Albania is a sovereign country in Southeast Europe, in the wider region of Europe. Treaties and official documents call it Republic of Albania. Its seat of government is Tirana.
The population is about 2.4 million, placing it 146th of 250 by population — between Moldova above it and Lesotho below. Within Southeast Europe alone it is the 6th largest of 9 and the 6th most populous.
It covers 28,748 km², which ranks it 146th of the 250 countries and territories in this dataset — just behind the Solomon Islands and just ahead of Equatorial Guinea. That makes it a fraction smaller than Belgium.
Albania on the map
The coordinates the dataset gives are 41.0° N, 20.0° E, which puts it in the northern hemisphere, roughly 4,564 km from the equator, in what geographers would call temperate latitudes.
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan sit at almost exactly the same latitude on other parts of the globe.
4 countries share a land border with it: Montenegro, Greece, North Macedonia and Kosovo. The largest of them by area is Greece, which is also the most populous. Together those neighbours hold about 14.6 million people.
With both a coast and land borders, it has the trade options a landlocked country does not.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
Who lives in Albania
Spread across 28,748 km², that works out at about 83 people per square kilometre, which makes it less crowded than the typical entry on this list. For comparison, the median entry on this list sits near 90 per square kilometre.
People from Albania are called Albanians.
Officially it is monolingual: Albanian. It shares that with Kosovo.
Against Europe as a whole it is the 31st most populous of 53 entries, and it accounts for 5.2% of everyone living in Southeast Europe.
Useful reference details
It uses the Albanian lek (L, ALL). It is issued for Albania alone.
The top-level domain is .al. Calls from overseas start with +355. Its ISO codes are al and ALB, which is what most databases and flag files use.
Tirana is the seat of government and the answer most quizzes are looking for.
It holds a seat at the United Nations, one of 193 entries here that do. The other 57 entries are territories, dependencies or observers, which is why totals on this site run to 250 rather than the familiar 195.
Neighbouring countries
Albania shares borders with 4 countries:
Fun facts about Albania
- Its capital city is Tirana.
- Albanian is official here and in 1 other entry worldwide.
- It is 146th of 250 by population, with about 2.4 million residents.
- Ranked by land area, Albania is 146th out of the 250 countries and territories on this site.
- Websites based there use the .al domain.
- Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan sit at almost the same latitude, on the far side of the globe.
- It shares land borders with 4 countries: Montenegro, Greece, North Macedonia and Kosovo.
Albania — frequently asked questions
- What is the capital of Albania?
- The capital of Albania is Tirana.
- How big is Albania?
- Albania covers 28,748 km², ranking 146th of 250 by land area. That makes it a fraction smaller than Belgium.
- Where is Albania located?
- Albania is in Southeast Europe, part of Europe. Its reference coordinates are 41.0° north and 20.0° east, roughly 4,564 km from the equator in temperate latitudes.
- What currency does Albania use?
- Albania uses the Albanian lek, written L (currency code ALL). No other entry in this dataset uses it.
- Is Albania a country?
- Yes. Albania is a sovereign state and one of the 193 UN members listed on this site.
- What language is spoken in Albania?
- The official language of Albania is Albanian. It is also official in 1 other entry on this list.
- What is the population of Albania?
- Albania has a population of about 2.4 million, which makes it the 146th most populous of the 250 countries and territories listed on this site. Moldova sits just above it and Lesotho just below.
- Which countries border Albania?
- Albania borders 4 countries: Montenegro, Greece, North Macedonia and Kosovo. Greece is the largest of them by area.
