Albania — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Albania: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Albania is in Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece to the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north. It covers 28,748 sq km. Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast. Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter.
| Capital | Tirana (Tirane) |
|---|---|
| Population | 2,551,837 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $51.36 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $18,900 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 4% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 2.2% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 10.3% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 81.9% of GDP (2021 est.) |
| Exports | $9.848 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $11.697 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 79.9 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 37.9 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 64.6% of total population (2023) |
| Government | parliamentary republic |
| Independence | 28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire) |
| Languages | Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Romani, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.) |
Albania’s GDP is $51.36 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $27.178 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 4% (2024 est.). See where Albania ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
A neutral quarter in the truest sense: nothing happened that altered the country's course or standing.
The score records absence of momentum honestly — the deeper currents continue, unmoved by the calendar.
- What our model rewards: 100% of its electricity from low-carbon sources; inflation tamed at 2.2%
- What drags it down: fertility of 1.1 children per woman — below replacement, the cradle is emptying; public debt above 82% of GDP — the budget's ball and chain
Oil, Natural gas, Coal, Bauxite, Copper, Iron ore, Nickel, Salt, Timber, Hydropower.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 100% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | solar: 3.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 96.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 27.407 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 22.6 TWh (2023) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 9.0 TWh (2023) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 8,032 kWh per person (2023) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Hydro 96.7%, Solar 3.3% (2023) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 100.0% (2023) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 24.4 gCO2/kWh (2023) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2023.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $9.848 billion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $11.697 billion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Deficit of $1.8 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | food; footwear, apparel and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Edi Rama — Prime Minister. President Bajram BEGAJ (since 24 July 2022)
Albania maintains 39 embassies and 7 consulates abroad, hosts 44 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, UN Geneva, NATO Brussels, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 39 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 7 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 44 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, UN Geneva, NATO Brussels, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg |
Source: Abroad: Consular Affairs Center, of-country ranking, Jan 2026, Zenodo https://zenodo.org/records/18109976/ . Hosted: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions in Albania' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_in_Albania . Multilateral rosters: UN https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_permanent_representatives_to_the_United_Nations , UNOG https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states , OSCE http://www.osce.org/contacts/delegations , NATO https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Council
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 362 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 3 + 9 heliports (registration prefix ZA) |
| Major seaports | Durres, Shengjin, Vlores |
| Railways | 424 km |
| Pipelines | 498 km gas (a majority of the network is in disrepair and parts of it are missing), 249 km oil (2015) |
Major airports
Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA) — Rinas.
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | parliamentary republic |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2025 — parliamentary; 2025-05-11; winner: Edi Rama (Socialist Party of Albania); Opposition contested fairness; ODIHR flagged uneven playing field Reuters / The Straits Times |
| Next election | 2029 — parliamentary (scheduled) |
Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Albania.
Historical timeline of Albania
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Albania — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Albania's power score?
Albania has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.