Albania Population, Main Cities and Geography

By | January 27, 2023

Albania: population and cities

Population

According to Countryaah website, Albania has around 3.2 million residents.

Ethnic composition

95% Albanians, 3% Greeks, 2% others, including Wlachs, Roma and some Serbs.

Religion

50% Muslim Sunnis, 20% Muslim Bektashi, 20% Orthodox, 10% Catholics.

National language

The national language of Albania is Albanian (Shqip). In addition, some minority languages are spoken, such as B. Greek in the south and others

Capital, other cities

The capital of Albania is Tirana with a population of around 650,000.

Other cities are:

  • Durrës with around 100,000 residents
  • Elbasan with around 90,000 residents
  • Shkodra with around 80,000 residents
  • Vlora with around 80,000 residents

Albania: geography, map

Area and land use

Albania covers an area of 28,748 km². Check topmbadirectory for politics, flags, famous people, animals and plants of Albania.

Thereof:

  • ForestAround 38% of the country is forested.
  • Meadow and pasture landAround 15% of the land is used as meadow or pasture land.
  • Fields and fieldsAround 26% of the land is used as arable land or fields, especially for growing wheat, maize, sugar beet, sorghum (black millet), barley, and potatoes.
  • MountainsAlbania is a very mountainous country with several mountain ranges: the Northern Albanian Alps, which belong to the Dinaric Alps, the Korabi range in the east of the country, the Tomori massif in the south and the Epirus Mountains on the border with Greece.

National borders, length of coast

The country has a common border with a total of three states:

  • Greece, with a length of around 280 km,
  • North Macedonia with a length of around 150 km,
  • Serbia and Montenegro with a length of around 290 km.

Albania has a sea coast with a length of around 365 km. According to Abbreviation Finder, ALB stands for Albania in English. Click to see other meanings of this 3-letter acronym.

Tidal range

On the Albanian coast, the mean tidal range is only a few decimeters. For detailed explanations of ebb and flow, see Tides, Ebb and Flow.

Compare

The world’s highest tidal range can be found in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, where it is up to 16 m, and at spring tide even over 20 m. The Bay of Fundy is located on the Atlantic between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which is called Nova Scotia in German and whose capital is Halifax.

On the German North Sea coast it varies between one and three meters. In the western Baltic Sea, on the other hand, the tidal range is only 0.3 meters, while it is barely noticeable in the eastern Baltic Sea.

Longitude and latitude

Albania extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and geographical longitude (abbreviation Δλ):

Δφ = from around 39º 17` to 42º 21` north latitude. Δλ = from around 19º 25` to 21º east longitude

You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.

Legal time

For Albania, the following value applies to Central European Time (CET), i.e. the time without summer time. A minus sign means that it is earlier there, a plus sign that it is later than CET:

Δt (CET) = 0 h

Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.

The highest point of the sun in Tirana

Tirana lies at a northern latitude of around φ = 41.5 °.

If the sun is at the tropic, i.e. at δ = 23.5 °, summer begins in Tirana, on June 21st. Then, for the highest position of the sun at noon, according to Eq. 1 (see position of the sun):

41.5 ° = (90 ° – h) + 23.5 °

so:

H = 72 °

At 72 °, the sun in Tirana has the highest level of the entire year above the horizon (precisely: above the horizon).

mountains

Korabi

The highest mountain in the country is the Korabi with a height of 2,751 m.

Other high mountains are:

  • Jezerca with a height of 2,693 m
  • Gramozi with a height of 2,503 m

Rivers

Drin

The longest river in the country is the Drin with a length of around 285 km.

Other rivers in the country are:

  • Seman with a length of around 281 km
  • Vjosë with a length of around 272 km
  • Shkubin with a length of around 181 km
  • Mat with a length of around 115 km
  • Ores and those with a length of around 109 km

Lakes

Shkodra Lake (Skadar Lake)

The largest lake of Albania and the entire Balkan Peninsula is Shkodra Lake with an area of about 368 km2. About a third of the area of the lake belongs to Albania and two thirds to Montenegro.

The Ohridsee

The Ohridsee covers an area of around 348 km², less than a third of the lake belongs to Albania and two thirds to Macedonia. the lake has a maximum depth of around 250 m.

Prespa Lake

The Prespa Lake with an area of around 274 km² belongs to a small part in the west to Albania, the largest part to Macedonia and a very small part in the south to Greece.

Butrint Lake

The Butrintse is a salt water lagoon in southern Albania on the Ionian Sea. The lake covers an area of around 16 km²

Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean

Albania borders the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea, both of which are part of the Mediterranean Sea.

Albania Population