Administrative divisions of Albania

Albania is divided into 12 administrative counties (Albanian: qark or prefekturë). These counties were further divided into 36 districts (Albanian: rreth) which became defunct in 2000:^[1] in June 2015, the counties were re-divided into 61 municipalities (Albanian: bashki) and, additionally, the rural communities called komuna, were abolished and are now known as Neighborhoods or Villages (Albanian: Lagje / Fshat).^[2][3] There are overall 2980 villages/communities (Albanian: fshat) in all Albania, formerly known as localities (Albanian: lokalitete).

Overview

Albanian	English	Quantity	Status	Note	Main article
prefekturë	prefecture	10	defunct	Introduced ca. 1925	Prefectures of Albania
qark	county	12	active	Listed in ISO 3166-2:AL	Counties of Albania
rrethe	district	36	defunct	Defunct since 2000. Listed in ISO 3166-2:AL	Districts of Albania
bashki	municipality	61	active	Active since 2015	Municipalities of Albania
komunë	commune	309	defunct	rural	Municipalities of Albania
qytet	city	72
fshat	village	2980
lokalitete	locality		defunct
njësi bashkiake, lagje or rajone	municipal unit

Administrative divisions valid until June 2015

Each county has its council which is composed of a number of municipalities. The municipalities are the first level of local governance, responsible for local needs and law enforcement.^[4]

	County	Capital	Districts	Municipalities	Cities	Villages
Central Albania
4	Elbasan	Elbasan	Elbasan Gramsh Librazhd Peqin	20 9 9 5	3 1 2 1	177 95 75 49
11	Tirana	Tirana	Kavajë Tirana	8 16	2 3	66 167
North Albania
2	Dibër	Peshkopi	Bulqizë Dibër Mat	7 14 10	1 1 2	63 141 76
3	Durrës	Durrës	Durrës Krujë	6 4	4 2	62 44
8	Kukës	Kukës	Has Kukës Tropojë	3 14 7	1 1 1	30 89 68
9	Lezhë	Lezhë	Kurbin Lezhë Mirditë	4 9 5	3 1 2	26 62 80
10	Shkodër	Shkodër	Malësi e Madhe Pukë Shkodër	5 8 15	1 2 2	56 75 141
South Albania
1	Berat	Berat	Berat Kuçovë Skrapar	10 2 8	2 1 2	122 18 105
5	Fier	Fier	Fier Lushnjë Mallakastër	14 14 8	3 2 1	117 121 40
6	Gjirokastër	Gjirokastër	Gjirokastër Përmet Tepelenë	11 7 8	2 2 2	96 98 77
7	Korçë	Korçë	Devoll Kolonjë Korçë Pogradec	4 6 14 7	1 2 2 1	44 76 153 72
12	Vlorë	Vlorë	Delvinë Sarandë Vlorë	3 7 9	1 2 4	38 62 99

Counties

Albania is divided into twelve counties (Albanian: qarku, sing. qark (official term); but often prefektura, sing. prefekturë, sometimes translated as prefecture). Each contained several districts (sometimes described as subprefectures). The current administration divisions were put into effect in 1938.

County	Seat	Population (2011 census)	Area (km²)[5]	Density	Districts	NUTS region
Berat	Berat	141,944	1,798	159	Berat Kuçovë Skrapar	South
Dibër	Peshkopi	140,002	2,507	58	Bulqizë Dibër Mat	North
Durrës	Durrës	262,785	766	367	Durrës Krujë	North
Elbasan	Elbasan	295,827	3,199	105	Elbasan Gramsh Librazhd Peqin	Central
Fier	Fier	310,331	1,890	198	Fier Lushnjë Mallakastër	South
Gjirokastër	Gjirokastër	72,176	2,884	36	Gjirokastër Përmet Tepelenë	South
Korçë	Korçë	220,357	3,711	69	Devoll Kolonjë Korçë Pogradec	South
Kukës	Kukës	85,292	2,374	33	Has Kukës Tropojë	North
Lezhë	Lezhë	134,027	1,620	100	Kurbin Lezhë Mirditë	North
Shkodër	Shkodër	215,347	3,562	69	Malësi e Madhe Pukë Shkodër	North
Tirana	Tirana	749,365	1,652	491	Kavajë Tirana	Central
Vlorë	Vlorë	175,640	2,706	67	Delvinë Sarandë Vlorë	South

See also

References

1. A Brief History of the Administrative-territorial Organization in Albania Archived May 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
2. http://www.top-channel.tv/lajme/artikull.php?id=292404
3. http://www.shekulli.com.al/web/p.php?id=38109&kat=88
4. "On the Organization and Functioning of the Local Government, Republic of Albania, 2000" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
5. Johan van der Heyden. GeoHive: Global Statistics

External links

• Administrative Reform Official Website
• Ministry of Local Affairs Official Website