Gjirokastër County Explained

Type:co
Skyline:Banjat e Benjës.jpg
Caption:Thermal Baths near Përmet
Emblem:Stema e Qarkut Gjirokastër.svg
Map:Albania (Gjirokastër County).svg
Coordinates:40.1667°N 30°W
Parts:7 municipalities, 268 towns and villages
Seat:Gjirokastër
Council Chairman:Dino Selimi[1]
Area Total Km2:2884
Population As Of:2021[2]
Population Total:58,031
Blank Name Sec1:HDI (2021)
Blank Info Sec1:0.797
· 4th of 12
Nuts Code:AL033

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.[3] Its capital is the city Gjirokastër.

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.[4] 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

See also: 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.[5]

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.[6]

Ethnicities in Gjirokastër County according to the 2011 census[7]
Ethnic and cultural affiliation Resident population Percentage of resident population
Albanians 56,193 77.86%
Prefer not to answer 8,729 12.09%
Greeks 5,363 7.43%
Not relevant/not stated 1,033 1.43%
Aromanians 688 0.95%
Roma910.13%
Others 56 0.08%
Egyptians 21 0.03%
Macedonians 1 0.00%
Montenegrins 1 0.00%

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".[8]

Mother Tongues in Gjirokastër County according to the 2011 census[9]
Mother tongue Resident population Percentage of resident population
Albanian 67,337 93.3%
Greek 4,051 5.61%
Aromanian 618 0.86%
Not relevant/not stated 72 0.10%
Roma 55 0.08%
Others 39 0.05%
Italian 4 0.01%

Notable people

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 2 August 2023 . Konstituohet këshilli i ri i qarkut Gjirokastër, Dino Selimit i votëbesohet detyra e kryetarit . RTSH Gjirokastra . sq.
  2. Web site: Population on 1st January by prefecture and sex. INSTAT. 7 May 2021. 6.
  3. 1 January 2021. Popullsia e Shqipërisë. Institute of Statistics (Albania). 6. 2021-08-16.
  4. Web site: Law nr. 115/2014 . sq . 6371. 25 February 2022 .
  5. Web site: 2011 census results . 2015-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053713/http://www.instat.gov.al/media/195823/6__gjirokaster.pdf . 2016-03-04 . dead .
  6. Web site: 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 . 28 December 2018. 98.
  7. Book: Population and Housing Census Gjirokastër . 2011 . INSTAT . Tirana . 39 .
  8. Web site: Third Opinion on Albania adopted on 23 November 2011. Advisory Committee on the Framework for the Protection of National Minorities . 29 June 2017.
  9. Book: Population and Housing Census Gjirokastër . 2011 . INSTAT . Tirana . 40 .