Albania, formally known as the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeast Europe. Its pronunciation is /aelˈbeɪniə, ɔːl-/ or a(w)l-BAY-nee-ə. It shares land boundaries with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south.
It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea. It spans 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi) and features a diverse spectrum of morphological, hydrological, geological, and climatic characteristics. The Albanian Alps, the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus, and Ceraunian Mountains, as well as the lush lowland plains that stretch from the Adriatic and Ionian seacoasts, are among the country’s steep, snow-capped mountains.
The biggest and capital city of Albania is Tirana, which is followed by Durrës, Vlorë, and Shkodër.
In the past, the Epirotes lived in the south of Albania, while the Illyrians lived in the north and center. On the shore, other significant ancient Greek colonies were also founded. Prior to Macedon’s rise to dominance, the Illyrian kingdom, located in what is now Albania, dominated the region.
The area was taken by the Roman Republic in the second century BC, and it became a part of Byzantium with the split of the Roman Empire. Arbanon, the earliest known independent principality of Albania, was founded in the twelfth century.
Together with other Albanian principalities and political organizations, the Kingdom of Albania, Principality of Albania, and Albania Veneta were established in various regions of the nation throughout the 13th and 15th centuries.
Albania joined the Ottoman Empire around the end of the 15th century. The contemporary state of Albania proclaimed its independence in 1912. Italy invaded the Kingdom of Albania in 1939; it later developed into Greater Albania and served as Nazi Germany’s protectorate throughout World War II.
Following the conflict, Albania was divided into the People’s Socialist Republic and continued as so until the Revolutions of 1991 brought an end to communism in the country and the creation of the modern Republic of Albania.
Albania’s political history since gaining independence in 1912 has been varied, ranging from a monarchy to a communist state to a sovereign parliamentary constitutional republic. The country’s political organization consists of a parliament, a ceremonial president, a functioning prime minister, and a hierarchy of courts.
It is governed by a constitution that places a high priority on the separation of powers. Albania is a developing nation with an economy centered mostly on services, while manufacturing and tourism also play major roles.
It has an upper-middle income level. Following the collapse of its communist regime, the nation transitioned from a centralized planning framework to an open market economy. Albanian nationals have free basic and secondary education as well as universal access to healthcare.
Meaning and Origin
The word “Albania” has historical roots in medieval Latin, and it is said to have been inspired by the Illyrian tribe known as the Albani. The link is reinforced by the work of Ptolemy, the ancient Greek geographer, who included the town of Albanopolis, northeast of Durrës, on his maps from the second century AD.
The existence of Albanon, sometimes known as Arbanon, a medieval settlement, suggests that history may have continued. Scholarly disagreement exists on the exact connection between these historical allusions and the issue of whether Albanopolis and Albanon were interchangeable.
The oldest known mention of the Albanians comes from the Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates, who states in his historical record from the eleventh century that they participated in an uprising against Constantinople in 1079. He also states that the Duke of Dyrrachium is the subject of the Arbanitai.
Albania’s medieval people, who called themselves Arbëreshë or Arbëneshë, referred to the country as Arbëri or Arbëni. When referring to their country, Albanians use the names Shqipëri or Shqipëria, which have historical roots dating back to the fourteenth century.
However, among Albanians, these words did not gradually replace Arbëria and Arbëreshë until the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Many people take these two phrases to mean “Children of the Eagles” and “Land of the Eagles.”
Past Events
Earlier times
Albania has been shown to have been inhabited throughout the Mesolithic era at a number of open-air sites that were along the Adriatic coast as well as cave sites. Aurignacian-style bone and stone tools were discovered in Mount Dajt, while flint, jasper, and fossilized animal bones were among the Mesolithic artifacts discovered in a cave close to Xarrë.
Discoveries from the Neolithic era in Albania show that small-scale agriculture and the domestication of sheep and goats occurred there about 7000 BC. As at the Konispol cave, where Pre-Pottery Neolithic artifacts and Mesolithic strata coexist, some Neolithic people may have shared characteristics with the Mesolithic people of the southern Balkans.
Following 6500 BC, the Adriatic coast of Albania and the interior towns participated in the events that gave rise to Starčevo civilization. Cardium ceramic culture first appeared in these areas. The Late Neolithic Albanian bitumen mines (c. 5000 BC) offer the earliest evidence of bitumen usage in Europe.
At that time, bitumen was employed as an adhesive to repair damaged vessels and as a pigment for ceramic ornamentation. Early in the fifth millennium BC, the bitumen of Selenicë began to flow into eastern Albania.
The Neolithic and Bronze Ages in southern Italy provide the earliest indications of its exports to other countries. Since the Late Neolithic era till the present, Selenicë’s superior bitumen has been utilized throughout history.
In the framework of the IE-ization of the western Balkans, Albania started to become Indo-Europeanized after 2800 BC. The Early Bronze Age tumuli are located close to later Apollonia and date back to 2679±174 calBC (2852–2505 calBC).
These burial mounds are a remnant of the Adriatic-Ljubljana culture, which originated in the northern Balkans and spread southward along the Adriatic (connected to the later Cetina culture). Similar mounds were constructed by the same population in northern Albania (Shtoj) and Montenegro (Rakića Kuće).
The earliest archaeogenetic discovery connected to the IE-ization of Albania concerns a guy buried in a tumulus in northwestern Albania that dates to 2663–2472 calBC and whose ancestry was primarily Yamnaya. Albania is home to monuments and artifacts from the Cetina civilization from the Middle Bronze Age.
The Cetina civilization originated in the Dalmatian Cetina valley and spread southward over the Adriatic. The majority of Cetina findings in Albania are found in the area surrounding southern Lake Shkodër.
They are often found in hillforts such as Gajtan (Shkodër), tumulus graves such as Shkrel and Shtoj, cave sites such as Blaz, Nezir, and Keputa (central Albania), and lake basin sites such as Sovjan (southeastern Albania).
In the past
Indo-European peoples traditionally inhabited the integrated region of Albania, including several Illyrian and Epirote tribes. Furthermore, there were many Greek colonies. The region known as Illyria approximately matched the Mediterranean Sea’s eastern Adriatic Sea region, reaching south to the mouth of the Vjosë.
Periplus of the Euxine Sea, a Greek work from the fourth century BC, has the earliest description of the Illyrian tribes. The Epirote Chaonians, whose capital was Phoenice, occupied the south of Albania, while the Bryges also lived there in the center. By the seventh century BC, Greek city-states had founded further colonies along the shore, including Apollonia and Epidamnos.
One of the first tribes in the region to be documented was the Taulanti, an Illyrian tribe of great might. They resided in a region that is mostly similar to modern-day Albania. At the Battle of Pelium in 335 BC, Glaucias, the monarch of the Taulantian kingdom, and Cleitus, the ruler of Dardana, battled against Alexander the Great.
As time went by, Cassander of Macedon, the king of Ancient Macedonia, conquered Apollonia and crossed the Genusus (Albanian: Shkumbin) river in 314 BC. A few years later, Glaucias besieged Apollonia and took Epidamnos, a Greek colony, prisoner.
The majority of northern Albania was under the control of the Illyrian Ardiaei tribe, who had its capital in Montenegro. King Agron, the son of Pleuratus II, oversaw the expansion of their Ardiaean Kingdom to its highest extent. Agron also expanded his hegemony over other nearby tribes.
Teuta, Agron’s wife, inherited the Ardiaean kingdom after her husband’s death in 230 BC. The soldiers of Teuta continued their operations all the way to the Ionian Sea in the south. Rome waged war on the kingdom in 229 BC as a result of the widespread pillage of Roman vessels.
227 BC saw the defeat of the Illyrians in the conflict. In 181 BC, Gentius finally replaced Teuta. The Third Illyrian War began in 168 BC when Gentius engaged in combat with the Romans. By 167 BC, Roman forces had conquered the area as a result of the fighting.
The area was divided into three administrative divisions by the Romans.
Medieval Times
The growing strain from threats during the Barbarian Invasions led to the division of the Roman Empire into an Eastern and Western Roman Empire in 395, following the death of Theodosius I.
The native Greeks, Illyrians, and Thracians in the Balkans were substantially assimilated by the Slavs during the 6th and 7th centuries after they crossed the Danube; as a result, the Illyrians were last recorded in historical accounts in the 7th century.
A Catholic north and an Orthodox south have emerged in Albania as a result of the Great Schism, which formalized the division between the Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic churches in the eleventh century.
Under Progon of Kruja’s direction, the Albanian people who lived in the upper valley of the River Shkumbin and to the west of Lake Ochrida founded the Principality of Arbanon in 1190. Gjin and Dhimitri, his sons, succeeded him as rulers of the country.
Following Dhimiter’s demise, the region was ruled by Gregory Kamonas, an Albanian-Greek, and then by Kruja’s golem. An end to the principality occurred in the thirteenth century. As the westernmost point of the Byzantine Empire, Arbanon was ruled by the Laskarids of Nicaea or the Doukai of Epirus and is regarded as the first outline of an Albanian kingdom.
The region began to be occupied by Serbs and Venetians during the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. Although the ethnogenesis of the Albanians is unknown, Michael Attaliates’ book from 1079 or 1080 has the earliest known reference of Albanians, referring to the Albanoi as having participated in a revolution against Constantinople. The Albanians had reached complete Christianization at this stage.
Charles of Anjou signed a deal with the Albanian kings upon the breakup of Arbanon, pledging to defend their long-standing freedoms. He returned lands from the Despotate of Epirus and founded the Kingdom of Albania in 1272. The kingdom claimed all of central Albania, extending down the coast of the Adriatic Sea to Butrint from Dyrrhachium.
The papal schemes to introduce Catholicism over the Balkan Peninsula were predicated on a catholic political framework. Helen of Anjou, Charles of Anjou’s cousin, also supported this proposal. During her reign, some thirty Catholic churches and monasteries were constructed, mostly in northern Albania.
The most powerful medieval Serb, Stefan Dusan, created a short-lived empire in the 14th century, including all of Albania save Durrës, thanks to internal power conflicts within the Byzantine Empire. A group of Albanian kings founded the Despotate of Arta in 1367.
A number of Albanian principalities, including the Principality of Albania, Principality of Kastrioti, Lordship of Berat, and Principality of Dukagjini, were established during that period. The majority of Albania was overrun by the Ottoman Empire in the first part of the 15th century, while Skanderbeg, the national hero of Albanian medieval history, ruled over the League of Lezhë.
Empire of the Ottomans
Following the fall of Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire pursued a protracted campaign of conquest and territorial expansion, extending its boundaries far into Southeast Europe. They arrived on the Ionian Sea Coast of Albania in 1385, established their garrisons in Southern Albania in 1415, and took control of the majority of the country in 1431.
As a result, many of Albanians fled to Western Europe, mostly to Calabria, Naples, Ragusa, and Sicily. Others went to the sometimes impassable Albanian Mountains in search of safety. Due to their status as Christians, the Albanians faced several forms of discrimination, including high taxes and the Devshirme system, which enabled the Sultan to extort a certain proportion of their families’ Christian teenagers in order to create the Janissary.
Mosques were built quickly and Islamization took place gradually in tandem with the Ottoman invasion.
Following the creation of the League of Lezhë, a lucrative and protracted revolt broke out, lasting until the surrender of Shkodër, headed by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, who routinely routed powerful Ottoman forces under the command of Sultans Murad II and Mehmed II. As the Lord of Albania, Skanderbeg was able to bring together a number of the kingdoms in Albania, including the Arianitis, Dukagjinis, Zaharias, and Thopias, and create centralized rule over the majority of the unconquered lands.
Skanderbeg has been credited with being one of the main reasons for the delay of Ottoman expansion into Western Europe, giving the Italian principalities more time to better prepare for the Ottoman arrival. The Ottoman Empire’s expansion came to a halt during the period that Skanderbeg’s forces resisted.
None of Skanderbeg’s victories, however, prevented the Ottomans from permanently invading the Western Balkans due to the failure of most European countries, with the exception of Naples, to support him and the collapse of Pope Pius II’s plans to organize a promised crusade against the Ottomans.
Skanderbeg was a brilliant military tactician, but his triumphs were merely postponing the ultimate conquests. Albania was devastated by the Ottoman conquests, which resulted in a sharp decline in population as well as the destruction of crops and cattle herds. Despite Skanderbeg’s victories over the Ottoman invasions, there was no way he could stop them short of capitulation.
His lack of finances and men prevented him from increasing the military effort and forcing the Turks out of Albania. Thus, Albania was destined to endure an endless string of Ottoman assaults until it collapsed, years after his passing.
Albanian cities were divided into four main sanjaks when the Ottomans were beginning to establish a stronghold in the area. By establishing a sizable Jewish colony of refugees from persecution in Spain, the government promoted trade. The European imports of velvets, cotton products, mohairs, carpets, spices, and leather from Bursa and Constantinople passed through the ports of the city of Vlorë. A few Vlorë residents even had business contacts in other parts of Europe.
Albanians began to embrace Islam in greater numbers starting in the 17th century and this trend persisted into the 18th. They had equal access to possibilities for progress under the Ottoman Empire thanks to Islam.
Nonetheless, some academics assert that conversion motivations varied based on the situation, even if it is difficult to look into these matters due to a lack of relevant sources. The majority of Catholic Albanians converted in the 17th century due to growing anti-Catholic sentiment, and Orthodox Albanians mostly followed suit in the 18th century.
Owing to their strategic importance, a sizable percentage of the Ottoman military and bureaucracy consisted of Albanians. Numerous Muslim Albanians made significant contributions to culture and the military as well as politics within the larger Muslim community.
They held a number of important administrative posts with more than twenty Albanian Grand Viziers, enjoying this privileged status. Others were Zagan Pasha, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Ali Pasha of Tepelena, and members of the well-known Köprülü family. Moreover, the mothers of two sultans, Bayezid II and Mehmed III, were Albanians.
Rilindja
The Albanian Renaissance, which began in the late 18th century and lasted into the 19th, was a time when the Albanian people developed their intellectual and spiritual capacities in order to lead autonomous political and cultural lives as a nation.
Albanian literature and the arts in particular saw great success in modern times, and Romanticism and Enlightenment ideas were often cited as major inspirations. Ottoman authorities prohibited any display of national solidarity or conscience by the Albanian people prior to the advent of nationalism.
Following Russia’s victory over the Ottoman Empire in the Russian-Ottoman Wars, the Treaty of San Stefano was put into effect, giving Albanian-populated areas to their Slavic and Greek neighbors. But as a result of blocking the agreement, the UK and the Austro-Hungarian Empire brought about the Treaty of Berlin.
The League of Prizren was established as a result of the Albanian people’s subsequent organizational efforts to defend and unify the regions they inhabited into a single country. The Ottoman government originally supported the league, basing their stance on the religious unity of Muslims and landlords who were affiliated with the Ottoman government.
The League Committee of the Real Muslims was named after them because they simultaneously advocated for the defense of Muslim countries and supported and upheld Muslim unity.
The assembly, which was made up of deputies from Bosnia, the central authority represented by the governor of the Sanjak of Prizren, and no delegates from the Vilayet of Scutari, drew in about 300 Muslims.
The Kararname, which was signed by just 47 Muslim deputies, declared that the people of northern Albania, Epirus, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were prepared to use all means necessary to defend the Ottoman Empire’s territorial integrity against the forces of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro.
When the league, led by Abdyl Frashëri, became concentrated on promoting Albanian autonomy and asked for the consolidation of four vilayets—Kosovo, Shkodër, Monastir, and Ioannina—into one vilayet, the Albanian Vilayet, the Ottoman authorities withdrew their support.
The league employed armed forces to stop Montenegro from annexing the regions of Plav and Gusinje. Following many victorious encounters with Montenegrin forces, including the Novšiće Battle, the league was compelled to withdraw from the areas they had claimed. Afterward, the sultan’s Ottoman army defeated the league.
Independence
On November 28, 1912, Albania proclaimed its independence from the Ottoman Empire. On December 4, 1912, the Assembly of Vlorë established the Senate and Government. The Conference of London acknowledged its sovereignty. The borders of the country and its neighbors were established by the Treaty of London on July 29, 1913, which left many Albanians outside of Albania, mostly divided between Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece.
The International Commission of Control, which has its headquarters in Vlorë, was founded on October 15, 1913, to oversee Albanian governance until its own political institutions were in place. The Principality of Albania’s first law enforcement organization was founded and was called the International Gendarmerie.
The nation’s first gendarmerie personnel came in November. The first prince of the principality was chosen to be Prince Wilhelm of Wied, also known as Prince Cihelm Vidi. Arriving at Durrës, the temporary capital, on March 7, he set about forming his government, naming Turhan Pasha Përmeti to lead the country’s first cabinet.
Ahmed Izzet Pasha, the Ottoman military minister of Albanian descent, was presented with the Albanian throne by the Albanian pro-Ottoman troops in November 1913. The pro-Ottoman peasants thought that the local landowners, who controlled half of the fertile land, and the six Christian Great Powers were the ones behind the new administration.
The local Greek community in Gjirokastër declared the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in February 1914 in opposition to Albanian absorption. The southern regions were absorbed into the Albanian Principality in 1921, ending this short-lived endeavor.
Concurrently, the uprising of Albanian peasants against the recently established government began, spearheaded by a faction of Muslim clerics centered on Essad Pasha Toptani, who declared himself to be the Messiah of both Islam and Albania. Prênk Bibë Doda, the foreign minister of the Principality of Albania, was nominated by Prince Wied as the head of the Catholic volunteers from Mirdita in northern Albania in order to win their support.
Isa Boletini and his soldiers, primarily from Kosovo, joined the International Gendarmerie in May and June 1914. The rebels overcame the Catholics of Mirdita in the north and by the end of August 1914 they had taken control of much of Central Albania. On September 3, 1914, Prince Wied fled the nation as his rule came to an end.
First Republic
Albania saw ongoing political unrest, social unrest, economic hardships, and foreign intrusions throughout the interwar years. Albania’s lack of an established government and internationally recognized borders following World War I left it open to attack from nearby countries like Greece, Italy, and Yugoslavia, all of which aimed to increase their influence.
This caused political unrest, which was brought to light in 1918 when the Congress of Durrës requested protection at the Paris Peace Conference but was turned down, thus tarnishing Albania’s reputation abroad.
Territorial tensions increased as Greece wanted to establish supremacy in southern Albania and Yugoslavia, especially Serbia, sought authority over northern Albania. When the Serbs attacked Albanian residents in 1919, including those in Gusinje and Plav, the situation worsened and led to widespread displacement and killings.
Meanwhile, propelled by both political aspirations and economic concerns, Italian influence grew during this period.
Renowned for his idealism, Fan Noli was appointed prime minister in 1924 with the goal of establishing a constitutional government in the Western form, doing away with feudalism, resisting Italian influence, and improving infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
In addition to encountering opposition from former friends who had helped to depose Zog, he had difficulty obtaining international assistance to carry out his plans. The establishment of diplomatic relations between Noli and the Soviet Union, a rival of the Serbian aristocracy, sparked accusations of Bolshevism from Belgrade.
This ultimately resulted in Zog’s return to power due to growing pressure from Italy. Zog transformed Albania from a republic to a monarchy in 1928, with the support of Fascist Italy. Zog became King Zog I.
Important constitutional amendments maintained Zog’s governing authority while dissolving the Senate and creating a unicameral National Assembly.
Benito Mussolini’s Italy invaded Albania militarily in 1939, driving Zog into exile and establishing an Italian protectorate. Italy sought to increase its geographical dominance in the Balkans as World War II dragged on, laying claim to areas of Greece (Chameria), Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo.
These goals served as the impetus for Greater Albania, an initiative to create a unified nation out of all regions with a majority of Albanians. Nazi Germany took over Albania in 1943 after Italy’s influence waned, subjecting the country’s citizens to economic exploitation, forced labor, and terror. When Albanian resistance forces, led by communist leaders like Enver Hoxha, effectively freed the country from German control in 1944, things started to change.
Communism
A pivotal moment in the history of contemporary Albania was the founding of the People’s Republic of Albania, led by Enver Hoxha. Hoxha’s government upheld Marxist–Leninist ideas and imposed harsh travel restrictions, the outlawing of private property rights, and the banning of religious practices, among other authoritarian measures.
It was also characterized by a recurring pattern of extermination, widespread repression, treachery, and animosity against outsiders. He swiftly and severely punished any opposition or resistance to his leadership, including internal exile, long jail sentences, and execution. Numerous issues faced the dictatorship, including as gender inequality, health concerns, widespread poverty, and illiteracy.
As a reaction, Hoxha launched a modernization program with the goal of achieving social and economic freedom and turning Albania into an industrial nation. The regime gave top priority to the diversification of the economy through industrialization in the Soviet style, the introduction of a revolutionary railway system, the expansion of healthcare and education services, the eradication of adult illiteracy, and focused improvements in specific areas like women’s rights.
Under Hoxha, Albania’s diplomatic history was marked by significant disputes. initially supported Yugoslavia as a satellite nation, but ties soured when Yugoslavia sought to include Albania in its borders. Later on, Albania developed commercial contacts with other Eastern European nations and built relationships with the Soviet Union; nonetheless, disputes over Soviet policies resulted in strained relations with Moscow and the country’s diplomatic separation in 1961.
Tensions with the West escalated concurrently with Albania’s denial of democratic elections and accusations of Western assistance for anti-communist revolutions. Albania maintained a long-lasting alliance with China after supporting Beijing in the Sino-Soviet crisis, which led to the breakup of relations with the Soviet Union and Albania’s exit from the Warsaw Pact in reaction to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.
However, in 1970, their relationship reached a standstill, which forced both parties to reevaluate their commitment and Albania to deliberately lessen its reliance on China.
Albania was subjected to a broad campaign throughout Hoxha’s rule that targeted religious leaders of different religions, culminating in public persecution and deaths. The campaign specifically targeted Muslims, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox devotees.
Religious lands were nationalized in 1946, the same year that religious organizations closed or were converted to serve a variety of secular functions. This resulted in Albania becoming the first constitutionally atheist state in history in 1976. Albanians were compelled to accept communist philosophy, give up their religious convictions, and live a secular lifestyle under this dictatorship.
Fourth Republic
Following four decades of communism and the 1989 upheavals, Albania saw a major increase in political participation, especially among students, which resulted in a change in the status quo. The communist party held dominance in the legislature during the first multi-party elections in 1991 until losing in the Democratic Party-led legislative elections of 1992.
Financial and economic resources were heavily invested in pyramid schemes, which had broad endorsement from the government. Between one-sixth and one-third of the nation’s population was affected by the projects.
Sali Berisha defended the schemes as major investment enterprises in spite of the International Monetary Fund’s concerns, which encouraged more individuals to reroute their remittances and sell their houses and animals for cash to deposit in the schemes.
When the scams started to fail in late 1996, many of the investors joined the originally nonviolent demonstrations against the government, demanding their money back. In response, government authorities opened fire on the protestors in February 1997, turning the demonstrations violent.
The Republican Guard and Police abandoned their armories in March. Criminal groups and militias quickly emptied them. Foreign nationals and refugees were evacuated in large numbers as a result of the civil conflict that followed.
Following the general election, the situation forced Sali Berisha and Alexander Meksi to retire from their positions. Operation Alba was a U.N. peacekeeping operation headed by Italy that invaded Albania in April 1997 with the dual objectives of securing the area for international organizations and helping with expatriate evacuations.
The principal international organization participating was the multinational Albanian Police element of the Western European Union, which collaborated with the government to concurrently reorganize the Albanian police and the judicial system.
Contemporary
Following the collapse of its communist regime, Albania actively pursued Westernization in order to become a member of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In 2009, the nation achieved a significant milestone by becoming a member of NATO, which was unprecedented for Southeast European countries.
On April 28, 2009, it formally applied for membership in the EU in accordance with its objective for deeper integration. On June 24, 2014, the nation achieved a significant milestone when it was given formal candidate status.
The Socialist Party’s Edi Rama was victorious in both the 2013 and 2017 parliamentary elections. During his tenure as prime minister, he carried out a number of reforms aimed at modernizing the economy and democratizing state institutions such as the police and courts. Albania now has the fourth-lowest unemployment rate among the Balkan countries as a result of a steady drop in unemployment.
Rama has also made gender equality a top priority; since 2017, there have been more women serving as ministers than ever before, accounting for over 50% of the total. In the legislative elections of 2021, the Socialist Party under Rama emerged victorious for the third time in a row, garnering over 50% of the vote and sufficient seats to govern on its own.
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Albania on November 26, 2019, with its epicenter around 16 km (10 mi) southwest of the town of Mamurras, devastated the country. The seaside city of Durrës and the town of Kodër-Thumanë were the most impacted locations, although the tremor was also felt in Tirana and as far away as Taranto, Italy, and Belgrade, Serbia. The Albanian diaspora and other nations provided significant humanitarian help as part of a comprehensive reaction to the earthquake.
It was confirmed on March 9, 2020, that COVID-19 has spread to Albania. In an effort to stop the virus’s spread, the government issued a state of emergency that lasted from March to June 2020. Albania’s COVID-19 immunization campaign began on January 11, 2021, and as of August 11, 2021, 1,280,239 doses of the vaccine have been given out.
Surroundings
Geographical
Albania is a country in South and Southeast Europe that is 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi) in size and is located on the Balkan Peninsula, which faces the Mediterranean Sea. Its borders are as follows: North Macedonia to the east, the Adriatic Sea to the west, Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, Greece to the south, and the Ionian Sea to the southwest.
Latitudes 42° and 39° N and longitudes 21° and 19° E are where it is located. Sazan is located at 19° 16′ 50″ eastern longitude, Vërnik is located at 21° 1′ 26″ eastern longitude, Vërmosh is located at 42° 35′ 34″ northern latitude, Konispol is located at 39° 40′ 0″ northern latitude, and Vërnik is located at 21° 1′ 26″ eastern longitude.
The Mediterranean Sea is the lowest point at 0 m (0.00 ft), and Mount Korab is the highest point rising 2,764 m (9,068.24 ft) above the Adriatic. The nation is around 340 km (211 mi) from north to south and 148 km (92 mi) from east to west.
Albania’s terrain is varied and diversified, with hills and mountains cutting through the country in different directions. Wide-ranging mountain ranges may be found across the nation, including the Pindus Mountains in the southeast, the Ceraunian Mountains in the southwest, the Albanian Alps in the north, the Korab Mountains in the east, and the Skanderbeg Mountains in the center.
The biggest lake in Southern Europe, the Lake of Shkodër, is located in the northwest. One of the oldest lakes in the world to still exist is the Lake of Ohrid, which rises toward the southeast. Some of the tallest lakes in the Balkans, the Large and Small Lake of Prespa, are located in this area farther south. Rivers flow into the Adriatic and Ionian Seas after rising mostly in the east.
The Drin, which begins at the meeting point of its two headwaters, the Black and White Drin, is the nation’s longest river when measured from mouth to source. The Vjosë, one of the remaining major river systems in Europe still in place, is especially concerning.
Climate
The variations in latitude, longitude, and altitude cause the climate of Albania to display a notable degree of fluctuation and diversity. Albania has a continental climate with a Mediterranean influence, with four distinct seasons. The Köppen classification divides Albania’s climate into five main categories: oceanic, continental, subarctic, and Mediterranean in the west, and subtropical and Mediterranean in the east.
Albania’s coastal districts around the Adriatic and Ionian Seas are considered to be the warmest, while the northern and eastern sections of the nation, which include the Albanian Alps and the Korab Mountains, are considered to be the coldest.
The average monthly temperature varies throughout the year, from −1 °C (30 °F) in the winter to 21.8 °C (71.2 °F) in the summer. Notably, on July 18, 1973, in Kuçovë, the temperature reached its highest recorded value of 43.9 °C (111.0 °F), while on January 9, 2017, in Shtyllë, Librazhd, it reached its lowest recorded value of −29 °C (−20 °F).
Precipitation in Albania is highest in the winter and lowest in the summer. There is around 1,485 millimeters (58.5 inches) of precipitation on average. Depending on the geographic area, the mean annual precipitation varies from 600 to 3,000 millimeters (24 to 118 inches).
The highlands in the northwest and southeast experience more precipitation than the highlands in the northeast and southwest, as well as the Western Lowlands, which get less. Its extreme north, the Albanian Alps, gets at least 3,100 mm (122.0 in) of rain a year, making it one of Europe’s most humid places. At a very low altitude of 2,000 meters (6,600 feet), four glaciers within these mountains were found, which is exceedingly uncommon for such a southerly latitude.
The Diversity of Life
Albania is a biodiversity hotspot with a very rich and diverse biodiversity due to its central Mediterranean position and the wide range of climatic, geological, and hydrological variables that exist there.
The mountains and hills of Albania are remote, but this makes them rich in forests, trees, and grasses that support a diverse range of animals. These include the lynx and brown bear, two of the most endangered species in the nation, as well as wildcats, grey wolves, red foxes, golden jackals, Egyptian vultures, and golden eagles, the latter of which is the national animal.
The greater flamingo, pygmy cormorant, and the Dalmatian pelican—possibly the most emblematic bird in the nation—all depend heavily on the estuaries, marshes, and lakes. The Mediterranean monk seal, loggerhead sea turtle, and green sea turtle, which once made their nests in the nation’s coastal waters and coastlines, are especially significant.
Albania is located in the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal and Mediterranean Region and is a component of the Boreal Kingdom in terms of phytogeography. Its area may be split into four Palearctic terrestrial ecoregions: the Dinaric Mountains mixed forest, the Pindus Mountains mixed forest, the Illyrian deciduous woods, and the Balkan mixed forests.
Albania is home to some 3,500 distinct plant species, most of which have Mediterranean and Eurasian characteristics. The nation still has a rich history of using herbs and medicine. Herbs and medicinal plants are prepared from at least 300 locally grown species. The predominant tree species found in the forests include pine, fir, oak, and beech.
Conservation
Albania has actively participated in a number of international conventions and accords designed to bolster its commitment to biological diversity preservation and sustainable management. The nation has ratified the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols, as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), since 1994.
It has created and put into effect a thorough National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) in order to keep these promises. Albania has furthered its conservation efforts on a national and worldwide level by forming a cooperation with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Under the direction of the IUCN, the nation has established a number of protected areas inside its borders, including 12 national parks, including Butrint, Karaburun-Sazan, Llogara, Prespa, and Vjosa.
As a signatory to the Ramsar Convention, Albania has designated four wetlands—Buna-Shkodër, Butrint, Karavasta, and Prespa—as Wetlands of International Importance, giving them particular protection. The nation’s commitment to preservation is demonstrated by its participation in the Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, which is part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
This network operates under the auspices of the Man and the Biosphere Programme. In addition, Albania is home to two natural World Heritage Sites: Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe, which includes the Ohrid region, the Gashi River, and Rrajca.
Locations that are protected
The Albanian government has selected and is in charge of the regions that are protected. Albania has twelve national parks, four Ramsar sites, one biosphere reserve, and seven hundred and eighty-six additional conservation reserves.
The Albanian Alps National Park, which includes the former Theth National Park and Valbonë Valley National Park, is surrounded by the high peaks of the Albanian Alps and is situated in the north. Parts of the untamed Korab, Nemërçka, and Shebenik Mountains are protected in the east inside the borders of Shebenik, Fir of Hotovë-Dangëlli, and Prespa national parks, the latter of which includes Albania’s section of the Great and Small Lakes of Prespa.
The terrain of Llogara National Park, which stretches into the Karaburun Peninsula to create the Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park, is shaped by the Ceraunian Mountains, which to the south define the Albanian Ionian Sea Coast. Beyond there, on a peninsula encircled by the Vivari Channel and the Lake of Butrint, sits Butrint National Park.
The huge Lagoon of Karavasta, one of the biggest lagoon systems in the Mediterranean Sea, is located in the west of the Divjakë-Karavasta National Park, which stretches along the coast of the Adriatic Sea in Albania.
The Vjosa River, which rises in the Pindus Mountains and empties into the Adriatic Sea, is protected by Europe’s first wild river national park, Vjosa National Park. The mountainous region of central Albania, encompassing the Tomorr and Skanderbeg Mountains, is protected by three national parks: Dajti Mountain National Park, Lurë-Dejë Mountain National Park, and Tomorr Mountain National Park.
Environmental Problems
Albania’s environmental problems include pollution of the air and water, effects of climate change, inadequate waste management, loss of biodiversity, and the necessity of protecting the natural environment. Albania’s quality of life is expected to be significantly impacted by climate change.
The nation, which is placed 79th out of 181 nations in the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index of 2020, is acknowledged as being vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The nation is vulnerable to climate change concerns due to a number of geological and hydrological hazards, including river and coastline erosion, earthquakes, flooding, fires, landslides, and severe rains.
In addition to implementing domestic measures, Albania’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as a signatory to the Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol will assist to lessen the effects of climate change.
In the Environmental Performance Index, the nation performs moderately and is becoming better, coming in at number 62 out of 180 in 2022. However, Albania’s standing has dropped since it peaked in the Environmental Performance Index of 2012 at position 15. Albania was ranked 64th out of 172 nations in the world in 2019 with a mean score of 6.77 from 10 on the Forest Landscape Integrity Index.
Politics
Albania has undergone a dramatic political transition since gaining independence in 1912, going through three major eras of rule: monarchy, communism, and finally the foundation of democracy. The year 1998 saw Albania undergo a significant political transformation, becoming an independent parliamentary constitutional republic. The country’s main document, the constitution, governs the way its governing system is run.
With three arms of government—the legislative, represented by the Parliament, the executive, headed by the President as the ceremonial head of state and the Prime Minister as the functional head of government—and the judiciary, comprising a hierarchy of courts that includes the constitutional and supreme courts as well as multiple appeal and administrative courts—the constitution is based on the idea of the separation of powers.
Albania’s legal framework is designed to safeguard the political rights of its citizens, irrespective of their racial, ethnic, or religious backgrounds. Notwithstanding these ideals, Albania has serious human rights issues that require consideration.
These worries include problems with the judiciary’s independence, the lack of a free press, and the pervasive issue of corruption in different governmental, law enforcement, and other organizations.
Albania is actively working to achieve significant improvements in these areas to bring them into compliance with EU standards and criteria as it continues its route toward EU membership.
International relations
Albania, having spent decades isolated during the communist era, has chosen to focus its foreign policy on active participation in world affairs and collaboration. The main goals of Albania’s foreign policy are to uphold its territorial integrity and sovereignty, foster diplomatic relations with other nations, push for international recognition of Kosovo, address the issue of the expulsion of Cham Albanians, pursue Euro-Atlantic integration, and defend the rights of Albanians living in Kosovo, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and the diaspora.
Albania’s foreign policy demonstrates the nation’s commitment to regional stability and membership in important international organizations. Not long after emerging from seclusion during the communist era, Albania joined the UN in 1955. Enrollment in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a significant foreign policy accomplishment for the nation in 2009. The nation has also started a major reform program to bring itself into compliance with EU accession requirements since gaining candidate status in 2014, with the goal of joining the EU.
Albania and Kosovo have strong cultural, ethnic, and historical links, which have enhanced their brotherly bond. Long-lasting diplomatic relations are fostered by both nations, with Albania actively assisting Kosovo’s efforts to integrate internationally and grow.
Its early acknowledgment of Kosovo’s sovereignty in 2008 highlights its essential role in the country’s journey toward independence. In addition, as demonstrated by the first meeting in 2014, the two governments organize yearly joint gatherings that function as a formal forum for strengthening their collaboration and reaffirming their shared commitment to policies that advance the stability and development of the larger Albanian area.
Infrastructure
Learning
Education in Albania is free, obligatory, secular, and divided into three levels. Two semesters make up the academic year, with September or October serving as the start and June or July as the finish dates. The majority language of teaching in the academic institutions of the nation is Albanian.
First foreign language instruction is required and is often provided in elementary and bilingual schools. German, French, Italian, and English are the languages taught at schools. The school life expectancy in Albania is sixteen years, and the country has a 98.7% literacy rate, with 99.2% of men and 98.3% of women literate.
The two stages of mandatory primary education are elementary and secondary school, which run from grades one through five and six through nine, respectively. Students must attend school from the time they are six until they are sixteen.
All students are entitled to attend high schools with a focus on any subject, including the arts, sports, sciences, languages, and technology, after successfully completing their elementary education.
The Bologna Process’ tenets have guided the extensive reform and reorganization of tertiary education, which is now voluntary. The main cities of Albania are home to a sizable number of both public and private higher education institutions. The bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate are the three consecutive stages of tertiary education.
Health
Equitable, cost-free, and universal health care is guaranteed to all Albanian citizens under the constitution. The primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare systems make up the healthcare system, which is now undergoing modernization and improvement.
Albania has a 77.8-year life expectancy at birth, which puts it 37th in the world and longer than that of many wealthy nations. At 37th place in the globe, the average healthy life expectancy is 68.8 years. In 2015, the estimated infant mortality rate for the nation was 12 per 1,000 live births. According to the World Health Organization, the nation’s healthcare system ranked 55th in the world in 2000.
In Albania, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality, accounting for 52% of all fatalities. Other leading causes of mortality include malignancies, respiratory disorders, accidents, and traumas. The nation’s recent developments in the social, economic, and demographic spheres have also contributed to an increase in neuropsychiatric illness.
Albania had the fifth-highest daily consumption of fruits and vegetables in Europe in 2009, at 886 grams per person. Albania has a comparatively low obesity rate when compared to other wealthy and developing nations, most likely as a result of the Mediterranean cuisine.
Data from the World Health Organization (2016) indicates that 21.7% of individuals in the nation have a body mass index (BMI) score of 25 or more, which indicates that they are clinically overweight.
Power
Albania has a wide range of energy resources, from gas, oil, and coal to wind, solar, water, and other renewable sources, because of its location and natural resources. The nation placed 21st overall in the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Energy Transition Index (ETI), demonstrating the advancement of its energy transition program.
Albania now ranks sixth in the world in percentage terms for its reliance on hydroelectricity as its primary source of power. Four hydroelectric power stations—Fierza, Koman, Skavica, and Vau i Dejës—are located in the northern Drin. There are two more power plants, the Banjë and Moglicë, located south of the Devoll.
Albania possesses large oil reserves. Its oil reserves rank 58th in the world and tenth in Europe. The majority of the nation’s petroleum reserves are found in the Western Lowlands, namely in the Myzeqe Plain and the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast.
The largest onshore oil field in Europe is Patos-Marinza, which is situated in the same region. A portion of the Southern Gas Corridor, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) crosses the country of Albania for 215 kilometers (134 miles) before arriving on the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast around 17 kilometers (11 miles) northwest of Fier.
Water resources in Albania are extremely plentiful and include lakes, rivers, springs, and groundwater aquifers in every area of the nation. The average annual freshwater availability in the nation is projected to be 129.7 cubic meters (4,580 cubic feet) per person, which is among the highest in Europe. Roughly 93% of the nation’s population has access to better sanitation, according to data from the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) in 2015.
Press
The Albanian constitution guarantees the freedom of the press, speech, and the right to free expression. According to Reporters Without Borders’ 2020 Press Freedom Index, Albania was placed 84th; its ranking has been continuously dropping since 2003. However, Freedom House rated Albania’s press and speech freedoms as somewhat free from political meddling and manipulation in its 2020 edition of Freedom in the World.
Albania’s state broadcaster, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), is in charge of a number of radio and television stations there. The three main private broadcasting companies are Top Channel, Televizioni Klan, and Vizion Plus. Their programming is shown throughout Kosovo and other areas where the Albanian language is spoken, in addition to across Albania.
Albanian film emerged with the country’s declaration of independence and has its origins in the 20th century. In Shkodër, the first cinema theater erected specifically for the purpose of presenting motion pictures opened its doors in 1912.
Albanian film took off during the People’s Republic of Albania, thanks to the opening of the Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re in Tirana. The life and battles of the medieval Albanian warrior Skanderbeg are chronicled in the epic Albanian-Soviet film The Great Warrior Skanderbeg, which was released in 1953.
It went on to take home the 1954 Cannes Film Festival’s international award. The largest film festival in the nation, the Tirana International Film Festival, was founded in 2003. The second largest film festival, the Durrës International Film Festival, takes place in the Durrës Amphitheatre.
Science and Technology
Albania’s scientific and technological personnel resources have significantly declined since the end of communism in 1991. According to a number of sources, from 1991 to 2005, around half of Albania’s academics and scientists departed the country’s universities and scientific organizations.
The National Strategy for Science, Technology, and Innovation in Albania, which runs from 2009 to 2015, was adopted by the government in 2009. It intends to increase the percentage of GDE from outside sources, such as the European Union’s framework programs for research, to the point where it covers 40% of research spending, among other things, and treble public investment on R&D to 0.6% of GDP. In 2023, Albania came in at number 83 on the Global Innovation Index.
In Albania, the telecommunications sector is one of the most rapidly expanding and active industries. The three main suppliers of internet and mobile services in Albania are Albtelecom, Vodafone Albania, and Telekom Albania.
There were over 1.8 million active internet subscribers and about 2.7 million active mobile users in the nation as of the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) in 2018. In all, more than 931,000 mobile subscribers were supplied by Vodafone Albania, around 605,000 by Telekom Albania, and more than 272,000 by Albtelecom. Albania launched Albania 1 and Albania 2 into orbit in January 2023, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s efforts to monitor its territory and detect illicit activity.
The Chief Technology Officer of the research group OpenAI, engineer Mira Murati, is an American-Albanian who has contributed significantly to the creation and introduction of artificial intelligence services including DALL-E, Codex, and ChatGPT.
Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania said in December 2023 that the government will be working with ChatGPT, with talks with Murati serving as a facilitator. Rama emphasized that the goal is to lower the expenses related to legal services and translation by simplifying the process of aligning Albanian legislation with EU standards.
Demography
Albania’s population was estimated by the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) to be 2,402,113 as of the 2023 census. With 1.51 births per woman, the nation has one of the lowest global fertility rates. The population density of the area is 259 people per square kilometer.
78.5 years is the average life expectancy at birth; for men, it is 75.8 years and for women, it is 81.4 years. The nation is the 137th most populated in the world and the eighth-most populous in the Balkans. From 2.5 million in 1979 to 3.1 million in 1989, the population of the nation increased gradually. Every year since, the population has declined steadily.
It is anticipated that contingent on the real birth rate and net migration level, the population will continue to decline for the next ten years at the very least. More over 46,000 individuals left Albania in 2022—a 10% rise from the year before.
The collapse of communism in Albania in the late 20th century provides an explanation for the recent decline in population. Economic mass exodus from Albania to Greece, Italy, and the US occurred at that time. The internal population distribution of the nation was impacted by migration.
In the cities of Durrës and Tirana, it climbed in the center while decreasing mostly in the north and south. In recent years, there has been a steady migration overseas, especially of young, educated people. Albania has one of the highest rates of outmigration in the world in relation to population, with up to one-third of individuals born inside its boundaries currently residing outside of it.
People of reproductive age left the country in huge numbers in 2022, which resulted in a 20% decrease in the birth rate from 2021.
The population of the nation resides in cities to the tune of 53.4%. Half of the population is concentrated in the three largest counties in terms of population. Tirana County has over 30% of the total population, followed by Fier County (11%), Durrës County (10%), and other counties. Tirana and Durrës, home to almost a million people, are Albania’s largest urban area. With over 400,000 residents, Tirana is one of the biggest cities on the Balkan Peninsula and comes in at number seven.
The greatest metropolitan areas in the nation by population in 2011.
