Albania Digital Development Country Profile
Analysis of the country’s digital development status
Description
The "Digital Development Country Profile Albania" is part of the ITU Office for Europe’s regional effort to provide a comparative analysis of the digital transformation of priority countries in the European region, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine. The report analyses the country’s digital transformation based on various experiences of ITU, the UN specialized agency for ICTs, and other UN system organizations, offering a broad overview of the activities and projects being implemented at a national level and in the wider region. The report describes the status of digital development in Albania based on five building blocks, being a meaningful connectivity, as the foundation for digital development and transformation; the people-centric digital transformation; the government-centric digital transformation; the sector-centric digital transformation; and the digital-centred innovation ecosystem. The status of digital agriculture is analyzed in the "sector-centric digital transformation" section, which provides a detailed overview of the digital agricultural sector in Albania with focus on supporting the farmers in enhancing their efficiency and boosting exports, while also highlighting such reforms as land consolidations, and initiatives such as the e-Gateway and Agro Points, which aim to streamline services and support farmers.
Technology
The framework assessment describes technological solutions in relation to the five building blocks: Block 1: including, among others, broadband and LTE/WiMax coverage, 5G deployment and cybersecurity measures highlighting the National Cybersecurity Strategy (2020–2025). Block 2: open-source learning platforms such as “i-Clubs” (innovation clubs), involving schools in extracurricular youth education, the online reporting of cybercrimes, and online training for young Albanian women under the World Bank Digital Jobs Albania initiative. Block 3: online applications such as the government portal e-Albania, facilitating the VAT declaration procedures and the submission of annual financial reports, Open Data Tirana – a database of public affairs and services in support of the efficient management of time and taxpayers’ money, and e-learning programs such as the “e-school program”, “Socrates” and “Akademi.al”. Block 4: the Government e-Gateway, facilitating the access and sharing of data among the core stakeholders, Orthophoto maps, "Agro Points" or “Farmer’s Windows” (AGROPIKA), which provide farmers with information on access to financing, an Integrated Administration and Control System that includes farmer and animal registers, as well as health-related information systems, civil registers and online business-to-business platforms that can support SMEs in identifying and connecting with potential partners. Finally, Block 5: the Industry 4.0 model, which is enhancing competitiveness in Italy, Croatia, Greece and Albania, and the production of tools and methods to facilitate the smart industrial change in related areas.
Target
The main target users of the ITU Digital Development Country Profile reports are the priority countries for ITU, including public and private stakeholders and decision-makers at a national level, as well as international stakeholders involved in digital development, who could benefit from the statistics and initiatives described in the report in their promotion of digitization. Finally, civil society organizations, academia and startups can benefit from the provided information in the implementation of their digitization initiatives.
Impact
This document offers a framework for the unraveling of digital development, and includes the five building blocks of the digital transformation. It provides information about Albania for each domain, based on the experiences and activities of ITU and other stakeholders operating in the country and the wider region. This report will serve as a reference for discussions on digital development at a country level, and will support the stocktaking of the relevant activities, initiatives, projects and experiences developed by the UN agencies involved in the digital transformation of Albania. It will serve also as a guide for future dialogues with country stakeholders, and will support the increase of fit-for-purpose engagements of UN systems in the country.
Partners
FAO; UNIDO; UNWOMEN; United Nations Albania Country Team
Four Betters
Better production
Better life
