Ethnic Greeks live in or originate from areas within modern Albania. They form the largest minority group in the country. They are mostly concentrated in the south of the country, in the areas of the northern part of the historical region of Epirus, in parts of Vlorë County, Gjirokastër, Korçë, and Berat County. The area is also known by them as Northern Epirus. Consequently, the Greeks hailing specifically from Southern Albania are also known as Northern Epirotes ( Vorioipirotes, ). The Greeks who live in the "minority zones" of Albania are officially recognised by the Albanian government as the Greek National Minority of Albania (, Elliniki Mionotita stin Alvania; ).
In 1913, after the end of five centuries of Ottoman rule, the area was included under the sovereignty of the newly founded Albanian state. The following year, Greeks revolted and declared their independence, and with the following Protocol of Corfu the area was recognised as an autonomous region under nominal Albanian sovereignty. However, this was never implemented.
In the communist era the Greek population suffered from the prohibition of the Greek language if spoken outside the recognised so-called "minority zones" (which have remained after their establishment in the communist era) and even limitations on the official use of its language within those zones.: "In addition, many Greeks were forcibly removed from the minority zones to other parts of the country as a product of communist population policy, an important and constant element of which was to pre-empt ethnic sources of political dissent. Greek place-names were changed to Albanian names, while use of the Greek language, prohibited everywhere outside the minority zones, was prohibited for many official purposes within them as well." During the same period many formerly Greek place-names were officially changed to Albanian ones.: "Teil diverser Albanisierungskampagnen war schließlich auch das Dekret Nr.5339 vom 23.9.1975 über die Änderung unpassender Vor- und Zunamen, das die Vergabe von "in politischer, ideologischer moralischer Hinsicht ungeeigneter Vornamen" unterbinden sollte und sich wenn auch nicht direkt, so doch zumindest mittelbar gegen die Minderheiten richtete. Im selben Kontext steht die forcierte Änderung geographischer Bezeichnungen (insbes. von Ortsnamen) mit religiösem oder fremdsprachlichem Bezug in dieser Zeitphase. Sogar archäologische Stätten der Griechen- und Römerzeit wurden in "illyrische" umbenannt." Greeks from the "minority zones" were also frequently forcibly moved to other parts of the country since they were seen as possible sources of dissent and ethnic tension. The Communist system did not discriminate against the Greek minority based on ethnicity, and overall the minority faced the same issues as the rest of Albania's population under a dictatorship. A considerable number of Greeks integrated into Albanian society, acquired higher education and positions in the political, intellectual and military elite of the country. Around 1990, most Western estimates of the number of ethnic Greeks in Albania were around 200,000 but in the 1990s, a majority of them migrated to Greece.Bideleux, Robert; Jeffries, Ian (2007). The Balkans: a post-communist history. London: Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-203-96911-3. OCLC 85373407. It is difficult to know how many ethnic Greeks there were in Albania before the exodus of refugees during the early to mid-1990s. The Albanian government claimed there were only 60,000, based on the biased 1989 census, whereas the Greek government claimed there were upwards of 300,000. Most Western estimates were around the 200,000 mark In post-1990 era, these issues, including the emerging subject of private property rights, continue to persist to an extent.
In the 2023 census around 23,485 self-declared as Greek. Approximately 189,000 people from Albania that migrated to Greece had received special identity cards, which are reserved for ethnic Greeks, although in 2022 this number was down to 13,329 as most of them had by then acquired Greek citizenship and no longer needed the special cards. Apart from ethnic Greeks, many Aromanians and Albanians claimed to be Greeks to get the status of homogeneis (recognising Greek identity) and later citizenship.
Southern Albania
The Greek minority in Albania is concentrated in the south of the country, near the border with Greece. After 1912, in Greece part of this area became known as Northern Epirus. The Greek community is located in the former districts of Sarandë (particularly in Finiq municipality), Gjirokastër (especially in the area of Dropull), part of Delvinë and in three villages of Himara and the two villages Nartë and Zvërnec, which form the northernmost island of Greek speech in Vlorë County. The areas where the Greek community forms the main part of the population are not a uniform region, but areas interspersed by Albanian communities, except for Dropull which is located along the border with Greece.
Recognised Greek "minority zone"
The communist government (1945–1991), in order to establish control over the areas populated by the Greek minority, declared the so-called "minority zones" (), consisting of 99 villages in the southern districts of Gjirokastër, Sarandë, and Delvina.Gregoric, 2008, p. 111: "In order to establish control over the areas populated by the Greek minority, Enver Hoxha soon after 1945 declared the so called “minority zones” or zona e minoritarëve. The provinces of Gjirokastër, Sarandë and Delvina were declared as minority zones, conjoining 99 villages".
Tirana's official minority policy defines the Greek origin of Albanian citizens according to the language, religion, birth and ancestors originating from the areas of the so-called "minority zones". The Albanian law on minorities acknowledges the rights of the Greek minority only to those people who live in the areas which are recognized as minority zones. The last census that included ethnicity, from 1989, included only the numbers of the Greek minority in the minority zones. Ethnic Greeks living outside those areas were not counted as such. This has had a practical effect in the area of education: With the exception of the officially recognized Greek minority zones, where teaching was held in both the Greek and Albanian languages, in all other areas of Albania lessons were taught only in the Albanian language.: "In contrast, Albanian governments use a much lower figure of 58,000 which rests on the unrevised definition of "minority" adopted during the communist period. Under this definition, minority status was limited to those who lived in 99 villages in the southern border areas, thereby excluding important concentrations of Greek settlement in Vlora (perhaps 8000 people in 1994) and in adjoining areas along the coast, ancestral Greek towns such as Himara, and ethnic Greeks living elsewhere throughout the country. Mixed villages outside this designated zone, even those with a clear majority of ethnic Greeks, were not considered minority areas and therefore were denied any Greek-language cultural or educational provisions."Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: Second Opinion on Albania, 29 May 2008. Council of Europe: Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
Aromanians
Work in Greece is of importance in Albania, and people who declare to be members of the Greek minority or prove their "Greek origin", receive special benefits and identity cards. A substantial number of Aromanians (Vlachs) in south-eastern Albania, as well as some Muslim Albanians, have claimed Greek identity based on pro-Greek social networks and identity idioms of the past. "Such pro-Greek feelings also draw power from the [...] Vlachs, part of which for historical reasons had developed cultural affinity with Greece. The recent socio-political changes in Albania have brought on this change. Work in Greece is of vital importance, so in order to acquire entry or a work permit in Greece, you have to declare being a member of the Greek Minority or prove your 'Greek origin', which has acquired tremendous social and economic value in Albania. Different identity cards were provided by the Greek state to 'Greeks by descent' (homogeneis), i.e. to Albanian citizens claiming Greek origin. A great number of Vlachs in the south-east of Albania have also claimed Greek homogeneis identity based on their pro-Greek social networks and identity idioms of the past. There have even been cases of Albanian Muslims who made similar claims by falsifying their Albanian documents. This is the potential effect of Greek policy, since people in Albania believe that that there is discrimination by the Greek state against Muslims or 'non-Greeks' in favour of 'Christians' or those of 'Greek origin'." Also, Aromanians from villages around Vlorë, who identified as "Helleno-Vlach", were able to obtain visas and work permits without any difficulties. It has been suggested that a certain number of Aromanians have claimed to be Greek in exchange for benefits; such as Greek pensions, passports and visas. "An issue that relates to the above is that in recent years Albanian citizens who can demonstrate adequate knowledge of the Vlach language or Vlach cultural heritage have been recognised by Greece of being of Greek origin. They have consequently enjoyed privileged treatment by the Greek consulates in the issuing of visas. Some have argued that this might represent an attempt by Greece to introduce ‘new blood’ to the minority in order to compensate for the loss due to migration (Tsitselikis and Christopoulos 2003:: 30-3). Though some Vlachs can claim descent from Greece (Baltsiotis 2003: 1099; Winnifirth 2002: 26, 164), it is not clear that Greece is trying to create a ‘new minority’. For instance, in the 2001 Albanian elections Greece did not display interest in the electoral procedure in areas with Vlach speaking population (Baltsiotis 2003: 110). Furthermore, it has been argued that many of those who have presented themselves as ‘Helleno-Vlachs’ have done so in order to have access to various benefits (such as working vises and scholarships) rather than because they have a distinguishing Greek identity (Baltsiotis 2003: 89-109 Christopoulos 2003: 147-8; Schwander-Sivers 1999)."
Other Greek communities in Albania
However, the official Albanian definition about minorities did not recognize as members of a minority ethnic Greeks who live outside the 99 villages in mixed areas inhabited by both Greek and Albanian speaking populations, even in areas where ethnic Greeks form a majority (e.g. Himara).Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan Identity. Miranda Vickers, James Pettifer. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1997. "...in practise many villages of ethnic Greeks were unable to obtain minority classification because a few Albanians also lived there. Consequently, the Greek communities in Himarë, Korçë, Vlorë and Berat did not have access to any minority rights.
Contrary to the official Albanian definition, which generally provides a limited definition of the ethnic Greeks living in Albania, Greek migration policy defines the Greek origin on the basis of language, religion, birth and ancestors from the region called Northern Epirus. In that way, according to the Greek State Council, the Greek ethnic origin can be granted on the basis of cultural ancestry (sharing "common historical memories" and/or links with "historic homelands and culture"), Greek descent (Greek Albanians have to prove that the birthplace of their parents or grandparents is in Northern Epirus), language, and religion.