Some two-thirds of the people live in rural areas in a widely dispersed pattern of small villages. The urban population, according to 1969 data, lived in forty cities with 1,000 to 10,000 inhabitants and twelve cities with over 10,000 dwellers; of the latter group, six had 10,000 to 30,000 inhabitants; two had 30,000 to 50,000; three had 50,000 to 100,000; and one, Tirana, was approaching 200,000.

The heaviest concentrations of settlement in the late 1960s were in the districts of Tirana with a density of 528 persons per square mile, Durres with 469, Fier with 323, and Lushnje with 298. The area surrounding Korce and the area immediately around, and to the south of, Shkoder were among the most thickly settled even though the administrative districts of Korce and Shkoder were not heavily populated when considered in their entirety ([see ch. 3], Physical Environment).

Several factors contributed to the pattern of settlement. Large expanses of mountains and generally rugged terrain made the building of land transportation routes difficult. Poor soil and lack of water during part of the year did not provide support to large concentrations of people. Mineral and other resources were generally not readily accessible or were difficult to exploit ([see ch. 3], Physical Environment).

Coastal cities generally have a small hinterland, and their influence does not extend beyond their borders. The port of Durres, with road and rail links to Tirana, Elbasan, and Fier, is an exception. During the 1960s the area generally bounded by these cities experienced the greatest growth of industry and population of any region. Vlore, a port and naval center, increased almost fourfold between 1945 and 1967, but it lacks links with inland areas.

Tirana, the capital and largest city, increased from about 60,000 inhabitants in 1945 to 170,000 in 1967, largely because of the expansion of industry and a growing bureaucracy. It is located on the inner margin of the coastal plain and is surrounded by an area of the better soils of Albania. The streets in the central area of the city, where government buildings are clustered, are wide and attractive; many parts of the city are much like the rural villages. Tirana has become the most industrialized city and continues to be a collecting and distributing point for agricultural products of the area.

Centers for inland mountain valley or upland basin communities are Berat, Elbasan, and Korce. They, like most cities, have changed little in appearance and retain much of the flavor of nineteenth-century agricultural life.

The typical mountain village, of 70 to 100 homesteads, is located on an isolated slope among rocks and thin scrub-like vegetation. Only footpaths link it by land with the outside world. During the summer there is a drought period which requires that water use be limited to drinking. Houses are clustered in the south, whereas in the northern mountains they tend to be dispersed. Fields and pastures are located some distance from the village. Water must be carried from a common source, usually a spring. Mountain villages frequently are located at 1,300 to 1,600 feet above sea level. This is generally the line of contact between the underlying impervious serpentine rock and layer of limestone and the point where spring water comes to the surface.

At lower levels the villages are laid out around the collective or state farms or enterprises, many of which were previously estates or patriarchal settlements. Here the houses are more substantial, and the fields or other place of work are near the village. Water is carried from a common source. Open sewers run down the streets of some villages, but this condition is gradually changing. Electric power has been extended to about 70 percent of all villages, but other facilities and amenities, except medical services, have been little improved since the end of World War II.

LIVING CONDITIONS

The standard of living in 1970 was very low, and life was difficult for the masses despite very modest improvements in living conditions during the 1950s and 1960s. The standard of living was the lowest in Europe and was improving at a slow pace because priority was given to industry, to increasing the means of production, and to developing eventual self-sufficiency in food production, especially of cereal foods. The most widely felt improvements were in health services and in use of electricity, which resulted from expanding the electrical network to many villages.