An individual in Albania would need to earn around $28,000 in income per year to reach the so-called "happiness threshold," a level beyond which further income increases do not bring significant improvements in life satisfaction.
According to the ranking published by Visual Capitalist, based on an analysis by Remitly, the average annual salary in Albania is estimated at around $10,000. This means that the income of an average worker covers only 34.8% of the level estimated as necessary for “happiness,” leaving a gap of more than $18,000 per year.
In monthly terms, the calculated threshold for Albania is around $2,316, while the average salary used in the ranking is approximately $830 per month.
The indicator does not represent the minimum amount needed to cover food, housing, and basic expenses. It measures the level at which, according to the study on income and subjective well-being, further wage increases are no longer associated with a significant improvement in people's assessment of their lives.
Albania with the lowest salaries in the region and Europe
The high gap between real wages and the “price of happiness” is linked to the low level of labor income in Albania. According to other data from INSTAT, Eurostat and OECD, processed by “Monitor”, the average gross monthly wage in Albania was 84.1 thousand lekë in 2025, or about 10,300 euros per year. At these levels, Albania ranked last in the Western Balkans, excluding Kosovo.
The average gross annual salary was around 15,500 euros in Serbia, around 15,000 euros in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 14,500 euros in Montenegro and 13,200 euros in North Macedonia. Compared to the European Union, the difference is even greater. The average gross annual salary in EU countries is estimated at around 50,000 euros, or almost five times more than in Albania. In Germany, one of the main destinations of Albanian emigration, the average salary is around 66,700 euros per year, more than six times the Albanian level. In Italy it is around 36,600 euros and in Greece 26,600 euros per year. These figures are not entirely the same as the $9,670 salary used in the Visual Capitalist ranking, as the sources and methodologies differ. The international ranking is based on data from the International Labor Organization, while the "Monitor" comparison uses the average gross salary reported by INSTAT and the statistical institutes of the countries in the region.
What does the "price of happiness" measure?
The calculation is based on a Purdue University study on the relationship between income and subjective well-being. The researchers determined a level of “income saturation,” beyond which more money no longer significantly improves individuals’ assessment of their lives.
The starting values were adjusted for purchasing power parity and inflation in each country. Average wages were taken from the International Labour Organization, and the data were updated to March 2026. The threshold should not be interpreted as a guarantee that a person earning this amount will be happy. Well-being is also influenced by health, family relationships, security, working conditions, education and social support. Of the countries analyzed, Slovenia was the only one where the average wage was higher than the “price of happiness.” The average annual wage of about $42,800 was 16.3% above the estimated threshold of about $36,800.
In Latvia, the average wage covered about 84.7% of the threshold, while in Poland it covered 74.5%.
However, the report notes that higher wages do not guarantee a smaller gap. The United States has the third highest average wage in the study, at $75,300 per year, but it also has one of the highest “happiness prices,” at $134,800. As a result, the average wage covers only 55.8% of this threshold.
Australia has the highest “happiness price” in the ranking, at $161,300, more than double the average salary of $59,000. With incomes covering just 36.6% of the threshold, the country ranks 39th. A similar trend is seen in the United Kingdom, where the average salary covers 35.9% of the threshold, in Canada at 44.4% and in New Zealand at 34%.
Although these countries have relatively high wages, their workers remain further from the income level associated with maximum well-being than workers in some lower-wage economies in Central and Eastern Europe. Ecuador ranks last among the 50 countries analyzed. The average salary of $6,500 covers only 32.9% of the “price of happiness,” estimated at $19,700./Monitor
