Counties of Albania

Counties of Albania
Category	Unitary state
Location	Republic of Albania
Number	12
Populations	59,381 (Gjirokastër) – 906,166 (Tiranë)
Areas	766 km2 (296 sq mi) (Durrës)–3,711 km2 (1,433 sq mi) (Korçë)
Government	County government National government
Subdivisions	Municipalities

Counties (Albanian : qarqe or qarqet ), also sometimes known as prefectures ( prefektura or prefekturat ), are the first-level administrative subdivisions of Albania, replacing the earlier districts. Since 2000, there have been 12 counties. Since 2015, they have been divided into 61 municipalities, 373 communes, and 2,972 villages.

History

Since its Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, Albania has reorganized its domestic administrative divisions 21 times. The primary division until mid-2000 was into districts ( rrathë or rrathët ), whose number, size, and importance varied over time. ^[1] They were organized into groups comprising 12 counties beginning in 1991. ^[1]

The current status of the counties ^[2] is based on the 1998 constitution and was implemented on 31 July 2000. ^[3] The former districts were abolished entirely and replaced with urban municipalities ( bashki or bashkitë ) and rural municipalities ( komuna or komunat ), which further oversaw villages ( fshatra or fshatrat ) in the countryside. This was revised in 2014, so that the 2015 local elections divided the counties into municipalities ( bashki or bashkitë ) at the regional level and administrative units (njësi administrative or njësitë administrative) for local government.

List

Shkodër

Kukës

Lezhë

Dibër

Durrës

Tirana

Elbasan

Fier

Berat

Korçë

Gjirokastër

Vlorë

County	Seat	Municipalities	NUTS-2	Area	Population (2020) [4]	Population density (per km2 in 2020)	Emblem	Geographic coordinates
Berat	Berat	Berat, Kuçovë, Poliçan, Skrapar, Ura Vajgurore	Southern Region	1,798 km2 (694 sq mi)	122,003	37.9		40°44′N19°59′E / 40.733°N 19.983°E / 40.733; 19.983 (Berat County)
Dibër	Peshkopi	Bulqizë, Dibër, Klos, Mat	Northern Region	2,586 km2 (998 sq mi)	115,857	44.8		41°42′N20°22′E / 41.700°N 20.367°E / 41.700; 20.367 (Dibër County)
Durrës	Durrës	Durrës, Krujë, Shijak	Northern Region	766 km2 (296 sq mi)	290,697	379.5		41°23′N19°30′E / 41.383°N 19.500°E / 41.383; 19.500 (Durrës County)
Elbasan	Elbasan	Belsh, Cërrik, Elbasan, Gramsh, Librazhd, Peqin, Prrenjas	Central Region	3,199 km2 (1,235 sq mi)	270,074	84.4		41°6′N20°8′E / 41.100°N 20.133°E / 41.100; 20.133 (Elbasan County)
Fier	Fier	Divjakë, Fier, Lushnjë, Mallakastër, Patos, Roskovec	Southern Region	1,890 km2 (730 sq mi)	289,889	153.4		44°46′N19°37′E / 44.767°N 19.617°E / 44.767; 19.617 (Fier County)
Gjirokastër	Gjirokastër	Dropull, Gjirokastër, Këlcyrë, Libohovë, Memaliaj, Përmet, Tepelenë	Southern Region	2,884 km2 (1,114 sq mi)	59,381	20.6		40°12′N20°15′E / 40.200°N 20.250°E / 40.200; 20.250 (Gjirokastër County)
Korçë	Korçë	Devoll, Kolonjë, Korçë, Maliq, Pogradec, Pustec	Southern Region	3,711 km2 (1,433 sq mi)	204,831	55.2		40°40′N20°48′E / 40.667°N 20.800°E / 40.667; 20.800 (Korçë County)
Kukës	Kukës	Has, Kukës, Tropojë	Northern Region	2,374 km2 (917 sq mi)	75,428	31.8		42°7′N20°25′E / 42.117°N 20.417°E / 42.117; 20.417 (Kukës County)
Lezhë	Lezhë	Kurbin, Lezhë, Mirditë	Northern Region	1,620 km2 (630 sq mi)	122,700	75.7		41°49′N19°41′E / 41.817°N 19.683°E / 41.817; 19.683 (Lezhë County)
Shkodër	Shkodër	Fushë-Arrëz, Malësi e Madhe, Pukë, Shkodër, Vau i Dejës	Northern Region	3,562 km2 (1,375 sq mi)	200,007	56.1		42°6′N19°37′E / 42.100°N 19.617°E / 42.100; 19.617 (Shkodër County)
Tirana	Tiranë	Kamëz, Kavajë, Rrogozhinë, Tirana, Vorë	Central Region	1,652 km2 (638 sq mi)	906,166	548.5		41°6′N20°8′E / 41.100°N 20.133°E / 41.100; 20.133 (Tirana County)
Vlorë	Vlorë	Delvinë, Finiq, Himarë, Konispol, Sarandë, Selenicë, Vlorë	Southern Region	2,706 km2 (1,045 sq mi)	188,922	69.8		40°30′N19°37′E / 40.500°N 19.617°E / 40.500; 19.617 (Vlorë County)

See also

• List of counties of Albania by area
• List of counties of Albania by Gross Domestic Product
• List of counties of Albania by Human Development Index
• List of counties of Albania by population
• List of counties of Albania by population density

References

1. A Brief History of the Administrative-territorial Organization in Albania Archived 2017-06-09 at the Wayback Machine , Ministry of State for Local Issues
2. "Ligji për Vetëqeverisjen Vendore" (PDF). Retrieved 3 November 2020.
3. "A Brief History of the Administrative-territorial Organization in Albania". reformaterritoriale.al. Archived from the original on 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
4. "Popullsia në 1 Janar sipas qarqeve dhe gjinisë 2001 - 2020" (in Albanian). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT). Archived from the original on 10 October 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2020.