Distillers Albania
A one-page guide to Albania for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Tirana
- Official languages
- Albanian
- Currency
- Albanian lek (ALL)
- Time zone
- UTC+1 (UTC+2 summer)
- Area
- 28,750 km²
People
- Population
- 2.3 million (2025)
- Population growth
- -1.2% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 58.9%
- Aged under 15
- 16.6%
- Aged 65 and over
- 17.6%
- Life expectancy
- 79.8 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$30.5 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$12,998 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 3.79% (2025)
- Inflation
- 2.15% (2025)
Climate
Mix of Mediterranean and continental. Coast is warmest, northern and eastern mountains coldest. Monthly averages range from about -1 C in winter to about 21.8 C in summer; most rain falls in winter, about 1,485 mm a year on average.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- None for private drinking; 18 for purchase in bars/restaurants and for public consumption
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 4.27 litres of pure alcohol (2024)
- Traditional drinks
- Raki (grape, plum, pomace, apricot and other fruit types)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); World Bank API (population, area, GDP, growth, inflation); WHO GHO OData (SA_0000001688); UN Comtrade public preview API (HS 2208); Wikipedia: Albania; Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; Wikipedia: Rakia; Albanian spirits guide; Wikipedia: Cognac Skënderbeu. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.