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Mountains fill Albania’s eastern region and contrast with the coastal plains that cover the western regions and are home to most of the population. Natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, coal, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber and hydropower.

The Albanian ethnic group makes up most of the population – with Greeks, Roma, Vlachs, Macedonians and Egyptians comprising the remainder of the population.

Albania has a high level of poverty and people still have little access to basic social services. Thousands of children across Albania face injustice in the form of abuse, violence, exploitation and forced early marriage. Albania is still lacking a fully functioning system that prevents, protects and rehabilitates children from any form of abuse and discrimination.

3,162,100

Population

Life expectancy

97%

Literacy rate

95%

Access to safe water

£2,380

Average annual income

90%

School enrollment

Despite the economy's recent growth, Albania remains one of the poorest countries in Europe. The agriculture sector, which employs almost half of Albania's workforce, has struggled in recent years (CIA World Fact Book, 2013).

About 17 percent of Albanians are unemployed (World Fact Book, 2014).

12% of children aged 5 to 14 years of age involved in child labour activities (UNICEF, 2012).

Sponsor a child in Albania today.

Our focus in Albania

World Vision is committed to partnering with the people of Albania to improve their lives today and to help deliver sustainable solutions through child protection and participation, inclusive education, health, and economic development projects, for the future of their children, families and communities. Our child sponsorship programme plays a vital role in this partnership, with donors from the United Kingdom sponsoring over 2,600 girls and boys (as of April 2014) across two community projects. In addition to sponsorship, World Vision operates other programmes that benefit communities in Albania.

Highlights of our work include:

Meeting the psychosocial and economic needs of children living and working on the streets through literacy programmes, vocational training for parents and increasing resources for children and their parents

Supporting youth and peer educators to become change agents in their communities

Improving treatment of children by training parents on positive childcare practices.

World Vision’s work began in Albania in 1999, when we provided relief operations in response to the Kosovo refugee crisis. Since then, some of World Vision’s major accomplishments include: