Since Albania has no method of disposing of old cars, its roads are littered with wrecks. For a country that did not allow private car ownership until 1990 and then had only 20,000 cars, it is an extraordinary transformation. Officially Albania is a very poor country, but drug trafficking, illegal immigrant networks and prostitution rackets have transformed the economy. Money is pouring in from 700,000 Albanians living and working in Italy, France and Germany. Emigrants, both legal and illegal, sending money home from all over Europe, account for one-third of Albania's annual income.
Money laundering from drugs and prostitution adds to the flood of hard currency.
All over Albania, mansions are being built by people who have no formal job or declared income. Not that this helps the mayor much, because few pay any taxes. That's why Tirana has clean western-style houses with televisions and flowers, but outside the front doors are mountains of garbage, floods from blocked drains and potholed roads. Most electricity and water is stolen, and the city has 30,000 illegally built houses. It is hard to believe this is Europe.