Population and Demographics

Albania has a rich blend of religions and cultures. The majority of the population is comprised of ethnic Albanians. Minorities include Greeks, Serbs, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Roma (Gypsies), Vlach, Bosniaks and Italians. The dominant language is Albanian, with two distinct dialects, Gheg and Tosk. Many Albanians are also fluent in English, Greek and Italian.

As a part of the Ottoman Empire, Albania became a mostly Muslim territory. During the communist era religion was prohibited, and Albania was proclaimed as the only officially atheist country in the world, claiming the religion to be Albanianism. Today, with the freedom of religion and worship, Albania contains numerous religions and denominations; however religious affiliation is hard to determine as most people prefer to be identified as secular or non-religious. Statistics vary from different sources: around 70% are said to be nominally Muslim, with over 33% being Bektashi Shi'a Muslims, 20% Orthodox Christian, and 10% Roman Catholic. Other main religions of the world also have some small representation in Albania. Intermarriage across religions is very common, and an immensely strong sense of Albanian identity has tended to bind Albanians of all religious practices together.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 3,600,523
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 24.1% (male 454,622/female 413,698)
  • 15-64 years: 66.6% (male 1,228,497/female 1,170,489)
  • 65 years and over: 9.3% (male 154,352/female 178,865)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 29.2 years
  • Male: 28.6 years
  • Female: 29.8 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.529%
• Birth Rate: 15.16 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 5.33 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: -4.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.099 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.863 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 1.042 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 20.02 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 20.46 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 19.54 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 77.6 years
  • Male: 74.95 years
  • Female: 80.53 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 2.03 children born/woman
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Albanian 95%
  • Greek 3%
  • Other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb, Macedonian, Bulgarian)
    Note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)
• Religions:
  • Muslim 70%
  • Albanian Orthodox 20%
  • Roman Catholic 10%
    Note: percentages are estimates; there are no available current statistics on religious affiliation; all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice.
• Languages:
  • Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect)
  • Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 98.7%
  • Male: 99.2%
  • Female: 98.3%