Albania continues to have one of the lowest numbers of doctors relative to population in the Western Balkans and remains far below the European Union average. According to data from the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) for 2025, the country had 22.7 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants, or only 53% of the EU average.
The data was published this Monday and shows a deterioration in Albania’s relative position against the European average, with a decline of 0.9 percentage points compared to a year earlier. In the region, Albania ranks only ahead of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the gap with the other countries is considerable.
North Macedonia leads with 33.8 doctors per 10,000 inhabitants, followed by Serbia with 32.3 and Montenegro with 27.9. In Bosnia and Herzegovina this indicator is 21.1, while in Kosovo it drops to 19, the lowest level in the region. The difference is especially large with North Macedonia, which has about 49% more doctors per inhabitant than Albania.
Serbia also has about 42% more doctors relative to its population. The gap becomes more noticeable when compared with the European Union. According to wiiw, North Macedonia reaches 79% of the European average, Serbia 76% and Montenegro 65%.
Albania remains at 53%, while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo reach 49% and 44% of the EU average, respectively. The 2025 data also highlight a deterioration in Albania’s relative position against the European average, with a decline of 0.9 percentage points compared to a year earlier.
The deterioration is sharpest in Kosovo, at 3.8 percentage points, and in North Macedonia, at 2 percentage points. Montenegro recorded a decline of 1.1 percentage points, Serbia of 1 point and Bosnia and Herzegovina of 0.1 percentage points. All six Western Balkan countries lost ground relative to the EU average during 2025, widening the gap in medical staff.
For Albania, the low number of doctors relative to population remains a challenge for the health system, particularly in ensuring access to services and meeting the growing needs of the population for medical care. Although the number of doctors per inhabitant is not the only indicator of the quality of health services, the large gap with the European average reflects the need to strengthen human capacities in this sector.