The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Albania:
Republic of Albania – sovereign country located on the Balkan Peninsula in Southern Europe.[1] It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 100 km (62 mi) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto. Albania is a parliamentary democracy that is transforming its economy into a market-oriented system. The Albanian capital, Tirana, is home to 350,000 of the country's 3.6 million population. As a result of the opening of the country in the post-communist era, Albania is now undergoing a development boom as its telecommunications, transport and utilities infrastructure is being revamped.
Albania is divided into twelve counties (Albanian: qarku, sing.qark (official term); but often prefektura, sing. prefekturë, sometimes translated as prefecture). Each contains several municipalities:[2]
