Albania
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Tirana (Tirane)
- Population
- 2,551,837 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 28,748 sq km
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Religions
- Muslim 56.7%, Roman Catholic 10%, Orthodox 6.8%, atheist 2.5%, Bektashi (a Sufi order) 2.1%, other 5.7%, unspecified 16.2% (2011 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Albanian 82.6%, Greek 0.9%, other 1% (including Vlach, Romani, Macedonian, Montenegrin, and Egyptian), unspecified 15.5% (2011 est.)
- Currency
- leke (ALL)
- Life Expectancy
- 79.9 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .al
- Climate
- mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
- Terrain
- mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
- Natural Resources
- petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower, arable land
- Major Exports
- garments, footwear, electricity, crude petroleum, iron alloys (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
After declaring independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, Albania experienced a period of political upheaval that led to a short-lived monarchy, which ended in 1939 when Italy conquered the country.