The Albanians of Albania

The Albanians of Albania, numbering approximately 2,590,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Balkan ethnic group united by Albanian language, a shared historical identity, and common cultural traditions, internally differentiated into regional subgroups such as Gheg and Tosk but maintaining a strong overarching sense of collective identity They are an Indigenous people, with Albanian as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Albanian people cluster of the Eurasian Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Islam. They primarily speak Albanian, Gheg.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Albanian

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Albania
People Cluster: Albanian
Primary Language(s): Albanian, Gheg (aln)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 2,590,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000704
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Albanians of Albania

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

80%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Albanian, Gheg
Language Family: Indo-European

55%
%
Albanian, Gheg Speakers

Media Resources in Albanian, Gheg:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Albanian, Gheg:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Albanian, Gheg bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Albanians are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Albanians:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Albanians of Albania

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that those who are lost and unaware of God's blessings will come to know Him as the one true God, put their trust in Him, and join in praising Him among the nations.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
readRomans 5:10

Pray that God will remove obstacles to the gospel so that many will see the hope He offers through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, and be transformed from being enemies to being His friends.

And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him and have assurance that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
readEphesians 6:10

Ask God to strengthen believers with His mighty power so that as they cross cultures to share the gospel, they will stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

Albanian Across Countries (ROP3 - 115689) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

14 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AlbaniansAlbaniansAlbania2,590,000Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, GhegFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansKosovo1,965,000Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, GhegFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansNorth Macedonia541,000Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, GhegFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansItaly446,000Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, GhegFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansGreece281,000Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, ToskEastern Orthodox Christianity
AlbaniansAlbaniansUnited States226,000Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, GhegFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansSwitzerland115,000Unengaged and UnreachedAlbanian, ToskFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansTurkiye68,500Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, ToskFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansGermany66,000Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, ToskFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansMontenegro49,500Unengaged and UnreachedAlbanian, GhegFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansUnited Kingdom42,500Unengaged and UnreachedAlbanian, ToskFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansCanada27,500Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, ToskFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansAustria24,000Unengaged and UnreachedAlbanian, ToskFolk Islam
AlbaniansAlbaniansBelgium18,000Engaged yet UnreachedAlbanian, GhegFolk Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

*Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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