Data Centers in Albania

Albania – Strategic Balkan Connectivity Hub

Executive Summary

Albania is an emerging data center market positioned to serve as a low-latency digital gateway to the Western Balkans. For companies targeting consumers and businesses in the region, Albania offers a foothold to improve application performance and user experience. The market's primary advantage is its strategic location for edge deployments and content delivery, supported by a power grid dominated by renewable energy.

Albania: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Albania's connectivity landscape is developing, with infrastructure centered around its capital, Tirana, and connected internationally via submarine cables across the Adriatic Sea. As of September 2025, there are 5 data centers and 2 service providers.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality Carrier density is limited, with a small number of national and regional providers. True carrier-neutral facilities are not yet common, with most colocation options offered by the primary telecom operators.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps There are no direct cloud on-ramps from public cloud providers within Albania. Businesses require private or public network connections to major European hubs like Milan or Athens to access dedicated cloud services.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) The primary national exchange is the Albanian Neutral Internet Exchange (ANIX), which facilitates local traffic peering, helping to reduce latency for domestic users. However, a significant portion of international traffic is routed through providers in Italy and Greece.

Bare Metal Bare metal server availability is primarily through local and regional hosting providers. For global platforms, customers typically use providers with a strong European presence, such as OVHcloud or Leaseweb, from nearby data center markets.

Power Analysis

Albania's power profile is unique in Europe, with a grid that is almost entirely dependent on renewable sources.

Average Cost Of Power Industrial electricity costs are estimated between €0.12 and €0.16/kWh as of September 2025. This competitive pricing is driven by the country's extensive hydropower resources, making it an attractive operational factor.

Power Grid Reliability The national grid relies heavily on hydropower, which can introduce seasonal variability. Data centers in the region are built with standard redundancies, including UPS systems and backup generators, to ensure consistent uptime for critical operations.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Albania provides a strategic base for reaching Balkan markets and is actively working to align its business climate with European Union standards.

Proximity To Key Business Districts Data centers are located in and around Tirana, the nation's economic and political center. This proximity serves the core financial, telecommunications, and government sectors concentrated in the capital.

Regional Market Reach From Albania, organizations can effectively serve neighboring markets such as Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Montenegro. This geographic advantage allows for significantly lower latency to end-users in these countries compared to hosting from more distant European hubs.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers Albania does not currently offer specific tax incentives for data center construction or operation. Businesses should evaluate the market based on its operational benefits, such as strategic location and favorable power costs, rather than tax advantages.

Natural Disaster Risk

Albania has a Low overall natural disaster risk profile, with an INFORM score of 2.9 out of 10 as of September 2025. While the aggregate risk is low, the country faces high exposure to specific hazards.

Key risks include:

• Earthquake: 8.3/10
• Coastal Flood: 7.4/10
• Tsunami: 6.8/10
• River Flood: 4.6/10

Despite the low overall score, site selection must account for the high potential for seismic activity and coastal events along the Adriatic shoreline.