Northern Albania () is one of the three NUTS-2 regions of

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, along with Central Albania and Southern Albania (). It consists of the counties of Dibër, Durrës, Kukës, Lezhë and

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

. Historically and in

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

, Northern Albania has been called Ghegeria (), a name derived from a subgroup of Albanians known as the Ghegs.

Definitions

The

Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS () is a geocode standard for referencing the administrative divisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, is developed and regulated by the European ...

(NUTS) is a geocode classification used by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

to divide up member states for statistical purposes. Albania has level 1, 2, and 3 divisions; Northern Albania is a second-level, or NUTS-2, region. Central Albania and Southern Albania are the other NUTS-2 regions of Albania. The NUTS-2 region of Northern Albania includes five counties: Dibër, Durrës, Kukës, Lezhë and

. In ethnographical and historical contexts, Northern Albania is also known as Ghegeria () and includes parts of the Albanian-inhabited territories of

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. The name Ghegeria is derived from the Ghegs, a dialectical subgroup of Albanians who predominantly live in the mountainous areas north of the Shkumbin River.

Economy

Northeastern Albania has substantial deposits of minerals, including chromium,

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

, and iron-nickel. Albania was a leading producer of chromium during the 1980s, but production steeply declined in the early 1990s as a consequence of the end of communism in the country.

Demographics

The five counties of Northern Albania had a combined population of 649,902 as of the 2023 census.

References

{{Coord, 42, N, 20, E, display=title Subdivisions of Albania NUTS 2 statistical regions of Albania