Southern Europe · ALB

Albania

The story · 10 chapters

How it was drawn

Illyrian land, then Roman and Byzantine, fought over by Bulgarians, Normans, Serbs, Venetians and Ottomans, and finally drawn as a state by the great powers in 1913.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Albania fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kingdom of Macedon358 BC to 168 BC
Philip II of Macedon defeated and killed the Illyrian king Bardylis in 358 BC. For two centuries Macedonian and Illyrian kings fought over the lakes and passes of the southeast, until Rome defeated both in 168 BC.
Roman Republic229 BC to 168 BC
Three Illyrian Wars, from 229 BC, broke Queen Teuta's kingdom and then King Gentius, captured at Scodra in 168 BC. Rome then ruled the coast and built the Via Egnatia from Dyrrachium.
First Bulgarian Empire840 to 1018
Bulgarian rulers took the interior from Byzantium in the ninth century. Tsar Samuel made Ohrid, near today's eastern border, his capital, and fought Byzantium for decades until Basil II destroyed his realm in 1018.
Normans of southern Italy1081 to 1108
Robert Guiscard crossed the Adriatic, beat the Byzantine emperor Alexios I at Dyrrachium in 1081 and took the city. His son Bohemond besieged it again in 1107, but failed and accepted the Treaty of Devol in 1108.
Serbian Empire1343 to 1355
Stefan Dusan of Serbia overran almost all of Albania in the 1340s and was crowned emperor in 1346. His empire split up after his death in 1355, leaving local Albanian lords in control.
Ottoman Empire1385 to 1912
Ottoman victory at Savra in 1385 opened Albania. Skanderbeg held them off for 25 years from 1443, but Kruja and Shkoder fell in 1478 and 1479. Albanian revolts from 1910 to 1912 helped end Ottoman rule, confirmed by the Balkan Wars.
Republic of Venice1392 to 1501
Venice took Durres in 1392 and Shkoder in 1396 to guard its sea routes. Skanderbeg fought it in 1447 to 1448 over the fortress of Dagnum, before both turned against the Ottomans. Venice lost its last Albanian port, Durres, in 1501.
Principality of Montenegro1878 to 1913
Montenegro won Albanian districts at Berlin in 1878, then took Ulcinj in 1880. In 1912 to 1913 it besieged Shkoder for six months and captured it, but the great powers forced it to hand the city to Albania.
Kingdom of Serbia1912 to 1913
In the First Balkan War Serbian armies marched across northern Albania to reach the Adriatic at Durres in November 1912. Austria-Hungary and Italy refused Serbia a port, and it had to withdraw in 1913.
Kingdom of Greece1912 to 1987
Greece claimed southern Albania as Northern Epirus, occupying Korce and Gjirokaster in 1912 to 1914 and again during both world wars. A state of war declared in 1940 was only formally ended by Greece in 1987.
Kingdom of Italy1920 to 1943
Albanians drove Italian forces out of Vlora in 1920. Italy kept growing its grip through loans and treaties, then invaded in April 1939 and ruled Albania until it surrendered to the Allies in September 1943.
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia1948 to 1991
Tito's Yugoslavia dominated Albania until Hoxha broke with it in 1948. Relations stayed hostile for decades, sharpened by the treatment of Albanians in Kosovo, until Yugoslavia fell apart in 1991.

Today

Albania now

After declaring independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, Albania experienced a period of political upheaval that led to a short-lived monarchy, which ended in 1939 when Italy conquered the country. Germany then occupied Albania in 1943, and communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960) and then with China (until 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended communist rule and established a multiparty democracy.

Capital: Tirana
Government: parliamentary republic
Head of government: Edi Rama
Head of state: Bajram Begaj
Languages: Albanian
Area: 28,750 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population2.8 million2023 · 1.2 million in 1950
Life expectancy79.6 years2023 · 44.5 years in 1950
GDP per person$12,9782022 · $1,596 in 1950
Living in cities59%2025 · 20% in 1950
Literacy98%2023 · 73% in 1950
Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending2.0% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
United Kingdom
France
Germany
Italy

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Albania fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Kingdom of Macedon358 BC to 168 BC

Philip II of Macedon defeated and killed the Illyrian king Bardylis in 358 BC. For two centuries Macedonian and Illyrian kings fought over the lakes and passes of the southeast, until Rome defeated both in 168 BC.

Roman Republic229 BC to 168 BC

Three Illyrian Wars, from 229 BC, broke Queen Teuta's kingdom and then King Gentius, captured at Scodra in 168 BC. Rome then ruled the coast and built the Via Egnatia from Dyrrachium.

First Bulgarian Empire840 to 1018

Bulgarian rulers took the interior from Byzantium in the ninth century. Tsar Samuel made Ohrid, near today's eastern border, his capital, and fought Byzantium for decades until Basil II destroyed his realm in 1018.

Normans of southern Italy1081 to 1108

Robert Guiscard crossed the Adriatic, beat the Byzantine emperor Alexios I at Dyrrachium in 1081 and took the city. His son Bohemond besieged it again in 1107, but failed and accepted the Treaty of Devol in 1108.

Serbian Empire1343 to 1355

Stefan Dusan of Serbia overran almost all of Albania in the 1340s and was crowned emperor in 1346. His empire split up after his death in 1355, leaving local Albanian lords in control.

Ottoman Empire1385 to 1912

Ottoman victory at Savra in 1385 opened Albania. Skanderbeg held them off for 25 years from 1443, but Kruja and Shkoder fell in 1478 and 1479. Albanian revolts from 1910 to 1912 helped end Ottoman rule, confirmed by the Balkan Wars.

Republic of Venice1392 to 1501

Venice took Durres in 1392 and Shkoder in 1396 to guard its sea routes. Skanderbeg fought it in 1447 to 1448 over the fortress of Dagnum, before both turned against the Ottomans. Venice lost its last Albanian port, Durres, in 1501.

Principality of Montenegro1878 to 1913

Montenegro won Albanian districts at Berlin in 1878, then took Ulcinj in 1880. In 1912 to 1913 it besieged Shkoder for six months and captured it, but the great powers forced it to hand the city to Albania.

Kingdom of Serbia1912 to 1913

In the First Balkan War Serbian armies marched across northern Albania to reach the Adriatic at Durres in November 1912. Austria-Hungary and Italy refused Serbia a port, and it had to withdraw in 1913.

Kingdom of Greece1912 to 1987

Greece claimed southern Albania as Northern Epirus, occupying Korce and Gjirokaster in 1912 to 1914 and again during both world wars. A state of war declared in 1940 was only formally ended by Greece in 1987.

Kingdom of Italy1920 to 1943

Albanians drove Italian forces out of Vlora in 1920. Italy kept growing its grip through loans and treaties, then invaded in April 1939 and ruled Albania until it surrendered to the Allies in September 1943.

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia1948 to 1991

Tito's Yugoslavia dominated Albania until Hoxha broke with it in 1948. Relations stayed hostile for decades, sharpened by the treatment of Albanians in Kosovo, until Yugoslavia fell apart in 1991.

Albania now

Capital

Tirana

Government

parliamentary republic

Head of government

Edi Rama

Head of state

Bajram Begaj

Languages

Albanian

Area

28,750 km²

Then and now

Population2.8 million2023 · 1.2 million in 1950

Life expectancy79.6 years2023 · 44.5 years in 1950

GDP per person$12,9782022 · $1,596 in 1950

Living in cities59%2025 · 20% in 1950

Literacy98%2023 · 73% in 1950

Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending2.0% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025