This article is about the
demographic features of the
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, including
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
,
ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. The demography of the
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
is monitored by the
Institute of Statistics of Albania. The institute has performed demographic
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
es since the 1924s. The latest census in Albania was performed in April 2011, and has been deemed as unreliable both within and outside Albania.
Albania is a fairly linguistically homogeneous country with ethnic
Albanians forming the majority in the country. Albania had 2,876,591 inhabitants on 1 January 2017, according to the
INSTAT
InStat is a sports performance analysis company. It was founded in Moscow in 2007, and has international offices and over 900 company representatives. Regional company headquarters are located in Dublin and Philadelphia.
InStat claims that medi ...
calculations.
The first official population statistics for
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
was the 1923 census, when the country had a total of 823,000 inhabitants. Previous censuses carried out by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, which are not yet available. A shift in administrative borders in 1913 made comparison of various periods more complicated. Maddison from 2001, estimates that in
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, about 200,000 people lived up to the year 1600, and that the population grew to 300,000 by 1700, implying an annual average growth rate of 0.4% in that period. However, population growth accelerated from the
declaration of independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
in 1912 to 1944 to 0.7% per year. This was due in part because Albania had the largest
birth rate
The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...
and the smallest
death rate
Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of de ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
at the time. After the
second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, population increase policies pursued by the communist government and a large
life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
fueled a 2.5 percent annual increase for the following 45 years. The growth strained economic resources during communism in a
Malthusian
Malthusianism is the idea that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population die off. This event, ...
fashion that led to the collapse of the regime and the
emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...
of about 20 to 25 percent of the population in the following two decades.
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
experienced a demographic transition starting from 1960s, when crude birth rates began a slow decline, despite a government policy that called for a population increase. After the 1990s, the population showed an average decline of about 0.3 percent per year, caused by emigration. In the 2001 Census, the population declined to 3,023,000 from almost 3.3 million in 1990.
The latest census in Albania was scheduled for April 2011, and the results will be published in the following months. The permanent population of Albania at the 2011 census had reached 2.83 million. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 98.5 inhabitants per square kilometre, and the
overall life expectancy in Albania at birth was 78 years in 2011. For the first time in the history of population censuses in Albania, the population in urban areas (53.7%) was larger than the population of rural areas (46.3%). The
Albanian language
Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...
is the official language, but minority languages are officially used in some local government units. Albanian is declared as the native language by 98.76% of the population. The
Albanian people
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
are considered one of the most
polyglot
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...
nation and people in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
They generally speak more than two languages, which are
French,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, which are increasing due to migration return, and new Greek and Italian communities in the country. The main religions of Albania are
Islam (58.79%),
Roman Catholicism (10.02%) and
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
(6.75%). The 2011 census on religion and ethnicity has been deemed unreliable by the
Council of Europe as well as other internal and external organisations and groups.
Albania has a high
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...
of 0.764, ranking
75th in the world in 2016. In 2016, Albania had a total population of 2,786,026, 1,361,326 being males and 1,424,700 females. Otherwise 42,922 inhabitants have left Albania and at the same year the number of
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
in the country was by 25,846 inhabitants.
Albanian demographics are difficult to ascertain and verify due to political corruption at the local and central level as noted by the
Council of Europe.
Population
![Bevölkerungspyramide_Albanien_2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Bev%C3%B6lkerungspyramide_Albanien_2016.png)
With a population of 2.87 million in 2017, Albania ranks
136th in the world by population. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
is 101 inhabitants per square kilometre. The overall
life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
in Albania at birth is 78 years. The
total fertility rate
The total fertility rate (TFR) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if:
# she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) through her lifetime
# she were t ...
of 1.70 children per mother is
one of the lowest in the world. In 2016, the population of Albania was about 2,89 million, comprising 1,447 million male and 1,443 female persons. There were 38,003 live births and 20,737 deaths in Albania. The natural increase of the population was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 17,266. Due to
external migration and
low birth rate, the population declined by 18,307. The total
dependency ratio
The dependency ratio is an age-population ratio of those typically not in the labor force (the ''dependent'' part ages 0 to 14 and 65+) and those typically in the labor force (the ''productive'' part ages 15 to 64). It is used to measure the press ...
of population in Albania is 46.8%.
In 2001, the number of households amounted to 726,895. The
age structure was under 6 years by 10.8% and 65 years and older by 7.5%. However, the sex ratio amounted to 49.9% males and 50.1% females of the total population. Furthermore, 2,737,614 of the population was older than 6 years. In 2011, the total population was 2,831,741. The comparison of the figures shows that the population has decreased by 7.7% in about ten years. Large scale emigration and fertility decline are supposed to be the main causes of the observed population decrease. A preliminary estimate of the number of persons that refused to participate in the census is 29,355 (1.04%). This figure is based on the number of dwellings for which a refusal was recorded and is included in the total population. The total population is composed of 1,421,810 males (50.2%) and 1,409,931 females (49.8%). For the first time in the history of population censuses in the nation, the population in urban areas is larger than the population of rural areas. According to 2011 census preliminary results, 53.7 percent of the population lives in urban areas and 46.3 percent in rural areas.
The 2011 census is regarded as unreliable and inaccurate by the
Council of Europe, showing incompatibility with the protection of national minorities. Also, the World Council of Churches sent letters to the United Nations Human Rights Council regarding the matter, having conducted their own questionnaire which showed major irregularities. It was the first census to include
ethnicity, was struck by controversy since according to article 20 of the Census law, there is a $1,000 fine for anyone who declares anything other than what was written down on the individual's birth certificate. Some of the minorities, mainly the Greeks, boycotted the census. The religious affiliation of the population was 56.7%
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, 13.79% undeclared, 10.03%
Catholics, 6.75% Orthodox believers, 5.49% other, 2.5% Atheists, 2.09%
Bektashis
The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led ...
and 0.14% other Christians.
![Dita e Flamurit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Dita_e_Flamurit.JPG)
According to the Institute of Statistics
INSTAT
InStat is a sports performance analysis company. It was founded in Moscow in 2007, and has international offices and over 900 company representatives. Regional company headquarters are located in Dublin and Philadelphia.
InStat claims that medi ...
, the population in 2016 was 2,886,026.
Tirana County
Tirana County ( sq, Qarku Tiranë, italic=unset), officially the County of Tirana ( sq, Qarku i Tiranës, italic=unset), is a county in the Central Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the tenth largest by area and the most populous of the t ...
is the area with the highest population of 811,649 in the country.
Fier County
Fier County (; sq, Qarku Fier, italic=unset), officially the County of Fier ( sq, Qarku i Fierit, italic=unset), is a county in the Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the eighth largest by area and the third most populous of the ...
remains the population with the second highest population with a total of 312,488. The Counties with the lowest result are
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and th ...
,
Kukës
Kukës ( sq-definite, Kukësi) is a city in the Republic of Albania. The city is the capital of the surrounding municipality of Kukës and county of Kukës, one of 12 constituent counties of the republic. It spans and had a total population of 1 ...
and
Dibër respectively with 70,331, 84,035 and 134,153 inhabitants. About 53.4% of Albania's population live in cities. The three largest counties account for half of the population.
![City of Durrës](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/City_of_Durr%C3%ABs.jpg)
Almost 53.4% of the population of Albania living in cities. According to the
Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), the three largest counties account for half of the population. Over 1 million people live in
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
and
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...
, making it the largest urban area in Albania. The area of the capital
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
, is one of largest cities in the
Balkan Peninsula and ranks 7th with a population about 800,000.
The second largest is the port city of
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...
, with a population of 201.110, followed by
Vlorë
Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foo ...
, the largest city in southern Albania, with 141.513 inhabitants. The
Institute of Statistics forecast that the population may even increase by less than a fifth from 763.560 by 2011 to 909.252
by 2031, depending on the actual birth rate and the level of net migration.
Population censuses in 1923–2011
Population by Qark/County
Total fertility rate by counties
Vital statistics
Before WWII
After WWII
Source: Institute of Statistics (INSTAT)
Current vital statistics
Marriages and divorces
Vital statistics, marriages and divorces by decade
Births and fertility rates
Ethnic groups
Albania is inhabited mostly by
Albanians. In the 2011 official census, 97.8% of those who disclosed their identity were Albanians (82.58% overall), while 2.3% stated other ethnicities (1.9% overall). Albania recognizes
nine national minorities. These include
Aromanians
The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...
,
Balkan Egyptians
The Ashkali ( sr, Ашкалије, Aškalije), also Hashkali ( sr, Хашкалије, Haškalije), and Balkan Egyptians ( sr, Балкански Египћани, Balkanski Egipćani; sq, Komuniteti i Egjiptianëve të Ballkanit; mk, Ѓуп ...
,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
,
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...
,
Bosniaks,
Macedonians,
Montenegrins
Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro.
Genetics
Accordi ...
,
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
and
Roma. As conducting a satisfactory census of ethnic minorities is one of the country's commitments to the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, the
Government of Albania
Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, where the President of Albania is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Albania the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the Government ...
conducted an official census to clarify the ethnic composition of the population in 2011. However this census was deemed unreliable by internal and external organisations, including the Council of Europe and many of Albania's ethnic minority groups.
The last census to include data on ethnic minorities was conducted in 1989. The census conducted in 2001 did not collect information about ethnic groups and nationalities in the population.
Since the 21st century, Albania has also witness a significant settlement of foreign expats into the country, such as Italian, Chinese, Turks, Bengalis, Americans, and other foreign workers. Albania also houses 5,000 Afghan refugees and over 400 Ukrainian refugees.
AlbaniaTraditionalCommunitiesByLanguageAndReligion.png, Traditional locations of linguistic and religious communities in Albania.
Albania minorities.png, Regions with a traditional presence of ethnic or linguistic groups other than Albanian.
Ethnic composition of Albania, municipality data of 1989 census.gif, Ethnic composition per the 1989 census:
Red - Albanian majority
Green - Greek majority
Yellow - Macedonian majority.
Religion
![Traditional Distribution of Religions in Albania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Traditional_Distribution_of_Religions_in_Albania.png)
The main religions of Albania at the 2011 census were
Islam 58.79%,
Roman Catholicism 10.02,
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
6.75%,
Bektashi
The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led by ...
2.09%,
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
0.14%,
Atheism 2.50%, 5.50% Nondenominational and 16.30% Others. This census has been recognised as unreliable by numerous internal and external organisations, including the
Council of Europe.
Religious observance and practice is generally lax and polls have shown that, compared to the populations of other countries, few Albanians consider religion to be a dominant factor in their lives. Today, religion plays an important role in the lives of only 39% of Albanians. In addition, Albania is ranked among the least religious countries in the world.
The
Constitution of Albania extends freedom of religion to all citizens and the government generally respects this right in practice. It declares no official religion and provides for equality of all religions. However, the predominant religious communities enjoy a greater degree of official recognition and social status based on their historical presence in the country. All registered religious groups have the right to hold bank accounts and to own property and buildings. Religious freedoms have in large part been secured by the generally amicable relationship among religions. The
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
has the right to approve the curricula of religious schools to ensure their compliance with national education standards while the State Committee on Cults oversees implementation. There are also 68 vocational training centers administered by religious communities.
Government policy and practice contributed to the generally free exercise of religion. The government is secular and the Ministry of Education asserts that public schools in the country are secular and that the law prohibits ideological and religious indoctrination. Religion is not taught in public schools.
Language
![Albanian dialects](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Albanian_dialects.svg)
The
Albanian language
Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europ ...
is the official language of Albania. It has two distinct dialects, Tosk, spoken in the south, and Gheg, spoken in the north. The
Shkumbin
The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a river in Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is .
Etymology
It derives from La ...
river is the rough dividing line between the two dialects. The language is spoken primarily in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
and
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
. Centuries-old communities speaking Albanian-based dialects can be found scattered in Greece (
Arvanites
Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settl ...
), Southern Italy, Sicily and Calabria (
Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including:
* Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name
* Arbëresh ...
) and in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. However, due to the large
Albanian diaspora
The Albanian diaspora ( sq, Mërgata Shqiptare or Diaspora Shqiptare) are the ethnic Albanians and their descendants living outside of Albania, Kosovo, southeastern Montenegro, western North Macedonia, southeastern Serbia, northwestern Greece a ...
, the total number of speakers is much higher than the native speakers in
Southern Europe
Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...
. The four dialects include
Tosk Albanian
Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is ...
,
Gheg Albanian
Gheg (also spelled Geg; Gheg Albanian: ''gegnishtja'', Standard sq, gegërishtja) is one of the two major variety (linguistics), varieties of Albanian language, Albanian, the other being Tosk Albanian, Tosk. The geographic dividing line betwee ...
,
Arbëresh and
Arvanitika
Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the u ...
.
Albanians are considered of the most polyglot nation and people in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
Albanians generally speak more than two languages. These languages are
French,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
which are increasing due to migration return, and new Greek and Italian communities in the country. Italian is widely spoken throughout Albania.
La Francophonie
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
states that 320,000 French speakers can be found in Albania. Greek, the language of the Greek minority of the south, is also very widespread in that region. Nowadays, knowledge of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
is growing very rapidly, especially among the youth.
The ethnic minorities languages include
Aromanian,
Serbian,
Macedonian,
Bosnian,
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
,
Gorani, and
Roma.
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
is the largest minority language of the country as well as the first largest foreign language. Approximately 5,000 Macedonian language-speakers can be found in Albania. Most of these living in the southeastern part of the country.
Education
![Tirana, palazzo dell%27università 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Tirana%2C_palazzo_dell%27universit%C3%A0_02.JPG)
Literacy in the country is 98.7 percent. The School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) of Albania is 16 years. The nation ranks 25th out of 167 countries in the World. In 2015, the overall
literacy rate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
in Albania was 98.7%; the male
literacy rate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
was 99.2% and female literacy rate was 98.3%.
Education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
for primary ''(arsimi fillor)'', secondary ''(arsimi i mesëm)'', and tertiary ''(arsimi universitar)'' levels are mostly supported by the state. The academic year is similar to that of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Classes start in September or October and ends in June or July.
Albanian is the primary language of instruction in all public schools. Education takes place in three stages, the primary, secondary, and pre-university education. The primary education is obligatory from grade 1 to 9. Students must pass the graduation exams at the end of the 9th grade in order to continue their education. After the primary school, the general education is provided at the secondary schools. Students get prepared for the
Matura
or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, C ...
examination, allowing them to obtain their matura diploma, which grants admission to higher education. The country follows the
Bologna model in accordance with the 2007 Law on 'Higher Education'. These institutions can be public or private, and may offer one, two or three levels of higher education depending on the institution.
Health
![Life expectancy in Albania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Life_expectancy_in_Albania.svg)
Albania has a
universal health care
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...
system. In 2000, Albania had the world's 55th
best healthcare performance.
According to the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
(WHO), Albania ranks around the 40th in the world in terms of
life expectancy
Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
. Compared to other Western countries, Albania has a low rate of
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
, probably thanks to the health benefits of the
Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet is a diet inspired by the eating habits of people who live near the Mediterranean Sea. When initially formulated in the 1960s, it drew on the cuisines of Greece, Italy, France and Spain. In decades since, it has also incor ...
.
Source: ''UN World Population Prospects''
Diaspora
![Albanians in Europe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Albanians_in_Europe.jpg)
Albanians have established communities in many regions throughout southern
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
. The modern Albanian diaspora was formed largely in the 15th century, when many Albanians emigrated to southern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, especially in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
and
Calabria also to
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, to escape either various socio-political difficulties and the Ottoman conquest. Other destinations include the
US,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
Over the last twenty years, Albania has experienced major demographic changes, having the
highest population growth in Europe following the
collapse of communism
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
in the country. Albania has also shifted to population decline since the changes. However, during the final days of the transition from a communism to a capitalism in 1990, over a million
Albanians moved to foreign countries. These include
Australia,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
the Nordic countries,
Switzerland and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. About 440,000 of them settling in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, where Albanians make up 60% of immigrants. 350,000 Albanians have migrated to Italy over the 1990s to 2000s, however the number has increased substantially. The situation in Kosovo is similar. More than a million Albanians have left Kosovo since the late 1980s permanently, not counting those fleeing the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...
who have subsequently returned. Important destinations for emigrating Albanians from Kosovo have been Switzerland and Germany.
[150,000 Albanians resided in Switzerland as of 2000 (6% of the total population of Switzerland)]
Eidgenössiche Volkszählung 2000: Sprachenlandschaft in der Schweiz
/ref>
See also
* Albanians
* Albanian diaspora
The Albanian diaspora ( sq, Mërgata Shqiptare or Diaspora Shqiptare) are the ethnic Albanians and their descendants living outside of Albania, Kosovo, southeastern Montenegro, western North Macedonia, southeastern Serbia, northwestern Greece a ...
* Albanian Institute of Statistics
* Demographics of Greece
* Demographics of Kosovo
The Kosovo Agency of Statistics monitors various demographic features of the population of Kosovo, such as population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the ...
* Demographics of Montenegro
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Montenegro, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Populat ...
* Demographics of North Macedonia Demographic features of the population of North Macedonia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The latest population census was ...
* Demographics of Serbia
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Serbia; including vital statistics, ethnicity, religious affiliations, education level, health of the populace, and other aspects of the population.
History
Censuses in Serbi ...
References
External links
Institute of Statistics of Albania (INSTAT)
*
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