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

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
readRomans 11:22

Pray that God will transform those who persist in unbelief and, in His everlasting kindness, graft them into His family.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
readRevelation 4:11

Pray that the good news will advance and people will recognize and worship the One who created all things by His will, giving glory and honor to Him alone.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 8:38-39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence in their salvation, knowing that nothing can separate them from the One who conquered death and loves them as His children.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

14 people groups

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