Albania Factbook

Albania spent nearly 50 years under a very repressive communist government. Most Albanians have had no meaningful exposure to the gospel. Islam was once the largest religious group, but now more people are classified as Christian. There is now freedom to preach the gospel for the first time in decades, and people have begun to respond.

Albania is located in southeastern Europe across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. It borders on Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Greece. Much of the land is mountainous which makes agriculture difficult.

The population of Albania is approximately 3.4 million. Nearly all of the people are ethnic Albanians. However, half of the world's ethnic Albanians live outside of Albania. Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have suffered greatly in recent years.

For much of its history, Albania has been dominated by foreign powers. In 1945, the communists took power and became one of the most ruthless regimes in the world under the leadership of Enver Hoxha. Hoxha died in 1985, and the communists fell in 1991. The current government is democratically elected.

Years of communist management devastated the economy. Albania remains the poorest country in Europe, but the economy has improved significantly in recent years. The influx of refugees from Kosovo has put a greater strain on the economy.

Accurate estimates of the size of religious groups are difficult to obtain. Approximately 40% of Albanians are Muslim. Slightly more are Christian with most classified as Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic. The gospel is still mostly unknown to the Albanian people. The number of evangelicals has begun to grow rapidly in recent years, but their numbers are still only in the thousands.

The communists under Hoxha was brutally repressive. In 1967 all religion was officially outlawed. However, the fall of communism has created unprecedented freedom for the spread of the gospel. This freedom has extended to all religious groups, and all of them have rushed to reach the people. In particular, Muslims have invested a great deal toward missions and the building of mosques. The major groups (Muslims, Catholics, and Orthodox) are also seeking political influence.

Pray for evangelical missionaries as they seek to spread the gospel in difficult conditions. Pray also for Christian aid groups as they attempt to help in the midst of Albania's enormous economic problems. Pray for the distribution of Bibles and Christian literature as they are available for the first time in decades. Pray that in this needy land which has suffered much for years many would come to know the Savior.

Copyright 2006 by Brad Garrison

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