Economy - overview:
Kosovo's economy has shown progress in transitioning to a market-based system and maintaining macroeconomic stability, but it is still highly dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. Remittances from the diaspora - located mainly in Germany, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries - are estimated to account for about 17% of GDP and international donor assistance accounts for approximately 10% of GDP. With international assistance, Kosovo has been able to privatize a majority of its state-owned enterprises.Kosovo's citizens are the second poorest in Europe, after Moldova, with a per capita GDP (PPP) of $10,400 in 2017. An unemployment rate of 33%, and a youth unemployment rate near 60%, in a country where the average age is 26, encourages emigration and fuels a significant informal, unreported economy. Emigration remains challenging, however, because Kosovo lacks visa-free travel to the EU. Most of Kosovo's population lives in rural towns outside of the capital, Pristina. Inefficient, near-subsistence farming is common - the result of small plots, limited mechanization, and a lack of technical expertise. Kosovo enjoys lower labor costs than the rest of the region. However, high levels of corruption, little contract enforcement, and unreliable electricity supply have discouraged potential investors. The official currency of Kosovo is the euro, but the Serbian dinar is also used illegally in Serb majority communities. Kosovo's tie to the euro has helped keep core inflation low.Minerals and metals production - including lignite, lead, zinc, nickel, chrome, aluminum, magnesium, and a wide variety of construction materials - once the backbone of industry, has declined because of aging equipment and insufficient investment, problems exacerbated by competing and unresolved ownership claims of Kosovo’s largest mines. A limited and unreliable electricity supply is a major impediment to economic development, but Kosovo has received technical assistance to help improve the sector’s performance and has worked to improve infrastructure connections with its neighbors. In 2012, Kosovo privatized its electricity supply and distribution network. The US Government is cooperating with the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) and the World Bank to conclude a commercial tender for the construction of Kosovo C, a new lignite-fired power plant that would leverage Kosovo’s large lignite reserves. MED also has plans for the rehabilitation of an older coal power plant, Kosovo B, and the development of a coal mine that could supply both plants.In June 2009, Kosovo joined the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and began servicing its share of the former Yugoslavia's debt. In order to help integrate Kosovo into regional economic structures, UNMIK signed (on behalf of Kosovo) its accession to the Central Europe Free Trade Area (CEFTA) in 2006. Kosovo joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2012 and the Council of Europe Development Bank in 2013. In 2016, Kosovo implemented the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) negotiations with the EU, focused on trade liberalization. Under the SAA, Kosovo — which gets approximately 58% of government revenue from tariffs on imports — is required to phase out tariffs on EU goods over the next seven years. In 2014, nearly 60% of customs duty-eligible imports into Kosovo were EU goods. In 2015, Kosovo negotiated a $185 million Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF following the conclusion of its previous SBA in 2014. The IMF requested an extension of the current SBA to August 2017 to facilitate policy continuity and allow sufficient time for ongoing structural reforms to progress. In August 2015, as part of its EU-facilitated normalization process with Serbia, Kosovo signed agreements on telecommunications and energy distribution, but disagreements over who owns economic assets, such as the Trepca mining conglomerate, within Kosovo continue.Kosovo experienced its first federal budget deficit in 2012, when government expenditures climbed sharply. In May 2014, the government introduced a 25% salary increase for public sector employees and an equal increase in certain social benefits. Central revenues could not sustain these increases, and the government was forced to reduce its planned capital investments. The government, led by Prime Minister MUSTAFA - a trained economist - recently made several changes to its fiscal policy, expanding the list of duty-free imports, decreasing the Value Added Tax (VAT) for basic food items and public utilities, and increasing the VAT for all other goods.While Kosovo’s economy continued to make progress, it needs further reform and investment to enable the level of growth required to reduce unemployment and raise living standards in a meaningful way.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$19.38 billion (2017 est.) $18.73 billion (2016 est.) $18.11 billion (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
country comparison to the world: 151

GDP (official exchange rate):
$6.684 billion (2016 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]

GDP - real growth rate:
3.5% (2017 est.) 3.4% (2016 est.) 4.1% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$10,400 (2017 est.) $10,200 (2016 est.) $9,900 (2015 est.)
note: data are in 2016 US dollars
country comparison to the world: 138

Gross national saving:
12.5% of GDP (2017 est.) 12.7% of GDP (2016 est.) 12.5% of GDP (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 143
[see also: Gross national saving country ranks ]

GDP - composition, by end use:
household consumption: 90.5%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - household consumption country ranks ]
government consumption: 16%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - government consumption country ranks ]
investment in fixed capital: 28.2%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in fixed capital country ranks ]
investment in inventories: 3%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - investment in inventories country ranks ]
exports of goods and services: 5.8%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - exports of goods and services country ranks ]
imports of goods and services: -43.5% (2012 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - imports of goods and services country ranks ]

GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 12.9%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 22.6%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - industry country ranks ]
services: 64.5% (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - services country ranks ]

Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, berries, potatoes, peppers, fruit; dairy, livestock; fish

Industries:
mineral mining, construction materials, base metals, leather, machinery, appliances, foodstuffs and beverages, textiles

Labor force:
483,200
note: includes those estimated to be employed in the grey economy (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 157
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 5.9%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 16.8%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services: 77.3% (2013)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]

Unemployment rate:
34.8% (2016 est.) 34.6% (2015 est.)
note: Kosovo has a large informal sector that may not be reflected in these data
country comparison to the world: 207
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]

Population below poverty line:
30% (2013 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
30 (FY05/06)
country comparison to the world: 127
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]

Budget:
revenues: $1.396 billion
[see also: Budget - revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $1.61 billion (2014 est.)
[see also: Budget - expenditures country ranks ]

Taxes and other revenues:
20.9% of GDP (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 145
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
-3.2% of GDP (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]

Public debt:
20.6% of GDP (2016 est.) 18.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 185
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.4% (2017 est.) 0.3% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 58
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12.8% (30 June 2013 est.) 13.7% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 63
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]

Stock of broad money:
$2.511 billion (2014 est.) $2.773 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 147
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]

Stock of domestic credit:
$2.02 billion (2014 est.) $2.505 billion (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]

Current account balance:
-$738 million (2017 est.) -$651 million (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]

Exports:
$349 million (2014 est.) $408 million (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
[see also: Exports country ranks ]

Exports - commodities:
mining and processed metal products, scrap metals, leather products, machinery, appliances, prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco, vegetable products, textiles and apparel

Exports - partners:
Albania 24.2%, Macedonia, The Former Yugo Rep of 17.3%, Germany 8.8%, Switzerland 7.7%, Bulgaria 7.5%, Netherlands 6.9%, Turkey 4.6%, Austria 4.4% (2016)

Imports:
$2.687 billion (2014 est.) $3.398 billion (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 148
[see also: Imports country ranks ]

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, livestock, wood, petroleum, chemicals, machinery, minerals, textiles, stone, ceramic and glass products, electrical equipment

Imports - partners:
Macedonia, The Former Yugo Rep of 34.1%, Turkey 12%, Germany 9.4%, Albania 7.4%, Slovenia 6.9%, Italy 4.6% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$NA
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]

Debt - external:
$1.4 billion (2016 est.) $1.3 billion (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 160
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$21.2 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $39.02 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 77
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home country ranks ]

Exchange rates:
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.906 (2017 est.) 0.9214 (2016 est.) 0.9214 (2015 est.) 0.885 (2014 est.) 0.7634 (2013 est.)