The 2005 Albania Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS) provides individual level and household level socio-economic data from  3,638 households drawn from urban and rural areas in Albania.  The sample was designed to be representative of  Albania as a whole, Tirana, other urban/rural locations, and the three main agro-ecological areas (Coastal, Central, and Mountain).   While similar to the sample design used for the 2002 survey, the 2005 survey is not a panel survey with the 2002 data.  The survey was carried out by the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank.

The information for the LSMS survey was collected using four questionnaires.  The household questionnaire collects information at both the household and individual levels.   Information collected at the household level includes housing, non-food purchases, social assistance, other income, social capital, subjective poverty, and non-farm enterprises.   Information collected at the individual level includes demographics, education, communication, labour, migration, health, and fertility.  The second questionnaire is a diary for recording daily household consumption in which households recorded the food they consumed over a 14 day period.  The third questionnaire is the community questionnaire which collects community level information on the basic characteristics of the community, access to public services such as education, health, and communication, community services, community organizations, community safety, migration, the Albanian development fund, problems related to the environment and credit.  The fourth questionnaire was the price questionnaire which collected price data to be used to adjust for regional price differences. 

For the best use of the database, it is highly recommended that users read all of the documentation that is provided for using the data (see below "Documentation for the 2005 Albania LSMS").

Data files and necessary supporting documentation can be downloaded from the Net. To obtain the data, first read the sections describing the formats of the data and documentation. Download the documentation, then fill in the 'Data Use Agreement Form', and finally download the data.

• Description of Document Formats

  General description of PDF and PostScript formats

• Description of Data Formats

  General description of ASCII, Stata, and SAS portable data formats

• Documentation for the 2005 Albania LSMS

  Questionnaires, Codebooks, and other survey documents are available in PDF format for downloading.

• Data Agreement Form

  The form states that downloading the data obligates you to cite the source of the data and to send copies of papers to the Albanian Institute of Statistics and the LSMS Division of the World Bank. The form also requires you to state your name, address, and intended use of the data. Once you have submitted the form, you will be sent to a page containing links to the data files. If your browser doesn't support forms (or fails to forward you to the data page upon completing the form), contact LSMS and you will receive instructions on how to progress to the page with the data files.

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