Albania Population 2024 (Live)

2,827,273

Albania is currently growing very slowly, with a growth rate of just 0.34%. By 2030, Albania's population is expected to be 3.31 million according to the United Nations projections. These projections also predict a contraction of the country's population after 2032, with the population decreasing steadily until the end of the century.

Albania Population Projections

The annual growth rate of the population in Albania has been wavering between small percentages on both sides of zero since the turn of the century, gaining numbers just to lose some a few years later leading to little overall change. As of 2019, the population was close to a standstill growing at just 0.14% a year. Net migration is relatively low, yet negative, and the largest contributing factor to the low amount has been the below-average birth rate of 1.71 children being born to the average Albanian woman, a number that the Albanian death rate has recently surpassed. The birth rate has been declining steadily for a while now, and starting in 2020 the government will start offering financial incentives to parents to increase the number of babies born.

Albania Population Growth

The declining growth rate in Albania is expected to continue in the coming years, with the rate becoming negative around the year 2027 and getting down to roughly -0.66% in 2050. Over this period, it is expected that the net migration will remain negative, but steady and that the decrease in numbers will be due to the increasing gap between the low birth rate and high death rate. Current projections believe that the population of Albania will be roughly 2,942,034 in 2020, before declining to 2,933,419 in 2030, 2,833,058 by 2040, and 2,663,591 by the year 2050.

Population Rank
Growth Rate
2024 World Percentage
Land Area
27,400
The current population of Albania is 2,827,273 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2024 population at 2,826,020.

Albania Growth Rate

Albania Population 2024 (Live)

Albania Population Clock

Albania Population (as of 3/11/2024)2,827,273
Next UN Estimate (July 1, 2024)2,826,020
Births per Day78
Deaths per Day67
Migrations per Day-22
Net Change per Day-11
Population Change Since Jan. 1-781

Components of Population Change

One birth every 18.47 minutes
One death every 21.5 minutes
One emigrant every 65.45 minutes
Net loss of one person every 130.92 minutes

Albania Population Clock

City
2024 Population
Tirana374,801
Durres122,034
Elbasan100,903
Vlore89,546
Shkoder88,245
Pogradec61,530
Fier-Cifci60,995
Patos60,000
Korce58,259
Fier56,297

The Southeastern European nation of Albania is located on the Balkan Peninsula along the Adriatic and Ionian seas and sharing borders with Greece, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. Albania is fairly densely populated for a small country with 2,938,938 people living in 11,100 square miles (28,748 square kilometers) of area, which ranks 146th in terms of area. These numbers give Albania a population density of 265 people per square mile (102 people per square kilometer), which ranks 85th in the world in this regard.

Roughly 58% of the people living in Albania reside in or around a major metropolitan area. The largest city is Albania's capital, Tiranë, which has a population of 421,000, with a greater metropolitan population of 764,000. Tiranë is the cultural, economic, social and political center of the nation, sitting in a valley between the Dajiti Mountain and the Adriatic Sea. The second-largest metropolitan area in Albania is the ancient city of Durrës has a population of 201,519 and is the heart of the nation's economy. Other major cities include Vlorë (141,513), Elbasan (126,703) and Shkodër (102,075).

Albania Population Density Map

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Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
20242,826,020-0.34%103139111
20232,832,439-0.31%103138112
20202,866,849-0.24%105138109
20192,873,883-0.11%105138109
20182,877,013-0.08%105138107
20172,879,355-0.06%105139105
20152,882,481-0.21%105139101
20102,913,399-0.8%106138100
20053,032,634-0.96%11113594
20003,182,021-0.63%11613086
19953,284,364-0.07%12012878
19903,295,0660.77%12012676
19853,171,7251.52%11612574
19802,941,6512.11%10712475
19752,650,1222.66%9712377
19702,324,7312.95%8512483
19652,009,7893.27%7312489
19601,711,1893.31%6212494
19551,453,7303.02%5312898

Albania Population by Year (Historical)

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Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
20242,826,020-0.34%103139111
20252,821,626-0.32%103140112
20302,789,599-0.23%102143117
20352,736,080-0.39%100144121
20402,660,261-0.56%97147124
20452,565,420-0.72%94148131
20502,456,472-0.86%90148142
20552,338,671-0.98%85148145
20602,217,671-1.06%81148146
20652,095,344-1.13%76147151
20701,968,690-1.24%72147155
20751,833,355-1.41%67150159
20801,688,101-1.64%62153162
20851,535,081-1.88%56155166
20901,381,307-2.09%50155169
20951,233,974-2.23%45158172

Albania Population by Year (Projections)

Albania Population Pyramid 2024

Albania Median Age

34.3

Total

32.9

Male

35.7

Female

Albania Population by Age

There are people over age 18 in Albania.

Census Years

Year
Date
20211 October 2021
20111 October 2011
20011 April 2001
198912 April 1989

Albania Population Pyramid

Albania Demographics

Ethnicity is a delicate issue in Albania, and one that is debated. Official statistics show Albania is very homogeneous with more than 97% Albanian majority, but minority groups like the Roman, Greeks and Macedonians have questioned this data and claim a larger share. Three national minorities are recognized: Greeks, Macedonians and Montenegrins.

There are also two cultural minorities -- Aromanians and Romani -- and other Albanian minorities like the Bulgarians and Jews. The Greek government estimates 300,000 Greeks in the country, while the Albanian government claims just 60,000.

At the 2011 census, the population of Albania was officially 83% Albanian, 0.9% Greek, 0.2% Macedonian, 0.01% Montenegrin, 0.3% Aromanian, 0.3% Romani, 0.1% Balkan Egyptian, 14% no declared ethnicity and 1.6% not relevant.

Many minority groups have criticized the country's census law which imposes a $1,000 fine on anyone who declares an ethnicity that differs from what is on their birth certificate.

Albania Religion, Economy and Politics

Almost 58% of Albanian's are Muslim, with a Christian population of 17%. About 25% of the population belongs to another religion or has no religion. While Albania was the only European country whose Jewish population grew during the Holocaust, the mass emigration to Israel has left just 200 Albanian Jews in the country. In 1967 Albania saw a violent crackdown on any religious activity and became the world's first officially Atheist state.

As a developing nation, the economy in Albania has been particularly susceptible to the fluctuations of the world market and has experienced some downturn in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Agriculture employs nearly half of the Albanian population, but 19% of the nation's GDP. Common crops include tobacco, citrus, figs, grapes and various vegetables. There is also something of a strong wine industry in Albania. Albania is currently experiencing high amounts of public debt and remittances continue to be a significant source of the country's GDP.

Albania Population History

The Italian army invaded the land that is now Albania just before the beginning of the Second World War to cut through and attack Greece. By 1943, the Germans had forced the Italians to surrender and took control of Albania, but the Albanian Communist Party resisted and forced the Germans to withdraw just a year later. As they became more independent, the strength of the communist party increased and by 1948 Albania had broken ties with Yugoslavia in favor of an alliance with the Soviet Union. Their relationship with the Soviet Union was short-lived, however, and by 1961 Albania had allied itself with China.

In 1989, after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, politics in Albania became less extreme as independent political parties began forming and Albanians were allowed to travel abroad, and by 1992 the Democratic party had won the election. In 1997, the son of a late king, Leka, returned to Albania after years in hiding in a failed attempt to restore a monarchy, but he did manage to stir up enough trouble to have communism be able to take a stronghold again. Between 1999-2002, Albania saw an influx in immigrants from Kosovo in response to their country's political unrest.

Albania has a very low fertility rate of just 1.49 children per woman, and massive migration affected its demographics after the fall of Communism in 1990. Between 1991 and 2004, close to 1 million people left Albania, most destined for Greece, and the population decreased in the North and South of the country and increased in Tirana and Durrës.

Albania Population Rank 2024
Area (km²)
28,748
2024 Growth Rate
Capital
GDP (IMF '23)
$23.03
GDP (UN '22)
$18.92 Bn

Albania - General Info

  1. Albania Institute of Statistics
  2. World Population Prospects (2022 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  3. GeoNames

Sources