Albania lies across the Adriatic Sea from Italy, in the south-east corner of Europe. Following World War II, Albania was governed by a totalitarian Marxist regime until its collapse in 1990. During the previous 25 years it had been the only country in the world to have atheism written into its constitution. The population had been traditionally divided into Muslim (70%), Christian Orthodox (20%) and Christian Catholic (10%), but half a century of atheistic indoctrination reduced this adherence to mere formality.

There are 19 expatriate missionaries working with assemblies and 8 full-time Albanian workers. They are located from Shkoder in the north to Gjirokaster in the south, with three expatriates in the capital, Tirana. Several other agencies are active in the country. Activities include:

Evangelism, using a variety of methods

Radio, with the object of reaching the entire Albanian population living in the Balkans (over 6 million)

Bible camps and one-day national assembly and youth conferences

Discipleship and training courses of up to one year, for Sunday school teachers, Bible teachers, evangelists, etc.

Humanitarian aid work

Church plant teams in Kosovo

Bible teachers

Skilled workers for radio and publishing ministries

Gifted evangelists accustomed to working through translation

Couples prepared to do church planting

Population                 3,119,000 (UN ’98)

Principal cities          Tirana, Shkoder

Languages                Albanian

% Evangelical           0.32% (changing)

Assemblies               20