republic · Balkans and Hungary

Albania

1991 CE – present · capital Tirana

Present-day Albania, a parliamentary republic since the end of communism in 1991 and a NATO member seeking to join the European Union.

Origins

Mass protests and emigration in 1990 forced the People's Socialist Republic of Albania to permit opposition parties. After the first multi-party elections, the country was renamed the Republic of Albania in April 1991. In 1992 the Democratic Party of Sali Berisha won power, ending communist rule.

Rule and society

Albania is a parliamentary republic with a president elected by parliament. Religion returned to public life after decades of state atheism, and private enterprise and emigration transformed society. The collapse of pyramid investment schemes in 1997 caused near-anarchy and an international intervention. In 1999 Albania sheltered hundreds of thousands of refugees from Kosovo. Politics has been dominated by the rivalry of the Democratic and Socialist parties.

To the present

Albania joined NATO in 2009, became an EU candidate in 2014 and opened accession negotiations in 2022. Edi Rama's Socialists have governed since 2013, and tourism has become a major industry.

Lineage

People's Socialist Republic of Albania 1946 CE – 1991 CEAlbania

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Albania. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/albania
MLA
“Albania.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/albania. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Albania.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/albania.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Albania’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/albania (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻