Tirana/Zagreb, July 4, 2012 – The Albanian IT market grew 5.5% year on year in 2011 to reach $190.43 million. Measured in local currency (ALL), the market grew 1.9% from the previous year. IDC expects the IT market in the country to expand 2.5% year on year in 2012, and to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1% to reach $212 million in 2016. Per-capita IT spending in the country stood at $60 in 2011, or 6.3% of the EU 27 average and well below the Adriatic regional average of $146.

"After a significant decrease in 2009 and 2010, IT spending in Albania rose only moderately last year. Growth was driven by higher-than-market-average IT investment by the government and telecom sectors," says Managing Director Boris Zitnik, IDC Adriatics. "Spending by the finance and 'other real' sector also rose, but slightly below the market average, while household IT consumption stagnated."

Most of the technology segments expanded in 2011, with IT services and software exceeding the overall market average. Spending in the combined PC category increased due to the performannce of notebooks and media tablets, while desktop deliveries declined sharply. Smartphone shipments soared last year, but sales of feature phones dropped. Networking equipment sales grew solidly, driven by investments by a new mobile operator.

"Expanding GDP, the MCC program aimed at improving the business climate in the country, the government's action plan for development of an IT society in the 2009–2013 period, and the entry of the fourth mobile operator positively influenced the IT market in Albania last year", says Zitnik. "Modest GDP growth is predicted for 2012, as a result of the recession in the eurozone and presidential elections scheduled for July 2012. This could restrain IT spending in the country, although IDC expects 'traditional' IT areas (services, software, computers, and hardcopy peripherals) to grow, while mobile phone and networking equipment deliveries should decline."

About the Research

IDC's Albania IT Market 2012–2016 Forecast and 2011 Vendor Shares (IDC # ESQ08U) study presents an overview of the IT market in Albania in 2011 and forecasts total IT expenditure by technology through 2016. The study contains market sizes, vendor market shares, and growth projections for hardware and packaged software shipments, as well as IT services provisioning.

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