Albanian people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 8–12.6 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Albania
|
3,038,594 (2016) |
 Kosovo
|
1,870,981 (2015) |
 Turkey
|
500,000-5,000,0002 |
 Macedonia
|
509,083 (2002) |
 Greece
|
280,000-600,000 (Includes dual citizens, temporary migrants, and undocumented) |
 Montenegro
|
30,439 (2011) |
 Croatia
|
17,513 (2011) |
 Romania
|
10,000 (2010) |
 Slovenia
|
4,020 |
 Italy
|
800,0001 |
 Germany
|
300,000 |
 Switzerland
|
200,000 |
 Sweden
|
54,000 |
 United Kingdom
|
30,000 |
 Austria
|
28,212 |
 France
|
20,000 |
 Netherlands
|
5,000-20,000 |
 Norway
|
10,000 |
 Denmark
|
8,223 |
 Finland
|
8,214 |
 Belgium
|
5,600-30,000 |
 Ukraine
|
5,000 |
 Serbia
|
5,809 (2011) |
| Rest of World: | ca. 250.000 |
 United States
|
193,813 |
 Canada
|
28,270 |
 Egypt
|
18,000 |
 Australia
|
11,315 |
 Argentina
|
40.000 |
| Languages | |
|
Albanian (Gheg and Tosk Dialects) |
|
| Religion | |
|
|
|
|
1 502,546 Albanian citizens, an additional 43,751 Kosovo Albanians and 260,000 Arbëreshë people 2 Albanians are not recognized as a minority in Turkey. However approximately 500,000 people are reported to profess an Albanian identity. Of those with full or partial Albanian ancestry and others who have adopted Turkish language, culture and identity their number is estimated at 1,300,000-5,000,000 many whom do not speak Albanian. 3 Native speakers of Albanian |
|
Islam (majority)
Sunni · Bektashi · Sufism
Christianity (minority)
Roman Catholicism · Italo-Albanian Catholic Church · Albanian Orthodox · Protestantism
2 Albanians are not recognized as a minority in Turkey. However approximately 500,000 people are reported to profess an Albanian identity. Of those with full or partial Albanian ancestry and others who have adopted Turkish language, culture and identity their number is estimated at 1,300,000-5,000,000 many whom do not speak Albanian.
Albanians (Albanian: Shqiptarët) are an ethnic group native to Albania and neighboring countries. The term is also used to refer to the citizens of the Republic of Albania. Ethnic Albanians speak the Albanian language and more than half of ethnic Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo. A large Albanian population lives in the Republic of Macedonia, with smaller Albanian populations located in Serbia and Montenegro. The majority of Albanians are nominally Muslim (mainly Sunni, with a smaller Shia, Sufi and Bektashi component), and a minority are nominally Christian (Catholic and Orthodox). Albanians produced many prominent figures such as Skanderbeg, leader of the medieval Albanian resistance to the Ottoman conquest and others during the Albanian National Awakening seeking self-determination. During the 17th and 18th century Albanians in large numbers converted to Islam, often to escape higher taxes levied on Christian subjects. As Muslims, some Albanians attained important political and military positions within the Ottoman Empire and culturally contributed to the wider Muslim world. Albania gained its independence in 1912 and between 1945-1992, Albanians lived under a repressive communist regime. Albanians within Yugoslavia underwent periods of discrimination and eventual self-determination that concluded with the breakup of that state in the early 1990s culminating with Albanians living in new countries and Kosovo. Outside the southwestern Balkans of where Albanians have traditionally been located, Albanian populations through the course of history have formed new communities contributing to the cultural, economic, social and political life of their host populations and countries while also at times assimilating too.
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Wikipedia