How many people speak Albanian?

Albanian has roughly 7.5 million speakers worldwide. It is the official language of Albania and Kosovo and an officially recognised minority language in North Macedonia and Montenegro.

Beyond the Balkans, a large diaspora keeps the language alive in Italy, Greece, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. That means wherever you are, there is a good chance of finding Albanian speakers to practise with.

Standard Albanian is the common thread across all of these communities, which is why it is the version worth learning first — it travels everywhere the language is spoken.