Gjirokastër County

Gjirokastër County (Albanian: Qarku i Gjirokastrës) is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The total population in 2021 was 58,031, in an area of 2884 km².[2] Its capital is the city Gjirokastër.

Gjirokastër County
Qarku i Gjirokastrës (Albanian)
County
Thermal Baths near Përmet
Thermal Baths near Përmet
Official logo of Gjirokastër County
Emblem
Coordinates: 40°10′N 20°10′E
Country Albania
SeatGjirokastër
Subdivisions7 municipalities, 268 towns and villages
Government
 • Council chairmanArmand Hilaj
Area
 • Total2,884 km2 (1,114 sq mi)
Population
 (2021[1])
 • Total58,031
 • Density20/km2 (52/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
HDI (2021)0.797
high · 4th of 12
NUTS CodeAL033

Administrative divisions

Until 2000, Gjirokastër County was subdivided into three districts: Gjirokastër, Përmet, and Tepelenë. Since the 2015 local government reform, the county consists of the following 7 municipalities: Dropull, Gjirokastër, Këlcyrë, Libohovë, Memaliaj, Përmet and Tepelenë.[3] Before 2015, it consisted of the following 32 municipalities:

The municipalities consist of about 270 towns and villages in total. See Villages of Gjirokastër County for a structured list.

Demographics
Further information: Demographic history of Gjirokastër County

According to the last national census from 2011 this county has 72,176 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the county include Albanians, Greeks, Aromanians, Romani, & Balkan Egyptians.[4]

According to the results of the 2011 census, 38.54% of the total population (27,815 people) declared themselves Muslim. There are also some Bektashi Muslims with 8.48% (6,118 people), 7.15% percent consisting of believers without a denomination (22,186 people) and Christians forming 19.65% of the county's population (Orthodox (17.43%) (15,295 people), Evangelists (0.08% (59 people) (and Roman Catholics) (2.07%) (1,493 people), while 10,094 (15,16%) did not answer at all.

According to a 2014 report by the Albanian government submitted to the Council of Europe, there were 9,520 Greeks in the Dropull district, and 13,118 Greeks in the entire county.[5]

Ethnicities in Gjirokastër County according to the 2011 census[6]
Ethnic and cultural affiliationResident populationPercentage of resident population
Albanians56,19377.86%
Prefer not to answer8,72912.09%
Greeks5,3637.43%
Not relevant/not stated1,0331.43%
Aromanians6880.95%
Roma910.13%
Others560.08%
Egyptians210.03%
Macedonians10.00%
Montenegrins10.00%


The results of the 2011 census, the results were affected by a boycott by minorities. The European Council's Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities stated that "the results of the census should be viewed with the utmost caution and calls on the authorities not to rely exclusively on the data on nationality collected during the census in determining its policy on the protection of national minorities".[7]

Mother Tongues in Gjirokastër County[8]
Mother tongueResident populationPercentage of resident population
Albanian67,33793.3%
Greek4,0515.61%
Aromanian6180.86%
Not relevant/not stated720.10%
Roma550.08%
Others390.05%
Italian40.01%


Notable people

References
  1. "Population on 1st January by prefecture and sex" (PDF). INSTAT. 7 May 2021. p. 6.
  2. Popullsia e Shqipërisë (Report). Institute of Statistics (Albania). 1 January 2021. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  3. "Law nr. 115/2014" (PDF) (in Albanian). p. 6371. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  4. "2011 census results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-05-25.
  5. "Fourth Report submitted by Albania pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 2 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Albania. p. 98. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  6. Population and Housing Census Gjirokastër (PDF). Tirana: INSTAT. 2011. p. 39.
  7. "Third Opinion on Albania adopted on 23 November 2011". Advisory Committee on the Framework for the Protection of National Minorities. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  8. Population and Housing Census Gjirokastër (PDF). Tirana: INSTAT. 2011. p. 40.

Further reading
  • Kallivretakis, Leonidas (1995). "Η ελληνική κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής γεωγραφίας και δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in terms of historical geography and demography]". In Veremis, Thanos (ed.). Ο Ελληνισμός της Αλβανίας [The Greeks of Albania]. University of Athens. pp. 25–58. ISBN 9600800545.
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