Albanian dating is just as strange and fascinating as the dating culture of any other country. There is an interplay between tradition, modernism, and personal preference. When writing an article like this, it is difficult to stay away from generalization and stereotype, but here we go; we’re going to keep it as light and informative as possible.
Today we’re going to cover: dating demographics, marriage in Albania, the top Albanian dating site, Albanian chat sites, and how to make an Albanian connection.
Albania’s Dating Demographics
The most obvious place to start when you’re investigating a countries dating scene is the demographics. Albania has a small population(2.87 million), ranking it 136 globally (The Albanian diaspora is another 5 million). It also has an extremely low fertility rate of 1.7children per mother.
The amount of men in the country is slightly more than the number of women but only about 4000 people. Albania has a similar problem as Japan and Korea; namely, its population is in decline. However, this is also due to people moving away from the country.
City And Country
The most apparent separation between Albanian attitudes is the divide between city and country. About 53% of Albanians live in cities, and 47% live in the countryside. Although we said we would stay away from generalizations, I think it’s fair to say that people who live in the countryside have more conservative views than those in the more westernized cities.
Sidenote: According to Rahsaan Maxwell in the Washington Post, better-educated people tend to have more liberal attitudes, and people with more liberal attitudes tend to gravitate to cities where there are more opportunities for collaboration.
Marriage In Albania
Albania officially has the highest marriage rate in Europe, which again speaks to the country’s traditional values. The marriage rate is measured per 1000 people. Albania has 9 per1000. Compare that to other EU countries. Italy at 3.2 and Portugal at 3.4.
Although there’s no data on the country/city divide in marriages for Albania, there is some for the U.S, which we can say confidently will mirror Albania. There are 6% more married people in the countryside than in the city.
Albanian Arranged Marriage
Again it isn’t easy to find statistics on this, but it is safe to say there are still some arranged marriages taking place in Albania. This is because 61% of Albanians identify as Muslim, and there is a much stronger tradition of arranged marriages in Muslim countries(although it is becoming much rarer).
There is speculation that there is a trend of poorer Albanian women getting married to Serbian men in the North of the country. According to Quora, about 1000euro is paid to the family of the girl.
Although the economy of Albania is doing far better than when it was under communism, it is still poor by European standards. Albania’s application into the EU was delayed because it had problems with organized crime and people trafficking.
Sidenote: Historically, Albania has had a problem with people trafficking, with victims transported to Greece, Italy, and Western Europe. In 2009 Albania’s government introduced a law aimed at protecting high-risk groups. However, some remain skeptical that the law is as wide-ranging as it could be.
Is There An Albanian Dating App?
Like everywhere else in the world, dating apps have changed the way that Albanian singles get together. The top 10 currently in the country are:
- Bumble
- Badoo
- Pure hookup
- Yoomee
- Iflirts
- Idates
- What’s flirt
- Coffee meets bagel
- Seeking
- Dil Mil
Of course, a word of warning, these Albanian dating sites are for adults only. Generally, avoid sketchy Albanian personals. Some of the characters you’ll find on them are not looking for a serious relationship! If you’re thinking of dating in the normal way in Albania, I’d suggest using Bumble.
Women In Albania
Women’s rights in Albania have lagged compared to Western European countries. However, things are changing. The amount of women in the workforce is increasing rapidly, and so are their wages relative to Albanian men. Another big problem has been laws around women owning land. In 2018 the number was only 8%. A similar absence of female representation can be seen in parliament–making up only 23% of members of parliament. For comparison, the U.K has 34%.
There is a significant online movement to empower Albanian women that gains more traction as social media proliferates.
Learn Albanian With Ling
So there you have it.
The more places I go to, the more I find people are the same. Parents want their children to marry someone who respects them, and people want to marry for love and not out of any economic imperative. That is how you make a connection. Don’t listen to any pick-up artist online!
If you’re interested in taking your Albanian dating life up a notch, why not check out our love phrases in the Albanian guide? And if you’re thinking of traveling to Tirana, have a look at our handy list of useful words and phrases in Albanian. In addition, in our Albanian blog, there’s everything you need to know about Albanian culture.
Of course, the best thing you can do is download the Ling App and start learning today. We have 100’s of bite-sized lessons with gamification elements ensuring that you never get bored. Not only this, but you can compare yourself to other members of the Albanian community on the app, so you can see how fast you’re progressing in comparison.
As always, If you have any comments, please leave them below.
Until the next time.
