Telecommunication in Albania

Development of telephone and internet connections

With an average download speed of 42.53 Mbit/second for fixed-network broadband internet, Albania ranks 94th in an international comparison. The upload rate of only 18.91 Mbit/second was significantly lower (90th place).
In mobile internet, i.e., on tablets and smartphones, Albania comes 51st with a download speed of 40.57 Mbit/second. The upload speed of around 10 Mbit was only enough for 84th place.

The Speedtest Global Index published regularly by Ookla is based on several million individual measurements in October 2022 from 180 countries.

The following diagrams show the development of the various telephone and internet connections as a percentage of the country's population. Values above 100 percent mean that, on average, every inhabitant has more than one connection.

Access to the internet in Albania from 1990 - 2021

Broadband internet in Albania 2005 - 2021

Albania is lagging behind in the expansion of broadband internet connections. Around 79 percent of all residents have access to the internet. Around 20 percent have their own fast internet connection, which is at least faster than the former ISDN (more than 256 kbit/s). All fixed connections via DSL, cable or satellite were counted here, but not those connected to the internet via mobile communications. With around 3.7 people per household, this means that around 73.6 percent of all households are equipped with a high-speed internet connection.

The increasing prevalence of cell phones and the simultaneous decline in landline phones clearly indicate a change in Albania. While the number of landlines has fallen significantly in recent years, the spread of cell phones has risen to 94 cell phone subscriptions per 100 people at last count. Such a clear shift does not occur in all countries, but the trend points in the same direction internationally.