# Counties of Albania

Counties (Albanian: qarqe or qarqet), also sometimes known as prefectures (prefekturë), 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 (Albanian: rrethe), whose number, size, and importance varied over time. They were organized into groups comprising 12 counties beginning in 1991.
The current status of the counties is based on the 1998 constitution and was implemented on 31 July 2000. The former districts were abolished entirely and replaced with urban municipalities (bashki) and rural municipalities (komuna), which further oversaw villages (fshatra) in the countryside. This was revised in 2014, so that the 2015 local elections divided the counties into municipalities (bashki) at the regional level and administrative units (njësi administrative) for local government.

## List

| County | Seat | Municipalities | NUTS-2 | Area | Population (2020) | Population density (per km$^2$ in 2020) | Geographic coordinates |
| Berat | Berat | Berat, Kuçovë, Poliçan, Skrapar, Ura Vajgurore | Southern Region | 1,798 km$^2$ (694 sq mi) | 122,003 | 37.9 | 40°44′N 19°59′E﻿ / ﻿40.733°N 19.983°E﻿ / 40.733; 19.983﻿ (Berat County) |
| Dibër | Peshkopi | Bulqizë, Dibër, Klos, Mat | Northern Region | 2,586 km$^2$ (998 sq mi) | 115,857 | 44.8 | 41°42′N 20°22′E﻿ / ﻿41.700°N 20.367°E﻿ / 41.700; 20.367﻿ (Dibër County) |
| Durrës | Durrës | Durrës, Krujë, Shijak | Northern Region | 766 km$^2$ (296 sq mi) | 290,697 | 379.5 | 41°23′N 19°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 km$^2$ (1,235 sq mi) | 270,074 | 84.4 | 41°6′N 20°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 km$^2$ (730 sq mi) | 289,889 | 153.4 | 44°46′N 19°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 km$^2$ (1,114 sq mi) | 59,381 | 20.6 | 40°12′N 20°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 km$^2$ (1,433 sq mi) | 204,831 | 55.2 | 40°40′N 20°48′E﻿ / ﻿40.667°N 20.800°E﻿ / 40.667; 20.800﻿ (Korçë County) |
| Kukës | Kukës | Has, Kukës, Tropojë | Northern Region | 2,374 km$^2$ (917 sq mi) | 75,428 | 31.8 | 42°7′N 20°25′E﻿ / ﻿42.117°N 20.417°E﻿ / 42.117; 20.417﻿ (Kukës County) |
| Lezhë | Lezhë | Kurbin, Lezhë, Mirditë | Northern Region | 1,620 km$^2$ (630 sq mi) | 122,700 | 75.7 | 41°49′N 19°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 km$^2$ (1,375 sq mi) | 200,007 | 56.1 | 42°6′N 19°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 km$^2$ (638 sq mi) | 906,166 | 548.5 | 41°6′N 20°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 km$^2$ (1,045 sq mi) | 188,922 | 69.8 | 40°30′N 19°37′E﻿ / ﻿40.500°N 19.617°E﻿ / 40.500; 19.617﻿ (Vlorë County) |