Albania is increasingly connected to the internet, but not everyone is part of the economy and services that are moving online. Around 320,000 people in the country were still offline at the end of 2025, despite internet penetration reaching high levels.
According to DataReportal's "Digital 2026: Albania" report, Albania had around 2.45 million internet users in October 2025, equivalent to 88.4% of the population. This means that 11.6% of the population, or approximately 320 thousand people, did not use the internet.
The data also shows that the expansion of internet use appears to have entered a stagnation phase. The number of users is estimated to have decreased by about 18 thousand people, or 0.7%, between October 2024 and October 2025, while the penetration rate remained unchanged. DataReportal explains that data on internet use is published with a delay and therefore the actual penetration level may be somewhat higher.
INSTAT figures provide a similar picture. The Survey on the Use of Information Technology and
Family Communication shows that in 2025, 87.2% of Albanians aged 16-74 used the internet, up from 86.2% a year earlier. So, the increase was only one percentage point. Of those who use the internet, 97.3% go online several times a day.
The gap is even wider as an increasing number of services are moving online. According to INSTAT, 99.5% of the population aged 16-74 has an account on the e-Albania platform. At the same time, 45.4% of this age group had made at least one online purchase in the last 12 months.
The use of the internet for economic transactions is also increasing. In 2025, among the online activities that recorded the largest increase was internet banking, with 7.7 percentage points, while online search for goods and services increased by 10.7 percentage points. Participation in social networks increased by 5.7 percentage points.
This means that being offline is no longer just about lack of access to information or social networks.
As the economy and administration become digitalized, non-use of the internet can limit practical access to public services, banking, e-commerce, and other forms of economic activity./Monitor.al/
