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Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, little country known as the most isolated nation on the planet and the first one to register at the U.N. as “officially atheistic.” There were no churches, Bibles, or pastors. Albania was spiritually barren.
In the early 1990s, God moved, communism fell and evangelists arrived with the Gospel. Now thousands of Albanians have become disciples of Jesus and hundreds of churches have formed. We are privileged not only to be serving here, but to have watched God write one of the most amazing stories of His Acts.
Population: 3,600,523 (July 2007)
Median Age: 29
Size: Roughly the size of Maryland
Government: Emerging democracy
People Groups: Albanian (95%), Greek, Roma
Language: Albanian (Tosk and Geg dialects)
Literacy: Over 98%
Religion: Sunni Muslim (64%), Orthodox (18%), Catholic (10%), Sufi-Bektashi (6%), Other (2%) (most people are nominally religious), evangelical (>0.5%)
New Cults: JWs, Mormons, Ba’hai, Moonies
Terrain: Mostly mountainous (highest peak 8772 ft.), 225 miles of coastline on the Adriatic Sea, farmland
Industry: Food processing, textiles, lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Agricultural Products: Wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, grapes, meat, dairy products
Albanian Food: Byrek (savory pies), qoftë (minced meat), tavë kosi (meat boiled in yogurt)
Currency: Albanian lek (plural lekë)
Exchange Rate, Lekë/1 USD: 105 (2010), 97 (2009), 78 (2008), 88 (2007), 98 (2006), 103 (2005), 121 (2003), 140 (2002)
In the Bible: Romans 15:19 (“Illyricum” was ancient Albania)