Korçë County ( sq, Qarku Korçë, italic=unset), officially the County of Korçë ( sq, Qarku i Korçës, italic=unset), is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the largest by area and the seventh most populous of the twelve counties, with more than 202,000 people within an area of . The county borders on

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 Socialist Feder ...

to the northeast and

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 wit ...

to the southeast, the counties of

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...

to the northwest,

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located i ...

to the west and Gjirokastër to the southwest. It is divided into six

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

, Korçë, Devoll,

Kolonjë Kolonjë is a municipality in Korçë County, southeastern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Barmash, Çlirim, Ersekë, Leskovik, Mollas, Novoselë, Qendër Ersekë and Qendër Leskovik. The seat of th ...

, Maliq, Pogradec and Pustec, with all of whom incorporate thirty-seven administrative units.

Geography

Protected areas

The Ministry of Tourism and Environment manages numerous natural sites and protected areas in Korçë County. In conjunction with numerous national natural sites and areas, the National Agency of Protected Areas has the

Fir of Drenovë National Park The Fir of Drenovë National Park ( sq, Parku Kombëtar Bredhi i Drenovës) is a national park near Korçë in eastern Albania, with an area of . The park falls within the Illyrian deciduous forests and Dinaric Alpine mixed forests terrestri ...

and Prespa National Park under its administration. The

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve is also encompassed in the county.

Demographics

Most of the region's inhabitants are ethnic Albanians, but there are also important communities of Greeks (especially in the South), Macedonians (especially in the East), Aromanians (more concentrated in Western parts) and Roma. With regards to religion, the region is home to a large Muslim majority (many of whom are Bektashis) and a significant Orthodox Christian minority. According to the last national census from 2011, the county has 220,357 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the county include Albanians,

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, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, Albania, Greeks in Italy, ...

, 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 ...

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 c ...

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

, Egyptians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korce County Korçë

Geography

Protected areas

Demographics

See also

References