export partners
|
 Italy 25.8% Albania 14.6% Macedonia 9.6% China 5.5% Germany 5.4% Switzerland 5.4% Turkey 4.1% (2012 est.) |
| Imports |
$2.687 billion (2014 est.) |
|
Import goods
|
foodstuffs, livestock, wood, petroleum, chemicals, machinery, minerals, textiles, stone, ceramic and glass products, electrical equipment |
|
Main import partners
|
Germany 11.9% Macedonia 11.5% Serbia 11.1% Turkey 9.0% Italy 8.5% China 6.4% Albania 4.4% (2012 est.) |
|
Gross external debt
|
$411.6 million (2014 est.) |
| Public finances | |
 10.6% of GDP (2014 est.) |
|
| Revenues |
$1.396 billion (2014 est.) |
| Expenses |
$1.61 billion (2014 est.) |
|
Foreign reserves
|
n/av |
The Economy of Kosovo is a transition economy. Kosovo was the poorest province of the former Yugoslavia with a modern economy only established after a series of federal development subsidies in 1960s and 1970s. During the 1990s abolition of province's autonomous institutions followed by poor economic policies, international sanctions, little access to external trade and finance, and ethnic conflict severely damaged the already-weak economy. Since the declaration of independence in 2008 Kosovo's economy has grown each year, with relatively low effects from the global financial crisis; while there are many weaknesses for its potential in the future, many of them related to its internationally disputed status, there are also potential strengths, including its very low level of government debt and future liabilities and the strength of its banking system (despite remaining obstacles to using this for productive loans). Kosovo remains one of the poorest areas of Europe, with as much as 45% of the population living below the official poverty line, and 17% being extremely poor according to the World Bank.
After strong increases in 2000 and 2001, as a result of post-war reconstruction and foreign assistance, growth in GDP was negative in 2002. In the period from 2003 to 2011 it resumed its upward trajectory, despite declining foreign assistance, averaging over 5% a year. It is noteworthy that growth continued during the financial crisis of 2009, and returned to 5% in 2011 Inflation was low, while the budget posted a deficit for the first time in 2004. Kosovo has a negative balance of trade; in 2004, the deficit of the balance of goods and services was close to 70 percent of GDP, and was 39% of GDP in 2011. Remittances from the Kosovo diaspora accounted for an estimated 14 percent of GDP, little changed over the previous decade.
Most economic development since 1999 has taken place in the trade, retail and construction sectors. The private sector which has emerged since 1999 is mainly small-scale. The industrial sector remains weak. The economy, and its sources of growth, are therefore geared far more to demand than production, as shown by the current account, which was in 2011 in deficit by about 20% of GDP. Consequently, Kosovo is highly dependent on remittances from the diaspora (the majority of these from Germany and Switzerland), FDI (of which a high proportion also comes from the diaspora, and other capital inflows). Government revenue is also dependent on demand rather than production; only 14% of revenue comes from direct taxes and the rest mainly from customs duties and taxes on consumption.
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Wikipedia