8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Europe / Southern Europe

Born in Albania

About 1 in 4,587 people born in 2023 started life in Albania. A boy can expect to live 78 years and a girl 81, up from 42 and 47 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 4,587
odds of being born here
28,800 births · Ranked 148th of 230
78 / 81
years of life, boys / girls
Was 42 / 47 in 1950
$6,751
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 102nd of 203 · extrapolated
58%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 35 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 301 in every 1,000 births to 9.5.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

0255075100195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth77.7 years for boys, 81.4 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 59.5 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year23,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people1.9World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles83%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.1%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year15 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.2 children on average in 1950. Now it is 1.4, below the 2.1 it takes to keep a population steady.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman1.35UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.1 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 38 and the poorest fifth 8.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2020
8%Poorest fifth
13%Second
17%Middle
23%Fourth
38%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $6,751 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth38% / 8% (2020)World Bank PIP
Unemployment10.7% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises4.8% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person5.7% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming32% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed50% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment96% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Tirana, with 418,495 people.

58%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
95%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Tirana418,495
Durrës195,920
Vlorë115,261
Elbasan100,903
Shkodër95,553
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Albanian100%
Greek2%
Albanian is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Tirana448,507
Durrës County285,087
Fier County158,111
Elbasan County140,795
Vlorë County137,874
Korçë County104,329
Shkodër County95,553
Berat County93,309
Kukës County36,125
Dibër County26,826

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

All 12 regions
  • Tirana448,507
  • Durrës County285,087
  • Fier County158,111
  • Elbasan County140,795
  • Vlorë County137,874
  • Korçë County104,329
  • Shkodër County95,553
  • Berat County93,309
  • Kukës County36,125
  • Dibër County26,826
  • Gjirokastër County23,437
  • Lezhë County18,695

People on the move

About 44% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Italy, Greece, North Macedonia.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Italy542,638
Greece474,441
North Macedonia68,356
Residents born abroad1.7% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 43.6% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostItaly (542,638), Greece (474,441), North Macedonia (68,356)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $2.6 billion a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

97% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 3%.

97%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
3%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2021)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20243,605Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19506; the deadliest, in 2019, killed about 51 people (magnitude 6.4)NOAA NCEI
Deaths in organized violence26 between 1999 and 1999UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Albania, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Albania

Elsewhere in Europe

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences