{{Short description|NUTS-2 region of Albania}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Northern Albania | native_name = {{lang|sq|Shqipëria Veriore}} | settlement_type = Region | image_map = | mapframe-zoom = 7 | mapsize = 125px | map_caption = Northern Albania in red | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Albania}} | area_total_km2 = 10,829 | area_footnotes = | population_as_of = 2023 | population_total = 649,902 | population_footnotes = <ref name="pop23">{{cite web|title=Main Results of the Population and Housing Census 2023|url=https://www.instat.gov.al/media/13626/cens-2023-census-botim.pdf|publisher=INSTAT|access-date=7 March 2026|archive-date=14 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814174433/https://www.instat.gov.al/media/13626/cens-2023-census-botim.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> | population_density_km2 = auto | blank_name_sec1 = NUTS code | blank_info_sec1 = AL01 | blank_name_sec2 = HDI (2017) | blank_info_sec2 = 0.787<ref name="GlobalDataLab">{{Cite web|url=https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/|title=Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab|website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en|access-date=13 September 2018|archive-date=23 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923120638/https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/|url-status=live}}</ref><br/>{{color|#0c0|high}} · 3rd of 3 }} thumb|upright|Northern Albania (red) in Albania '''Northern Albania''' ({{langx|sq|Shqipëria Veriore}}) is one of the three NUTS-2 regions of Albania, along with Central Albania and Southern Albania ({{lang|sq|Toskeria}}). It consists of the counties of Dibër, Durrës, Kukës, Lezhë and Shkodër.
Historically and in ethnography, Northern Albania has been called '''Ghegeria''' (also spelled '''Gegeria'''; {{langx|sq|Gegëria}}, {{langx|aln|Gegnia}}), a name derived from a subgroup of Albanians known as the Ghegs.
== Definitions == The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a geocode classification used by the European Union to divide up member states for statistical purposes. Albania has level 1, 2, and 3 divisions; Northern Albania is a second-level, or NUTS-2, region. Central Albania and Southern Albania are the other NUTS-2 regions of Albania.<ref>{{cite web|title=NUTS of Albania|url=http://www.instat.gov.al/media/204367/gdp_by_statistical_regions_level_2__3_year__2011.pdf|publisher=INSTAT|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924035535/http://www.instat.gov.al/media/204367/gdp_by_statistical_regions_level_2__3_year__2011.pdf|archivedate=24 September 2015}}</ref> The NUTS-2 region of Northern Albania includes five counties: Dibër, Durrës, Kukës, Lezhë and Shkodër.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=INSTAT |title=A new Urban–Rural Classification of Albanian Population |url=https://www.instat.gov.al/media/2919/a_new_urban-rural_classification_of_albanian_population.pdf |accessdate=28 September 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114101641/https://www.instat.gov.al/media/2919/a_new_urban-rural_classification_of_albanian_population.pdf |archivedate=14 November 2019 |page=15 |date=May 2014}}</ref>
In ethnographical and historical contexts, Northern Albania is also known as Ghegeria ({{lang|sq|Gegëria}}) and includes parts of the Albanian-inhabited territories of Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.<ref name="cíVelímský1981">{{cite book|author1=Jaroslav Krej cí|author2=Vitězslav Velímský|title=Ethnic And Political Nations In Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BroNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA205|accessdate=13 July 2013|year=1981|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-85664-988-2|page=205|quote= ...{{nbsp}}the Ghegs in the north (Ghegeria) and the Tosks in the south (Toskeria)}}</ref><ref name="Heraclides & Kromidha">{{cite book |last1=Heraclides |first1=Alexis |last2=Kromidha |first2=Ylli |title=Greek-Albanian Entanglements since the Nineteenth Century: A History |date=28 September 2023 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-96375-5 |pages=4–5 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Greek_Albanian_Entanglements_since_the_N/9PbREAAAQBAJ |access-date=31 May 2025 |language=en}}</ref> The name Ghegeria is derived from the Ghegs, a dialectical subgroup of Albanians who predominantly live in the mountainous areas north of the Shkumbin River.<ref name="Heraclides & Kromidha"/>
== Economy == Northeastern Albania has substantial deposits of minerals, including chromium, copper, and iron-nickel. Albania was a leading producer of chromium during the 1980s, but production steeply declined in the early 1990s as a consequence of the end of communism in the country.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Biberaj |first1=Elez |last2=Prifti |first2=Peter R. |title=Economy of Albania |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Albania/Economy |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |date=15 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
== Demographics == {{Historical populations|9=1989|10=1041447|11=2001|12=962081|13=2011|14=831498|15=2023|16=649902|align=right|source=INSTAT<ref>{{cite web|title=Census of Population and Housing|url=https://www.instat.gov.al/en/themes/censuses/census-of-population-and-housing/|publisher=INSTAT|access-date=7 March 2026|archive-date=30 April 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250430151629/https://www.instat.gov.al/en/themes/censuses/census-of-population-and-housing/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
The five counties of Northern Albania had a combined population of 649,902 as of the 2023 census.<ref name="pop23" />
== See also == * Central Albania * Southern Albania (''Toskeria'')
== References == {{reflist}}
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Category:Subdivisions of Albania Category:NUTS 2 statistical regions of Albania