Durrës County
The County of Durrës (Albanian: Qarku i Durrësit; pronounced [caɾkˈu i durəˈsit]) is one of the constituent counties in the northwest of Albania. It borders the counties of Dibër, Lezhë, Tirana and the Adriatic Sea.
County of Durrës Qarku i Durrës | |
|---|---|
 Seal | |
 Map of the Republic of Albania with Durrës highlighted | |
| Coordinates: 41°23′N 19°30′E | |
| Country | Albania |
| Region | Northern Albania |
| Municipalities | |
| Units | 16 |
| Capital | Durrës |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council |
| • Chairman | Alfred Mullaraj (PS) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 766 km2 (296 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 12th |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 290,697 |
| • Rank | 2nd |
| • Density | 380/km2 (980/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| NUTS Code | AL012 |
| HDI (2018) | 0.799 high · 3rd |
| Website | qarkudurres.gov.al |
The county has geographically a coastline on the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast and extends in the Western Lowlands on a flat alluvial and coastal plain. The east is characterised by the Skanderbeg Mountains which splits the Western Lowlands from the Central Mountain Range. Its climate is profoundly determined by its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea and its considerable change in terrain.
The central city Durrës is one of largest cities on the Adriatic Sea and ranks 5th with a population of 175,110 and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.
Durrës is home to Albania's main port, the Port of Durrës. The port is also the 10th largest cargo port on the Adriatic Sea that handle more than 3.4 million tonnes of cargo per year.
The historical city of Krujë is the second largest city in Durrës County.
Environment
Geography
Durrës County is located in the North-Western part of Albania. It borders to the sea Adriatic Sea in the west. The climate is generally Mediterranean but varies by local topography. There are diverse microclimates in the county. Summers are dry while heavy rains are experienced during the winter.
Landmarks
The city of Krujë is found at an altitude of 600 m (1,969 ft) on the foot of Mount Krujë (Albanian: Mali i Krujës) of the Krujë Gorge, while south and west of the town is found the plain of the Ishëm River.[1] The town is located in the northern part of the outer Albanides tectonic unit, which consists of anticlines of Mesozoic carbonate platforms.
The Ishëm is the biggest river in Durrës County, it brings water to the area north of the Albanian capital, Tirana. It forms part of a watercourse (Tiranë - Gjole - Ishëm), but only the lower third of the watercourse is known as the Ishëm. Durres plain is divided by Tirana by long range of hills known as the Kodra e Gjatë to the east of the port city.
The Cape of Rodon is a rocky cape on the Adriatic Sea north of Durrës. On the Cape is the Rodoni Castle, built by Skanderbeg in 1463 and a Saint Anthony Church.
Politics
As of 2009, there are 13 representatives of Durrës County with setas in the Parliament of Albania out of 140.
Administrative divisions
Until 2000, Durrës County was subdivided into two districts: Durrës, and Krujë. Since the 2015 local government reform, the county consists of the following 3 municipalities: Durrës, Krujë and Shijak.[2] Before 2015, it consisted of the following 16 municipalities:
The municipalities consist of about 115 towns and villages in total. See Villages of Durrës County for a structured list.
Demography
| Population growth of the county of Durrës in selected periods | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2001 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2018 | 2020 |
| Pop. | 244,753 | 252,380 | 260,386 | 264,250 | 278,775 | 289,628 | 290,697 |
| ±% p.a. | — | +1.03% | +0.78% | +0.37% | +1.35% | +1.93% | +0.18% |
| Source: [3][4][5][6] | |||||||
The county of Durrës is the second most populous county of the Republic of Albania with an estimated population of 290,697, as of January 2020.[7] At the 2011 census, there were 263,711 people living in the county with a population density of 343 people per square kilometres.[8]
As of the aforementioned census, in terms of ethnicity, the county of Durrës was 77.54% Albanian, 0.36% Romani, 0.18% Greek, 0.07% Macedonian, 0.05% Aromanian, 0.02% Egyptian and 0.02% Montenegrin.[8] By language, 99.5% spoke Albanian as a first language. Other spoken languages were Romani (0,12%), Greek (0.05%), Macedonian (0.05%), Italian (0.02%), Turkish (0.02%) and Aromanian (0.02%).[8]
Islam is by far the largest religion in the county, forming 67.46% of the total population (177,274 people). There are also some Bektashi Muslims with 1.60% (4,215 people), 3.47% percent consisting of believers without a denomination (9,131 people) and Christians forming 4.53% of the county's population (Orthodox (3.30%) (8,675 people), Evangelists (0.12% (325 people) (and Roman Catholics) (1.15%) (3,022 people).
References
- Gibb p.285
- "Law nr. 115/2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
- "Popullsia në 1 Janar sipas qarqeve dhe gjinisë 2001 - 2020" (in Albanian). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT). Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- Filipi, Gjergji. "Shqipëria në Shifra 2012/ Albania in Figures 2012" (PDF) (in Albanian). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT). p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- "Popullsia e Shqipërisë 2016" (PDF) (in Albanian). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT). 19 February 2016. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- "Popullsia e Shqipërisë 2018" (PDF) (in Albanian). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT). 12 February 2018. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- "Popullsia e Shqipërisë 2020" (PDF) (in Albanian). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT). 26 March 2020. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- Ines Nurja. "Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave / Population and Housing Census – Durrës 2011" (PDF) (in Albanian). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT). Retrieved 6 July 2020.
 | ||
 | ||
