Tirana County (), officially the County of Tirana (), is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the Central Region 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 ...

. 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 Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

to the west, the counties of

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

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 centr ...

to the east and

Fier Fier (; sq-definite, Fieri, Latin: ''Fierum'') 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 ...

to the southwest. It is divided into five

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

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...

Kamëz Kamëz ( sq-definite, Kamza) is a municipality in Tirana County, Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Kamëz and Paskuqan, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipalit ...

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

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 Vorë ( sq-definite, Vora) is a municipality in Tirana County, central Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Bërxullë, Prezë and Vorë, that became municipal units. The seat of th ...

, with all of whom incorporate twenty-nine

administrative units Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

. 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 south-eastern 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 Albania ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. 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 climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

with four distinct seasons. Two of the country's fourteen

National Parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

are located in the county, with Dajti in the center and Divjakë-Karavasta in the southwest.

Historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

, Tirana has been populated since

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

times dating back 10,000 to 30,000 years ago. As argued by various archaeologists, the populated places are filled with Ancient Illyrian

toponyms Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

, 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

some 10,000 to 30,000 years ago, as suggested by evidence from tools excavated near Mount Dajt's quarry and within the

Cave of Pëllumbas The Cave of Pëllumbas () is a karst cave in central Albania, located in the Skorana Gorge close to the village of Pëllumbas in Tirana County. It lies about above the Adriatic, on the slopes of Dajti, a mountain chain that rises to an elevat ...

. 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 oldest discovery in downtown Tirana was a Roman house, later transformed into an

aisleless church An aisleless church () is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways on either side of the nave and separated from the nave by col ...

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 (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

in 520 A.D. and restored by Ahmed Pasha Toptani in the 18th century. The area had no special importance in

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

n and classical times. In 1510,

Marin Barleti Marin Barleti (, ; – ) was a historian, humanist and Catholic priest from Shkodër. He is considered the first Albanian historian because of his 1504 eyewitness account of the 1478 siege of Shkodra. Barleti is better known for his second work ...

, an Albanian Catholic priest and scholar, in the biography of the Albanian national hero

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

referred to this area as a small village.

Geography

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

Republic 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 ...

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 geographic coordinate system, geographic 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 t ...

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 lett ...

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 Coastal Lowlands () 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 Coast that are surrounded by hills and mountains as ...

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. It acts as a barrier between the east and west coasts, hindering travel. The tallest peak of the range is ...

. Three rivers traverse the county, including the Erzen River, the

Ishëm River Ishëm is a former municipality in the Durrës County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Durrës. The population at the 2011 census was 5,001.Shkumbin River along the border with

Elbasan County Elbasan County () is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The population is 232,580 (as of 2023), in an area of 3199 km2. Its capital is the city Elbasan. Administrative divisions Until 2000, Elbasan County was subdivided into four districts: ...

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 Bizë.

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 Mountain National Park Dajti Mountain National Park () 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 jurisdiction between Albanian Agency of ...

Divjakë-Karavasta National Park Divjakë-Karavasta National Park () is a national park in western Albania, sprawling across the Myzeqe Plain in the direct proximity to the Adriatic Sea. The park spans a territory of containing remarkable features such as wetlands, salt marshe ...

and the

Mali me Gropa-Bizë-Martanesh Protected Landscape Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Demography

Tirana County is the most populous and

densely populated Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

county of the

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

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

. The population as of the 2023 census is 758,513, constituting 31.6% 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, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

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 List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ea ...

, Dibër and

Kukës Kukës (; sq-definite, Kukësi) is a city in Albania. The city is the capital of the surrounding municipality of Kukës and county of Kukës County, Kukës, one of 12 constituent Counties of Albania, counties of the republic. It spans and had a ...

. 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 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 ...

, 0.35%

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

, 0.32%

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

, 0.11% Aromanian, 0.11%

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

, 0.07%

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

and 0.01% Montenegrin. By language, 99.40% spoke

as a first language. Other spoken languages were

(0.12%),

(0.12%), Turkish (0.06%),

(0.05%),

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

(0.03%) and Aromanian (0.02%).

Religion

According to the 2023 census, Tirana was mainly home to Muslims, followed by various Christian groups, alongside a large non-religious population. Overall, 94.9% of residents identified with a religion. Between the 2011 and 2023 censuses in

, there were notable shifts in religious affiliation. The

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

population increases from 62.3% to 80.7%, while

Bektashism Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...

rose from 2.7% to 10.9%. The Catholic Christian population slightly declined from 5.3% to 4.7%, and Orthodox Christians remained relatively stable, increasing marginally from 5.1% to 5.0%.

Evangelical Christians Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

experienced a modest rise, from 0.2% to 0.6%. There was a substantial increase in the

irreligious Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, rationa ...

population:

atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

rose from 2.7% to 3.7%, and those identifying as believers without denomination mostly Muslims grew from 3.9% to 4.9%. Meanwhile, the "Not stated/other" category saw a slight decrease, dropping from 19.4% to 18.3%.

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

(''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

in Albania. Other units with a population over 10,000 include

Kashar Kashar is a village and former municipality in Tirana County, central Albania. Its population as of the 2023 census was 89,395, making it the 3rd most populated municipal unit in the country. History The village was first attested in 1456 as th ...

, Paskuqan,

Farkë Farkë is a municipal unit and former municipality in Tirana County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform, it became a subdivision of the municipality of Tirana. The population at the 2011 census was 36,266. History The Vorps ...

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 as of the 2023 census is 35,170. The municipal unit took its name from the ...

and

Economy

Transport

Development and maintenance of

transportation in Albania Transport in Albania consists of transport by land, water and air, which are predominantly under the supervision of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Albania. The development and improvement of the transport in the country remains among the m ...

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 The Albanian Road Authority () or ''(ARrSh)'', is an independent, public institution in Albania, whose purpose is to construct and maintain roads and infrastructure in rural areas and between urban areas. It belongs to the Ministry of Infrastruc ...

(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 honor of the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

nun and missionary,

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...

, and offers connections to numerous destinations in different countries across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. 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 that government for international operations. Histo ...

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 serves eleven destinations in Europe. History Early ...

. 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 (), officially the County of Durrës (), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Northern Albania, Northern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the smallest by area and the List of counties of Albania by population, second mos ...

. 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, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

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

Dibër County Dibër County (; ) 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 country of North Macedonia. ...

and

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 ...

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 Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic, in which the president of Albania is the head of state and the prime minister of Albania is the head of government in a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by the G ...

maintains a series of popular protected areas within the territory including, Dajti National Park,