From the longer Wikipedia page [1]
Albania (/ælˈbeɪniə, ɔːl-/ a(w)l-BAY-nee-ə; Albanian: Shqipëri or Shqipëria; Gheg Albanian: Shqipni or Shqipnia also Shqypni or Shqypnia), officially the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, pronounced [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːsə]), is a country in Southeast Europe on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea. It shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, Greece to the south and maritime borders with Greece, Montenegro and Italy to the west.
The sovereign state of Albania is a unitary state defined in a total area of 28,748 square kilometres (11,100 square miles). It is apportioned into 12 counties each with their own council and administration.[149] The counties are the country's primary administrative divisions and further subdivided into 61 municipalities.[150] They are responsible for geographical, economic, social and cultural purposes inside the counties.
The counties were created on 31 July 2000 to replace the 36 former districts.[151][152] The government introduced the new administrative divisions to be implemented in 2015, whereby municipalities were reduced to 61, while the rurals were abolished. The defunct municipalities are known as neighborhoods or villages.[153][154] There are overall 2980 villages or communities in the entire country, formerly known as localities. The municipalities are the first level of local governance, responsible for local needs and law enforcement.[155][156][157]
The largest county in Albania, by population, is Tirana County with over 800,000 people followed by Fier County with over 300,000 people. The smallest county, by population, is Gjirokastër County with over 70,000 people. The largest in the county, by area, is Korçë County encompassing 3,711 square kilometres (1,433 sq mi) of the southeast of Albania followed by Shkodër County with 3,562 square kilometres (1,375 sq mi) in the northwest of Albania. The smallest county, by area, is Durrës County with an area of 766 square kilometres (296 sq mi) in the west of Albania.
See also Counties of Albania and Municipalities of Albania