Albania is a place.
Albania ( [ ælˈbeɪniə , _ ɔːl - ] , ; Shqipëri / Shqipëria Shqipni/Shqipnia or Shqypni/Shqypnia ) , officially the Republic of Albania ( Republika e Shqipërisë , [ ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːsə ] ) , is a country in Southeastern Europe . Albania spans 28,748 km2 and had a total population of almost 3 million people . It is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic with the capital in Tirana , the country 's largest city and main economic and commercial centre , followed by Durrës and Vlorë . The country has a coastline on the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea , the Adriatic Sea to the west and the Ionian Sea to the southwest where the Albanian Riviera begins . Albania ( [ ælˈbeɪniə , _ ɔːl - ] , ; Shqipëri / Shqipëria Shqipni/Shqipnia , Shqypni/Shqypnia ) , officially the People 's Socialist Republic of Albania ( Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë ) , was a socialist state that ruled Albania from 1946 to its fall in 1992 .