Public employment growth and pre-election hiring
Status: ongoing
Summary
Public administration headcount has risen to its highest level in more than two decades. INSTAT reports 185,386 employees as the 2025 annual average and 186,581 in Q4 2025, up about 1.6% on 2024. Over 2014-2025, headcount rose about 12.7% and salary and contribution costs about 76%. Analysts have noted increases before the 2019 and 2021 elections, and BIRN data show a 40% jump in annual leave taken in January-April 2025 compared with 2024, in 20 responding institutions. ODIHR 2025 found pressure on public employees during the campaign. The opposition's claim that the real figure exceeds 200,000 (via unregistered contracts) is not supported by INSTAT.
Key facts
- Public administration employees: 185,386 annual average 2025; 186,581 in Q4 2025 (INSTAT, per secondary reports).
- Growth 2014-2025: headcount +12.7%; salaries and contributions +76% (per report of INSTAT data).
- BIRN: 5,673 employees took annual leave in Jan-Apr 2025 at 20 central and local institutions, +40% on the same period in 2024.
- Opposition economist Dorjan Teliti claims more than 200,000 employees via contracts not in registers (political claim, not INSTAT).
The record
Four lists kept apart on purpose: what is established, what is only alleged, what is still open, and what those concerned said.
What is proven (1)
Established by documents or official records, as stated in the research. A recorded charge or indictment proves only that the accusation was made.
- INSTAT headcount and cost figures as reported.
What is alleged (1)
Accusations, not findings. Those accused are presumed innocent.
- AllegationThat hiring is partisan (pattern shown, individual hiring decisions not examined here).
Allegations and who made them (1)
Each line is an allegation as recorded, with the person or body that made it where the record names them.
- AllegationHiring and leave patterns track election periods, and public employees were pressured to back the ruling party (ODIHR 2025 finding, reported in summaries).
Open questions (2)
- INSTAT primary tables (not fetched in this pass).
- Share of hires classed as illegal (Commissioner statement reported by Tirana Times, February 2026: one in three public administration employees hired illegally).
Responses (1)
Responses of the people and organisations concerned, as recorded.
- Government response to the employment figures not found in this pass.
Figures
Money trail →Public administration salaries and contributions: about +76% over 2014-2025 (headcount +12.7%)
No amount recorded
otherSource label: Officially reportedStated definition: Growth percentage only, as reported from INSTAT data. No euro or lek total was found in this pass; check INSTAT tables.
Date: 2025 · Payer: Albanian state budget · Payee: Public-administration employees
- Public jobs rise as private employment falls (opens in a new tab)Gazeta Tema · 2026 · journalism · EN
Timeline
Full timeline →International
ODIHR final report: ruling party gained from misuse of administrative resources and pressure on public employees
The ODIHR final report on the 11 May 2025 election says the ruling party benefited from heavy use of administrative resources, which gave it an unfair incumbency edge, and reports pressure on voters and public employees. It recommends banning the use of public resources for campaigning. The government reportedly disputed the finding; the leaked-correspondence claim was not verified. Also see ev-2025-10-23-odihr-final.
Sources for this record
Every source the research cites for this record, grouped by its source label. 5 sources.
Source label: Officially reportedOfficially reported · 5 sources
- Publisher
- Gazeta Tema
- Date
- 2026
- Publisher
- Exit.al
- Date
- 2019
- Publisher
- Reporter.al
- Date
- 9 Dec 2025
- Publisher
- A2 News
- Date
- 23 Oct 2025
- Publisher
- OSCE/ODIHR
- Date
- 23 Oct 2025