Tirana County ( sq, Qarku Tiranë, italic=unset), officially the County of Tirana ( sq, Qarku i Tiranës, 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 Central Region of the

Republic 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 l ...

. It is the tenth largest by area and the most populous of the twelve counties, with more than 912,000 people within an area of . The county borders on the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

to the west, the counties 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 ...

to the northwest, Dibër to the northeast,

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 east and

Fier Fier (; sq-definite, Fieri) is the seventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Fier County and Fier Municipality. It is situated on the bank of Gjanica River in the Myzeqe Plain between the Seman in the north, the Vjos ...

to the southwest. It is divided into five municipalities,

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 ...

, Kamëz,

Kavajë Kavajë ( , sq-definite, Kavaja) is a municipality centrally located in the Western Lowlands region of Albania, in Tirana County. It borders Durrës to the north , Tiranë to the east and Rrogozhinë to the south . To the west lies the Adriati ...

Rrogozhinë Rrogozhinë ( sq-definite, Rrogozhina) is a town and a municipality in Tirana County, centrally located in the Western Lowlands region of Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gosë, ...

and Vorë, with all of whom incorporate twenty-nine

administrative units Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

. Geographically, Tirana extends from the high and rugged Skanderbeg Mountains in the east to the flat shores of the

Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast The Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast ( — ) stretches in the Southeastern Adriatic Sea beginning at the Gulf of Drin in the north, across the port cities of Shëngjin, Durrës and Vlorë, to the Bay of Vlorë in the south, where the Albanian Rivi ...

along the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. Due to its location and the close proximity to the

, its climate is particularly influenced by a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

with four distinct seasons. Two of the country's fourteen National Parks are located in the county, with

Dajti Dajti () standing at above sea level, is a mountain and national park on the edge of Tirana, Albania. The Dajti belongs to the Skanderbeg range. In winter, the mountain is often covered with snow and is a popular retreat for the local population ...

in the center and Divjakë-Karavasta in the southwest. Historically, Tirana has been populated since Paleolithic times dating back 10,000 to 30,000 years ago. As argued by various archaeologists, the populated places are filled with Ancient Illyrian toponyms, as its precincts are some of the earliest regions in Albania to be inhabited. Nevertheless, the city of Tirana was established as a city centuries later in 1614 during the Ottoman occupation of Albania. The capital of the county is

, which is also the largest city by area and population in Albania. A gamma-world-city, it is the most influential economic and political center of the country.

History

Pre-Albanian Independence

The region, which presently corresponds to the territory of the county of Tirana, has been continuously inhabited since the Paleolithic some 10,000 to 30,000 years ago, as suggested by evidence from tools excavated near

Mount Dajt Dajti () standing at above sea level, is a mountain and national park on the edge of Tirana, Albania. The Dajti belongs to the Central Mountain Range, Albania#Skanderbeg Mountains, Skanderbeg range. In winter, the mountain is often covered with s ...

's quarry and within the Cave of Pëllumbas. As argued by various archaeologists, Tirana and its suburbs are filled with Illyrian toponyms, as its precincts are some of the earliest inhabited regions in Albania. The Illyrians called the settlement Tërana. The oldest discovery in downtown Tirana was a Roman house, later transformed into an aisleless church with a mosaic-floor, dating to the 3rd century A.D., with other remains found near a medieval temple at Shengjin Fountain in the eastern suburbs. A castle possibly called ''Tirkan'' or ''Theranda'', whose remnants are found along Murat Toptani Street, was built by Emperor

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

in 520 A.D. and restored by Ahmed Pasha Toptani in the 18th century. The area had no special importance in Illyrian and classical times. In 1510, Marin Barleti, an Albanian Catholic priest and scholar, in the biography of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg referred to this area as a small village.

Geography

Defined in an area of , Tirana County is located in the Central Region of the

and bordered by the

to the west, the counties of

to the northwest, Dibër to the northeast,

to the east and

to the southwest. The county lies between

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

s 41° and 18° N and

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lette ...

s 19° and 56° E. The highest point is Mali me Gropa at above the Adriatic, though the lowest point is the Adriatic Sea at . Tirana County from the shorelines of the

in the west to the mountains of the Skanderbeg Mountains system in the east. The flat plain of the

in the west contains the Myzeqe Plain. To the east lie the hilly, mountainous region of the Skanderbeg Mountains separating the

Western Lowlands The Western Lowlands ( sq, Ultësira Bregdetare or Ultësira Perëndimore) is a physiogeographical region encompassing the western edge of Albania. It comprises the flat plains extending in the west along the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea Co ...

from the

Central Mountain Range The Central Mountain Range is the principal mountain range on the island of Taiwan. It runs from the north of the island to the south. Due to this separation, connecting between the west and east is not very convenient. The tallest peak of th ...

. Three rivers traverse the county, including the

Erzen River The Erzen ( sq-definite, Erzeni) is a river in central Albania. The length of Erzen is , while the catchment area is including the southern Tirana District and eastern Durrës District. Name The ancient Illyrian name of the river was ''Ardaxan ...

, the Ishëm River and the Shkumbin River along the border with

Elbasan County Elbasan County () is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The population is 266,245 (2021), in an area of 3199 km². Its capital is the city Elbasan. Administrative divisions Until 2000, Elbasan County was subdivided into four districts: Elbas ...

Climate

The Adriatic Sea and Skanderbeg Mountains have a particular influence to the climate of Tirana County, though it has a

with four distinct seasons. Summers are generally warm and dry, while winters are relatively cool and mild, and rarely very cold. The highest temperature of was recorded in the city of

, whereas the lowest temperature of was recorded in the village of Bixë.

Protected areas

The Ministry of Tourism and Environment administers a number of natural sites and protected areas in Tirana County. In conjunction with numerous national natural sites and areas, the National Agency of Protected Areas also manages the

Dajti National Park Dajti Mountain National Park ( sq, Parku Kombëtar "Mali i Dajtit") is a national park established in 1966 in central Albania, spanning an area of since 2006. The park is east of the Adriatic Sea and east of Tirana. The area is under shared ...

, Divjakë-Karavasta National Park and the Mali me Gropa-Bizë-Martanesh Protected Landscape.

Demography

Tirana County is the most populous and

densely populated Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

county of the

, with an increasing number of population. Its center of population is located across the Plain of Tirana, in the metropolitan area of

. The Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) estimated the county's population in 2021 at 912,190, constituting to 32% of Albania's population. Tirana County has experienced a generally high rate of population increase since the late twentieth century in part due to the

fall 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 Nat ...

Internal migration Internal migration or domestic migration is human migration within a country. Internal migration tends to be travel for education and for economic improvement or because of a natural disaster or civil disturbance, though a study based on the full ...

has been a significant factor in its population growth, especially from

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 in ...

, Dibër and Kukës. Nonetheless, the most densely populated areas are positioned in the flat western half, and the region around the relatively small corridor of the city of Tirana, thus the lowest densities are located in the mountainous eastern half. As of the 2011 Census, in terms of ethnicity, Tirana County was 84.1% Albanian, 0.35%

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 ...

, 0.32% Romani, 0.11% Aromanian, 0.11% Egyptian, 0.07% Macedonian and 0.01% Montenegrin. By language, 99.40% spoke Albanian as a first language. Other spoken languages were

(0.12%), Romani (0.12%), Turkish (0.06%), Macedonian (0.05%),

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 ...

(0.03%) and Aromanian (0.02%). By religion, there were 466,760 (62.29%) Muslims, 39,745 (5.30%)

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

s, 37,890 (5.06%)

Eastern Orthodox 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 ...

, 19,909 (2.66%)

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 ...

s, 1,783 (0.24%) Evangelists, 797 (0.11%) other

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, 29,579 (3.95%) believers without denomination and 270 (0.04%) of other religions. Nonetheless, 20,558 people (2.74%) were irreligious while 113,844 (15.19%) did not declare their religion.

Settlements

Tirana County is overwhelmingly

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

, with more than 70% of its population concentrated in cities, towns, and suburbs. There are five incorporated municipalities (''bashkia'') and 29

(''njësi administrative'') in the county. The majority of its population lives in the capital city of

. As of the 2011 Census, the population of the unit stands at 418,495 with the adjacent municipality of Tirana having a population of 557,422 simultaneously constituting the largest metropolitan area in Albania. Other units with a population over 10,000 include Kamëz,

Kashar Kashar is a village and a former municipality in the Tirana County, central Albania. The population at the 2011 census was 43,353.Paskuqan,

Farkë Farkë is an administrative unit and former municipality in Tirana County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of ...

Dajt Dajt is a former municipality in the Tirana County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Tirana. The population at the 2011 census was 20,139. The municipal unit took its name from the M ...

and Vorë.

Economy

Transport

Development and maintenance of transportation in Albania are within the functions of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy in

. Other entities, such as the Albanian Aviation Authority (AAC) and Albanian Road Authority (ARRSH), provide the same service for the air and land transportation of the country. Tirana County is served by Nënë Tereza International Airport located in the village of Rinas. It is named in honour of the Albanian

nun and missionary,

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...

, and offers connections to numerous destinations in different countries across

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 ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. The airport carried more than 3.3 million passengers in 2019 and serves as the principal hub for the country's

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hi ...

Air Albania Air Albania is the flag carrier of Albania. The airline maintains its hub and company headquarters at the Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza in Tirana, Albania. Founded in 2018, it operates scheduled air services for passengers to thirt ...

. The county is connected by a well developed system of expressways and motorways. The main west–east corridor is Rruga Shtetërore 2 (SH2), which connects the country's capital Tirana with the country's second largest city

Durrës County Durrës County ( sq, Qarku i Durrësit), officially the County of Durrës ( sq, Qarku i Durrësit, italic=unset), is a county in the Northern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the smallest by area and the second most populous of the twe ...

. The north-south corridor is Rruga Shtetërore 3 (SH3), which is currently being transformed into the Autostrada 3 (A3), covering the distance between Tirana and the country's fourth largest city

. Rruga Shtetërore 4 (SH4) passes through

in the west from north to south linking Durrës with

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 ...

. However, after its completion, the Arbër Highway will connect the county with

Dibër County Dibër County (; sq, Qarku i Dibrës) is one of the 12 counties of the Republic of Albania, spanning a surface area of with the capital in Peshkopi. The county borders on the counties of Durrës, Elbasan, Kukës, Lezhë, Tirana and the ...

and

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 ...

Tourism

The contribution of tourism to the economy of Tirana has significantly increased over the past years. Tourism in Tirana relies intensively on its natural environment, diversified cultural life and its abundance of religious and historical landmarks. The government of Albania maintains a series of popular protected areas within the territory including,