| Area Total | 28,748 sq km |
| Climate | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter |
| Natural Resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower, arable land |
| Imports | $4.1 billion (2017 est.) partners: Italy 28.5%, Turkey 8.1%, Germany 8%, Greece 8%, China 7.9%, Serbia 4% (2017) |
| Government | parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Tirana (Tirane) |
| Population | 3.1 million (July 2018 est.) |
| Ethnicity | Albanian 82.6%, Greek 0.9%, other 1% (including Vlach, Romani, Macedonian, Montenegrin, and Egyptian), unspecified 15.5% (2011 est.) |
| Language | 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.) |
| Exports | Germany 12.5%, France 10.3%, US 9%, Spain 5.2%, UK 5.2%, Switzerland 4.6% (2017) – engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; foodstuffs, beverages, and tobacco; minerals, nonferrous metals |
News about Albania
- Albania puts AI-created ‘minister’ in charge of public procurement
by Jon Henley Europe correspondent (Albania | The Guardian) on September 11, 2025Edi Rama, PM, says digital assistant Diella will make Albania ‘a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption’A digital assistant that helps people navigate government services online has become the first “virtually created” AI cabinet minister and put in charge of public procurement in an attempt to cut down on corruption, the Albanian […]
- Indignity: A Life Reimagined by Lea Ypi review – love, war and betrayal
by Sami Kent (Albania | The Guardian) on September 3, 2025Troubled by a photo of her grandmother living it up in Mussolini’s Italy, the author of Free delves into archive and memory to uncover the truthIt starts with a photo. A black-and-white image of a couple relaxing on a pair of sun loungers in front of a luxury ski hotel: him, squinting against the sun; her, smiling at the camera, wrapped in a white fur […]
- Europe scorched by wildfires – pictures from space
by Pejman Faratin (Albania | The Guardian) on August 14, 2025Satellite imagery shows the impact on Europe after wildfires raged across the south of the continentWildfires claim third life in Spain as intense heat continues across Europe Continue reading...
- Trump says Putin ‘wants to get it done’ at tomorrow’s Alaska summit, as he floats idea of second meeting with Zelenskyy – as it happened
by Tom Ambrose (now) and Jakub Krupa (earlier) (Albania | The Guardian) on August 14, 2025US president indicates in interview that any deal would not be made without Zelenskyy ahead of Friday’s meeting in Alaskain BerlinGerman chancellor Friedrich Merz’s stab at heading up Ukraine diplomacy has received measured praise at home, with a perception that Donald Trump’s declarations after Wednesday’s video conference sounded slightly less […]
- Spain wildfires are ‘clear warning’ of climate emergency, minister says
by Sam Jones in Madrid, Helena Smith in Athens and agencies (Albania | The Guardian) on August 14, 2025Environment minister says blazes, in which two people have died, are proof of country’s vulnerability to global heatingThe heatwave-fuelled wildfires that have killed two people in Spain over recent days, devouring thousands of hectares of land and forcing thousands of people from their homes, are a “clear warning” of the impact of the climate […]
- Thousands evacuated in Spain as deadly heatwave fans Mediterranean wildfires
by Sam Jones in Madrid and Helena Smith in Athens (Albania | The Guardian) on August 12, 2025Boy, four, dies of heatstroke in Rome as scientists say high temperatures and fires are reminder of climate emergencyThe deadly heatwave fanning wildfires across the Mediterranean region has claimed at least three lives and forced thousands of people from their homes.Firefighters continued to battle blazes on Tuesday and authorities braced for further […]
- Sold to the Trump family: one of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean – podcast
by Written by Marzio Mian and read by Mo Ayoub. Produced by Nicola Alexandrou. The executive producer was Ellie Bury (Albania | The Guardian) on July 14, 2025Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have spent more than $1bn on an Albanian island that will be a luxury resort – once the unexploded ordnance has been removedBy Marzio Mian. Read by Mo AyoubFor more on US politics and the Trump family check out Politics Weekly America Continue reading...
- Crete wildfire forces 5,000 to evacuate as Europe heatwave continues
by Jon Henley and Angela Giuffrida (Albania | The Guardian) on July 3, 2025Fire on island being fanned by gale-force winds, with blazes also raging on mainland Greece and in other parts of EuropeA wildfire fanned by gale-force winds has forced the evacuation of about 5,000 people on the Greek island of Crete, authorities and hotel association officials have said, as large swathes of continental Europe baked in a punishing early […]
- Third-country asylum plan shows UK is in ‘a very dark place’, says Albanian PM
by Helena Smith (Albania | The Guardian) on June 26, 2025Exclusive: Edi Rama attacks British return hubs scheme as looking for ‘places to dump immigrants’A UK plan to send refused asylum seekers to “return hubs” in third countries shows post-Brexit Britain is “in a very dark place”, Albania’s prime minister has said.In his first interview with the international media since leading his socialist […]
- Sold to the Trump family: one of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean
by Marzio Mian (Albania | The Guardian) on June 24, 2025Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have spent more than $1bn on an Albanian island that will be a luxury resort – once the unexploded ordnance has been removedOn Sazan, a small island off the coast of Albania, the landscape is Jurassic. Ferns, giant lavender, plumbago, rosemary, broom and laurels grow on the mountain at its centre. The view from […]
- A sweet moment for refugee schoolchildren | Brief letters
by Guardian Staff (Albania | The Guardian) on June 16, 2025Cherrypicking | Traybakes for all | Bigger cars | To giftRe Adrian Chiles’ article (Who could deny a hot, tired delivery driver the fruit from their cherry tree?, 12 June), as a teacher in west London in the 90s and noughties, I taught numerous recently arrived refugee children. Among these were Kosovans and Albanians, many unaccompanied. Everything was […]
- Polish presidential hopefuls in final campaign push - as it happened
by Jakub Krupa (Albania | The Guardian) on May 16, 2025Thirteen candidates making their last pitches before ‘Super Sunday’ with votes also due in Portugal and Romania. This live blog is closedPoland’s presidential elections on Sunday are a “historic, groundbreaking” chance for Donald Tusk’s centrist party to show it was not trying to “deceive women” when it promised to change some of Europe’s […]
- Starmer reveals plans to send refused asylum seekers to overseas ‘return hubs’
by Aletha Adu, Rajeev Syal and Peter Walker (Albania | The Guardian) on May 15, 2025PM proposes use of third countries during visit to Albania, which rules out role in any such UK schemePlans to send refused asylum seekers to “return hubs” in third countries have been announced by Keir Starmer on a trip to Albania during which the Balkan country ruled out participating in the scheme.The prime minister flew to Tirana to confirm the UK […]
- UK asking other countries to host ‘return hubs’ for refused asylum seekers, Starmer confirms – as it happened
by Andrew Sparrow (Albania | The Guardian) on May 15, 2025PM on trip to announce increased cooperation against people smugglers alongside Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama. This live blog is closedAll Commons Speakers, at least for the past 30 years, have complained about the government making major announcements to the media first, and not to parliament first. But rarely have any of them sounded quite as […]
- UK seeking overseas ‘return hubs’ for refused asylum seekers, PM says – video
by (Albania | The Guardian) on May 15, 2025Keir Starmer has confirmed the UK is talking to other countries about getting them to host 'return hubs' for refused asylum seekers. The prime minister said he would like to add the centres to the list of measures being used to tackle the number of refused asylum applications, but did not give more information about the planUK asking other countries to host […]
- Edi Rama set to win record fourth term as PM in Albania elections
by Helena Smith and Reuters in Athens (Albania | The Guardian) on May 13, 2025Socialists sail towards victory with 94% of votes counted in poll seen as pivotal to country’s hopes of joining EUAlbania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, looks to have sailed to victory in general elections after a near-complete vote count showed voters had returned him to power for an unprecedented fourth term.With 94% of the ballots counted, Rama’s […]
- Grassroots activists who took on corruption and corporate power share 2025 Goldman prize
by Nina Lakhani Climate justice reporter (Albania | The Guardian) on April 21, 2025Seven winners of environmental prize include Amazonian river campaigner and Tunisian who fought against organised waste traffickingIndigenous river campaigner from Peru honouredGrassroots activists who helped jail corrupt officials and obtain personhood rights for a sacred Amazonian river are among this year’s winners of the world’s most prestigious […]
- Italy sends 49 refugees to Albania in bid to resume disputed scheme
by Angela Giuffrida in Rome (Albania | The Guardian) on January 28, 2025Latest push to process migrants in Balkan country despite court challenge comes amid increase in boat arrivalsEurope live – latest updatesItaly has transported 49 people to Albania, in the latest push by Giorgia Meloni’s government to enforce a legally disputed plan to have asylum claims processed in the Balkan country as part of a hardline policy […]
- More than 2,200 people died in Mediterranean in 2024, UN finds
by Angela Giuffrida in Rome (Albania | The Guardian) on January 3, 2025Figure includes hundreds of children, who make up one in five migrants trying to reach Europe fleeing war and povertyMore than 2,200 people either died or went missing in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe in search of refuge in 2024.The figure, cited in a statement from Regina De Dominicis, the regional director for Europe and central Asia for […]
- ‘It cost €1bn and it’s a dog shelter’: red faces as Italy’s Albania migrant centres lie empty
by Lorenzo Tondo in Palermo (Albania | The Guardian) on December 24, 2024With Giorgia Meloni’s plan in tatters, one centre is housing stray dogs adopted by bored Italian guardsWhen Italy opened migrant centres in Albania in October the plan was clear: 3,000 people a month intercepted in Italian waters would have their asylum claims processed beyond Italy’s borders, monitored by Italian police officers.Two months later, […]
