Albania

Republic of Albania   ()
Template:Infobox country/imagetable
Motto:  "Ti, Shqipëri, më jep nder, më jep emrin Shqiptar" (Albanian) "You, Albania, give me honor, give me the name Albanian"
Anthem:    (Albanian) "Hymn to the Flag" National anthem of Albania
Location of  Albania  (green)on the European continent  (dark grey)  —  [Legend] Location of  Albania  (green) on the European continent  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Tirana
Official languages	Albanian1
Ethnic groups	95% Albanians, 3-6% Greeks, 2% others
Demonym(s)	Albanian
Government	Parliamentary republic
Template:Infobox country/multirow
Formation
Template:Infobox country/multirow
Area
• Total	Template:Convinfobox/prisec2 (143rd)
• Water (%)	4.7
Population
• 2011 estimate	2,994,667 (136th)
• 2001 census	3,069,275
• Density	Template:Convinfobox/prisec2 (63rd)
GDP (PPP)	2011 estimate
• Total	$25.035 billion
• Per capita	$7,780
GDP (nominal)	2011 estimate
• Total	$13.292 billion
• Per capita	$4,131
Gini (2005)	26.7 low
HDI (2011)	Increase 0.739 high · 70th
Currency	Lek (ALL)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	355
ISO 3166 code	[[ISO 3166-2:Template:ISO 3166 code|Template:ISO 3166 code]]
Internet TLD	.al
Greek, Macedonian and other regional languages, are government-recognized minority languages.

Albania (officially called Republic of Albania; ) is an independent republic in Southeastern Europe, with an area of 28,748 square kilometres (11,100 sq mi). The capital is Tirana, and other important cities are Durrës, Elbasan and Vlora. Over 3 million people live in Albania. The majority of Albanians are Muslims with 55%, 23% Eastern Orthodox and 15% Roman Catholics.

Albania is next to Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and North Macedonia. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ionian Sea in the southwest. The official language is Albanian. The national anthem is Hymni i Flamurit.

History

Albania was the southern part of Illyria during the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages the Albanians were ruled by many foreign countries, including the Byzantine and Venetian Empires and during the 16th century resistance to the Ottoman Empire's rule was led by the Albanian national hero Skanderberg. After four centuries of Turkish domination, finally in the 20th century an independent Albania was created. In 1939 Albania was conquered by fascist Italy and was part of the Kingdom of Italy until 1943. After World War II Albania became independent again, under communist rule. It was ruled by Enver Hoxha, who died in 1985. Ramiz Alia took over and also later became President when, in 1992, Albania returned to democracy, and it now has friendly relations with the European Union, which it has applied to join.

Divisions

Albania is divided into 12 counties. These counties include 36 districts and 373 municipalities

Counties of Albania

	County	Capital	Districts	Municipalities	Cities	Villages
1	Berat	Berat	Berat Kuçovë Skrapar	10 2 8	2 1 2	122 18 105
2	Dibër	Peshkopi	Bulqizë Dibër Mat	7 14 10	1 1 2	63 141 76
3	Durrës	Durrës	Durrës Krujë	6 4	4 2	62 44
4	Elbasan	Elbasan	Elbasan Gramsh Librazhd Peqin	20 9 9 5	3 1 2 1	177 95 75 49
5	Fier	Fier	Fier Lushnjë Mallakastër	14 14 8	3 2 1	117 121 40
6	Gjirokastër	Gjirokastër	Gjirokastër Përmet Tepelenë	11 7 8	2 2 2	96 98 77
7	Korçë	Korçë	Devoll Kolonjë Korçë Pogradec	4 6 14 7	1 2 2 1	44 76 153 72
8	Kukës	Kukës	Has Kukës Tropojë	3 14 7	1 1 1	30 89 68
9	Lezhë	Lezhë	Kurbin Lezhë Mirditë	2 9 5	2 1 2	26 62 80
10	Shkodër	Shkodër	Malësi e Madhe Pukë Shkodër	5 8 15	1 2 2	56 75 141
11	Tirana	Tirana	Kavajë Tirana	8 16	2 3	66 167
12	Vlorë	Vlorë	Delvinë Sarandë Vlorë	3 7 9	1 2 4	38 62 99

Cities

This is a list of the largest cities in Albania.

File:Durres view.jpg

Durrës

File:07Tirana04.jpg

Tirana

Rank	City	2001 Census	2011 census
1	Tirana	352,581	421,286
2	Durrës	113,465	115,550
3	Vlorë	85,180	79,948
4	Elbasan	95,554	79,810
5	Shkodër	85,798	74,876
6	Fier	56,297	57,198
7	Korçë	58,911	51,683
8	Berat	45,572	36,467
9	Lushnjë	38,336	31,424
10	Kavajë	28,149	20,312

Armed forces

The Albanian Armed Forces were first formed after independence in 1912. Albania reduced the number of active troops from 65,000 in 1988 to 14,500 in 2009. The military now is mostly a small fleet of aircraft and sea vessels.

Geography

Albania has a total area of 28,748 square kilometers. Albania's coastline length is 476 km (296 mi). It goes along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. On the coast there are mild, wet winters and warm, sunny, and rather dry summers.

70% of the country is mountains. The highest mountain is Korab.

Albania is bordered by Greece, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo, which is a state not recognized by Serbia and some other countries. A short stretch of sea separates Albania from the far southeast of Italy.

Flora and fauna

File:Lynx lynx poing.jpg

The Lynx still survives in Albania.

Although a small country, Albania has a lot of variety in plants and animals. The total number of plants is over 3250 species. There are over 350 bird species, 330 freshwater and marine fish and 80 mammal species. The Golden Eagle is the national symbol of Albania.

Related pages

• Albania at the Olympics
• Albania national football team
• List of rivers of Albania

Other websites

• National Tourism Organization Albania's official website for travel & tourism information.