Identity
Formal name: Republic of Albania.
CIA 2026
Data as of May 5, 2026
Albania
EuropeLand of Contrasts
Albania ranks high and low in ways you wouldn't predict. Can you guess what else is surprising?
Albania ranks high and low in ways you wouldn't predict. A top performer in university enrollment (#20), it falls behind in fertility rate. Can you guess what else is surprising?
41.0, 20.0 - Europe
Area
29K km²
Pop.
2.55M
Stats
125
Reality brief
Albania is a country in Europe with a population of 2.55M and an area of 28,748 km². Life expectancy is 79.6 years.
Short factual summary generated from the same country data used in game rounds.
Core numbers
Stats worth knowing
Fast scan first, deep dive later.
University Enrollment Rate
82%#20globally
Total university and college enrollment as a percentage of the typical college-age population.
Life Expectancy
79.6 years#53globally
How many years a newborn can expect to live, based on current mortality rates.
Human Development Index
0.81#71globally
Composite 0-1 index of life expectancy, education, and income, from Our World in Data using the latest available country values in TerraBrawl.
GDP Per Capita (PPP)
$26,693.19#84globally
GDP per person, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) so costs of living are comparable across countries.
Internet Users (%)
83%#100globally
The percentage of people who have used the internet in the last 3 months.
Country briefing
Grounded facts about Albania
A quick real-world briefing before you dive deeper into rankings, surprises, and matchups.
Geography
Size snapshot: slightly smaller than Maryland.
CIA 2026
Culture
Major languages include Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Romani, and more.
CIA 2026
Cities
Cities in Albania
Browse this country's cities before City Detective asks you to guess.
Top stats
Where They Stand Out
The strongest source-backed stats before the deeper data table.
Electricity Access (%)
100%#4globallyTop stat
The percentage of the population with access to electricity.
Youth Unemployment Rate
25.57% of youth labor force#27globallyTop stat
Share of the labor force ages 15-24 that is unemployed from the World Bank latest available country value.
FDI Inflows (% GDP)
6.3% of GDP#31globallyTop stat
Foreign direct investment net inflows as a share of GDP, from World Bank Open Data.
Lowest Elevation
0 m#43globally
Lowest point elevation from CIA World Factbook.
Reality checks
Did You Know?
The stats that tend to surprise players in real rounds.
Only ranks #225 in fertility rate
#2251.1 children/womanFertility Rate
The average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime based on current birth rates.
Only ranks #133 in foreign patents
#1331.0Foreign Patents
How many patent applications are filed by non-residents each year.
Keeps suicide rate unusually low
#1602.8 per 100kSuicide Rate
Suicide mortality rate per 100,000 people, from World Bank Open Data.
Only ranks #196 in birth rate
#1968.7 per 1kBirth Rate
The number of babies born per 1,000 people each year.
Only ranks #117 in railway length
#117424 kmRailway Length
Total railway length from CIA World Factbook.
Compared with the region
How Albania Compares
Country vs continent vs world averages
Albania
Europe avg
World avg
GDP per Capita
GDP per person, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) so costs of living are comparable across countries.
- Country
- $26,693.19
- Region avg
- $57,483.02
- World avg
- $31,844.55
Albania$26,693.19
Europe$57,483.02
World$31,844.55
-16% below worldWB 2023
Life Expectancy
How many years a newborn can expect to live, based on current mortality rates.
- Country
- 79.6 years
- Region avg
- 80.0 years
- World avg
- 73.7 years
Albania79.6 years
Europe80.0 years
World73.7 years
+8% above worldWB 2023
Human Development Index
Composite 0-1 index of life expectancy, education, and income, from Our World in Data using the latest available country values in TerraBrawl.
- Country
- 0.81
- Region avg
- 0.89
- World avg
- 0.74
Albania0.81
Europe0.89
World0.74
+9% above worldOWID 2023
Internet Users
The percentage of people who have used the internet in the last 3 months.
- Country
- 83%
- Region avg
- 90.13%
- World avg
- 70.29%
Albania83%
Europe90.13%
World70.29%
+18% above worldWB 2023
Think you can guess which countries rank higher?
Play this countryFactbook notes
About Albania
Country briefing
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.
Read the full Factbook note
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. Germany then occupied Albania in 1943, and communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960) and then with China (until 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended communist rule and established a multiparty democracy.
Government-endorsed pyramid schemes in 1997 led to economic collapse and civil disorder, which only ended when UN peacekeeping troops intervened. In 1999, some 450,000 ethnic Albanians fled from Kosovo to Albania to escape the war with the Serbs. Albania joined NATO in 2009 and became an official candidate for EU membership in 2014.
Geography & Climate6 facts
- Location
- Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece to the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north
- 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
- Natural Hazards
- destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought
- Size Comparison
- slightly smaller than Maryland
People & Culture4 facts
- Languages
- Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Romani, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
- 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.)
- Major Cities
- 520,000 TIRANA (capital) (2023)
Government & History10 facts
- Government Type
- parliamentary republic
- Capital
- Tirana (Tirane)
- Capital Coordinates
- 41 19 N, 19 49 E
- Capital Timezone
- UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Official Name
- Republic of Albania
- Name Origin
- name may be derived from the pre-Celtic word alb, meaning "hill," or from the Indo-European root word albh, meaning "white;" the local name "Shqiperia" is derived from the Albanian word shqiponje ("eagle") and is popularly interpreted to mean "Land of the Eagles"
- Independence
- 28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)
- National Symbols
- black double-headed eagle
- National Anthem
- "Hymni i Flamurit" (Hymn to the Flag)
- UNESCO Heritage
- 4 (2 cultural, 1 natural, 1 mixed)
Economy & Trade7 facts
- Overview
- upper-middle-income Balkan economy; EU accession candidate; growth bolstered by tourism, agriculture, mining, construction, and private consumption; fiscal consolidation through revenue collection and tax compliance enhancements to address public debt; challenges include weak governance, corruption, and high emigration rates
- Industries
- food; footwear, apparel and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
- Agricultural Products
- milk, maize, tomatoes, watermelons, potatoes, wheat, grapes, onions, cucumbers/gherkins, olives (2023)
- Export Partners
- Italy 41%, Greece 10%, Germany 5%, Spain 5%, Serbia 4% (2023)
- Export Commodities
- garments, footwear, electricity, crude petroleum, iron alloys (2023)
- Import Partners
- Italy 22%, China 11%, Turkey 9%, Germany 7%, Greece 6% (2023)
- Import Commodities
- cars, refined petroleum, garments, packaged medicine, iron bars (2023)
Infrastructure & Defense4 facts
- Military Forces
- Republic of Albania Armed Forces (Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë (FARSH); aka Albanian Armed Forces (AAF)): Land Forces, Naval Force (includes Coast Guard), Air Forces Ministry of Interior: Guard of the Republic, State Police (includes the Border and Migration Police) (2025)
- Military Service
- 18-30 for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription abolished 2010 (2025)
- Energy Mix
- solar: 3.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 96.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
- Broadcast Media
- over 65 TV stations, including several that broadcast nationally and are sometimes available to neighboring countries; many viewers have access to Italian and Greek TV via terrestrial reception; TV stations have begun a government-mandated conversion from analog to digital broadcast; cable TV service is available; 2 public radio networks and roughly 78 private radio stations; several international broadcasters are available (2024)
Source:World Factbook archive 2026
Data vault
Deep Dive
Every tracked stat, grouped for fast scanning.
Environment9 statsBest: #4
Electricity Access (%)
Renewable Energy (%)
Protected Land (%)
Irrigated Land
1.9K km²#75
Forest Coverage (%)
Forest Area
Air Pollution (PM2.5)
CO2 Per Capita
Total CO2 Emissions
Education & Future5 statsBest: #20
Wealth & Economy10 statsBest: #27
Youth Unemployment Rate
FDI Inflows (% GDP)
Government Debt (% GDP)
Unemployment Rate
GDP Growth Rate
GDP Per Capita (PPP)
GDP Per Capita
GDP (Nominal)
Inflation Rate
High-Tech Exports (%)
Lifestyle5 statsBest: #37
Land & Sea4 statsBest: #43
Lowest Elevation
0 m#43
Highest Elevation
2.8K m#84
Coastline Length
362 km#124
Land Border Length
691 km#130
Society & Equality2 statsBest: #45
Health & Survival9 statsBest: #53
Life Expectancy
Hospital Beds (per 1,000)
Smoking Rate
Obesity Rate
Doctors (per 1,000)
Health Spending (% GDP)
Infant Mortality
Child Mortality
Suicide Rate
Demographics12 statsBest: #53
Elderly Population (%)
Median Age
Death Rate
Population Density
Population
Urban Population (%)
Land Area
Dependency Ratio
Teen Birth Rate
Youth Population (%)
Birth Rate
Fertility Rate
Military & Defense2 statsBest: #60
Technology3 statsBest: #100
Infrastructure3 statsBest: #110
Energy1 statsBest: #111
Electric Generating Capacity
2.86M kW#111
Keep exploring
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Albania
#20 in University Enrollment Rate
Total university and college enrollment as a percentage of the typical college-age population.
Top 10% globally
82%
Frequently Asked Questions about Albania
What is the population of Albania?
Albania has a population of 2.55M, ranking #143 globally by population.
What continent is Albania in?
Albania is located in Europe. It has an area of 28,748 km².
What is the life expectancy in Albania?
Life expectancy in Albania is 79.6 years, ranking #53 globally.
What is the GDP per capita of Albania?
Albania's GDP per capita (PPP) is $26,693.19, ranking #84 globally.
What is Albania known for in global statistics?
Albania ranks particularly high in University Enrollment Rate (#20), Life Expectancy (#53), Life Expectancy (#60).
What is Albania's Human Development Index?
Albania has an HDI of 0.810, ranking #71 globally. The HDI combines life expectancy, education, and income indicators.
How densely populated is Albania?
Albania has a population density of 88.1 people per km², ranking #113 globally.