Albania is a country in the western Balkans of southeastern Europe, on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas across from the heel of Italy. A rugged, mountainous land with a beautiful coastline, it is home to a people, the Albanians, who trace their roots to the ancient Illyrians and speak a language unrelated to those of their neighbours. After spending much of the twentieth century as one of the most isolated and repressive communist states in the world, Albania has, since the 1990s, opened up to become a developing, increasingly visited Mediterranean nation.
The Albanians descend from the ancient Illyrians, and their land knew Greek colonies and Roman rule before the rise of Byzantium. In the fifteenth century the national hero Skanderbeg led a long resistance against the Ottoman Empire from his stronghold at Kruje, becoming a lasting symbol of Albanian defiance, though the country was eventually absorbed into the Ottoman realm for centuries, during which most Albanians became Muslim. Independence came in 1912, followed by monarchy, war, and then a long communist dictatorship.
Albania is largely mountainous, with rugged ranges covering much of the interior and rising sharply behind a coastal plain on the Adriatic. The coastline, washed by the clear waters of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, is increasingly famous for its beaches, while inland lie deep river valleys, alpine highlands in the north, and ancient lakes shared with neighbouring countries. This dramatic landscape, long isolated and little developed, has preserved a wild beauty and rich biodiversity.
The flag of Albania is a striking red field bearing a black double-headed eagle. The double-headed eagle is an ancient symbol associated with Skanderbeg and with Albanian identity, and indeed Albanians call their country the land of the eagles. The bold red and black design is one of the most distinctive national flags, and the eagle has stood for the Albanian people through centuries of struggle for survival and independence.
Albania has a religious history unlike almost any other European country. Centuries of Ottoman rule made the majority Muslim, including a strong presence of the mystical Bektawi Sufi order, alongside Orthodox and Catholic Christian minorities. The communist regime then declared Albania the world's first officially atheist state and banned religion entirely. Since the fall of communism, faith has revived, and Albania is widely noted for the tolerance and easy coexistence among its religious communities, which many see as a point of national pride.
Albanian cuisine blends Mediterranean and Ottoman influences, making generous use of olive oil, vegetables, lamb, and dairy. A national dish is tave kosi, lamb baked with a topping of yogurt and eggs until set, and savoury filled pastries called byrek are eaten everywhere. Grilled meats, fresh salads, and seafood along the coast are staples, and the warm climate yields an abundance of fruit and vegetables, reflecting a healthy, sun-filled food culture.
Agriculture remains important to Albania and employs a significant share of its people, though it is constrained by the mountainous terrain and a legacy of underdevelopment. Farmers grow olives, grapes, and a variety of fruits and vegetables in the warm coastal lowlands and valleys, along with wheat and maize, and raise sheep and goats in the highlands. Much farming is small-scale, and the sector has been modernising since the country emerged from its long communist isolation.
The Illyrian heritage, Skanderbeg's resistance, and the long Ottoman period shaped the Albanian nation. The defining experience of the twentieth century was the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, an extraordinarily isolated and paranoid regime that cut the country off from the world, suppressed religion, and dotted the landscape with hundreds of thousands of concrete bunkers against an invasion that never came. Since the regime's collapse in the early 1990s, Albania has reopened and pursued integration with Europe.
Albania has a population of around 2.8 million people, overwhelmingly ethnic Albanians, who speak a unique Indo-European language that forms its own branch of the family. Large Albanian populations also live in neighbouring Kosovo, North Macedonia, and beyond, and a vast diaspora has spread across Europe and the world, the result of heavy emigration after the fall of communism. The population is concentrated in the coastal lowlands and in the capital, Tirana, a city that has been rapidly transformed in recent decades.
