The Albanians in the Nordic countries ( sq, Shqiptarët në vendet nordike) refers to the

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

migrants in

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

such as Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Norway and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and their descendants. The Albanians mostly trace their origins to Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and to a lesser extent to other Albanian-speaking territories in the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. Their exact number is difficult to determine as some ethnic Albanians hold other citizenship than Albanian or Kosovan. Albania and Kosovo maintain close and friendly diplomatic and political ties with the Nordic countries. Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have been among the first countries to officially recognise the self-proclaimed

Independence of Kosovo The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, which proclaimed the Republic of Kosovo to be a state independent from Serbia, was adopted at a meeting held on 17 February 2008 by 109 out of the 120 members of the Assembly of Kosovo, including the P ...

and its sovereignty.

Norway

Based on data of the

Statistisk Sentralbyrå Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every yea ...

of 2018, there were approximately 18,500 Albanians (0.34% of the total population) geographically distributed in the territory of Norway composed of 15,642 (0.29% of the total population) Kosovan nationals and 2,111 people (0.04% of the total population) with Albanian nationality. The exact number of Albanians in the country could be higher which would as well include the Albanians from North Macedonia or other Albanian-speaking territories in the

but the data in Norway gives no indication of ethnic backgrounds. The historical conflicts in the Balkans, especially the Kosovo War, set in motion large population movements of ethnic Albanians to the country and elsewhere. Around 6,000 Albanians from Kosovo were evacuated to Norway from North Macedonia in 1999. The

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

s with the most significant concentration of Albanians are

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

, Buskerud, Oslo, Østfold and

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

predominantly in southern Norway. The most lesser number are to be found in Finnmark, Sogn og Fjordane and

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

. The city, county and

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

of Oslo in southern Norway remain the prime destination of Albanian migrants in the country.

Denmark

The

Albanians 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 ...

migrated to Denmark in two main groups - firstly through Yugoslavian labor migration, which spanned from the 1960s to 1970s, and later as a result of the Yugoslav wars. Many of said Yugoslavs came from

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

; an estimated 2,000 ethnic

. In Greater Copenhagen, many Yugoslav immigrants are ethnic

from

Tetovo Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...

, Resen, and surrounding regions. It is estimated that there are about 15,000 Albanian speakers from Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia in Denmark. Albanian has been continuously taught in Copenhagen and some other communities for some time. The Albanian community in Denmark has long gone unnoticed. It gained publicity in recent years with the killing of an young Albanian boy. Kosovar Albanian migrants founded the Radio Television Voice of Kosovo in Denmark (RTVZiK). The regions with the most significant concentration of Albanians in Denmark are Hovedstaden and Syddanmark mostly to the south and southeast of Denmark. The most lesser number are to be found in Nordjylland in the north of the country.

Finland

Albanians in Finland are active in cultural events and other similar meetings. The Albanian Association "Bashkimi" is a cultural association established in 1998, in Turku, a city in southern Finland where roughly 1,800 Albanians live. A recently-taken demographic report has revealed that ca. 20,000 Albanians emigrated to the country between 1990 and 2016.

Sweden

The exact number of ethnic

is not known. The Diaspora Ministry of Kosovo has stated that "

has the best conditions for the Albanian diaspora". Sweden is exemplary in promoting the teaching of

in schools. One of the three state cultural centers of the Albanian diaspora is in

, located in Halland. Albanska Fotbolls Föreningen "Albanska FF" and Rinia Idrottsförenig "Rinia IF" are two Albanian football teams in Sweden. Radio Dituria is an Albanian

radiostation Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-b ...

located in

Borås Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 66,273 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them the ...

. The radiostation focuses on Albanian culture and tradition.

Notable people

''Selected people'': File:René_Redzepi_en_la_cena_de_las_14_estrellas_Michelín_del_restaurante_Zaldiarán.jpg, René Redzepi File:Kosovare_Asllani_Oct_2013_(2).jpg, Kosovare Asllani File:FC_Red_Bull_Salzburg_gegen_RSC_Anderlecht_(Testspiel_7._Juli_2017)_14.jpg,

Valon Berisha Valon Berisha (born 7 February 1993) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League club Melbourne City, on loan from Ligue 1 club Reims, and the Kosovo national team. He previously represented Norway at youth a ...

File:Albion Ademi.jpg, Albion Ademi File:Nooralotta Neziri-20130721-Lapinlahti-SavoGames RMJ0588.jpg,

Nooralotta Neziri Nooralotta Maria Neziri (born 9 November 1992 in Turku, Finland) is a Finnish 100 meter hurdler. She was born of Finnish mother and Macedonian Albanian father in Turku, and has lived in Pori since her early childhood until June 2017. Since the ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albanians in the Nordics

Immigration to Denmark Immigration to Finland Immigration to Norway Immigration to Sweden

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

Albanian diaspora in Norway