Albania was once the most inaccessible country in Eastern Europe, with tight entry regulations keeping most Western visitors out. In the early 1980s, persons explicitly forbidden to visit the country were US citizens, Soviet citizens, and full-bearded men. However, since the advent of democracy, Albania has slowly become accessible to the outside world. Tourists can now obtain visas within 2 weeks. In promoting travel to Albania, the official tourist agency cites the Adriatic beaches, especially at Durrës, Vlorë, and Sarandë, and the picturesque lakes. The most popular sports are soccer, gymnastics, volleyball, and basketball.

In 2000, about 317,000 visitors arrived in Albania, spending a total of US $389 million. Hotel rooms numbered 2,954.

In 1999 the UN estimated the daily cost of staying in Tiranë at $115–$179. Rural areas may be as low as $48.

Much Albanian popular lore is based on the exploits of the national hero Gjergj Kastrioti (known as Scanderbeg, 1405–68), who led his people against the Turks.Ahmet Bey Zogu (1895–1961), shepherd, military commander, minister of the interior, and premier, was elected first president of the new republic in 1925; in 1928, when Albania became a kingdom, he ascended the throne as Zog I. After Italian forces occupied Albania in April 1939, he fled the country, dying in exile in southern France. Two major political leaders were Enver Hoxha (1908–85), postwar Albania's first premier, minister of foreign affairs, and defense minister; and Mahmet Shehu (1913–81), who replaced Hoxha as premier in 1954, when Hoxha became first secretary of the Workers Party's Central Committee.

Albania's written literature of a nationalist character first developed among Italo-Albanians in Calabria in the mid-19th century and among the Albanian intellectuals in Constantinople in the second half of the 19th century. Naim Erashëri (1846–1900), Albania's national poet, belonged to the Constantinople group. His most highly regarded works are Bagëti e Bujqësi (Cattle and Land), Histori e Skenderbeut (History of Scanderbeg), and a collection of short poems, Lulet e Verës (Spring Flowers). Kostandin Kristoforidhi (K. Nelko, 1827–95) translated the Old and New Testaments into Albanian and compiled a standard Albanian-Greek dictionary. Faik Konitza (1875–1942), prewar Albanian minister to Washington, edited a literary review, Albania, which became the focal publication of Albanian writers living abroad. Gjergj Fishta (1871–1940), a Franciscan friar who was active in the nationalist movement, wrote a long epic poem, Lahuta e Malcís (The Lute of the Mountains), which is regarded as a masterpiece of Albanian literature. Bishop Fan Stylian Noli (1882–1965), a political leader in the early 1920s, was Albania's foremost translator of Shakespeare, Ibsen, Cervantes, and other world classics. Lasgush Poradeci (1899–1987) was a highly regarded lyric poet.

Trade unions in Albania were prohibited until 1991. Before 1991 the official trade unions of the country were responsible for promoting the production goals of the country's Communist government. In 1991, independent trade unions were established to promote the rights of workers. The Union of Independent Trade Unions is the most important umbrella trade organization. Other trade unions operate in the defense, agriculture, food processing, and mining sectors of the economy. Albania has three chambers of commerce. The Chamber of Commerce of the republic of Albania promotes the economic and business activities of the country in world markets. Other chambers of commerce are located in Shkodei, Durrës and Gjirokastër.

The Open Society Foundation for Albania is a non-profit organization established in 1992 to encourage the process of the democratization of Albanian society. It is sponsored in part by the SOROS Foundation Network, a fund established by American philanthropist George Soros.

There are a number of youth organizations in the country. The Albanian International Youth Committee (AIYC) serves as the major non-governmental youth platform that encompasses several different youth and student organizations. It is supported by the Albanian Youth Federation (AYF) and seeks to represent the views of organized Albanian youth. A youth scouting movement (Besa Skaut Albania) is active in the country. There are also organizations of the YWCA, the Red Cross, and the Red Cross Youth.

he largest library in Albania is the National Library in Tiranë (1922) with over one million volumes. The University of Tiranë library has 700,000 volumes. Tiranë also has several university libraries with specialized collections, including the Higher Agricultural Institute Library (126,000 volumes) and the Fine Arts Institute Library (40,000 volumes). Albania's Public Assembly maintains a library of 41,000 volumes, also in Tiranë. Public libraries exist in many communities with notable ones in Elbasan (284,000 volumes), Shkodër (250,000 volumes), Durrës (180,000 volumes) and Korçë (139,000 volumes).

The principal museums are the Museum of Archaeology, the Fine Arts Gallery, the Museum of the Struggle for National Liberation, the Natural Science Museum, and the National Historical Museum, all located in Tiranë. There are some 30 provincial museums, among them the Berat Museum, known for its collection of historic documents; the Museum of Architecture in Berat; the Onufri Iconographic Museum, located in Berat's main castle and housing a distinguished collection of medieval icons; the Museum of Education in Elbasan; the Museum of Albanian Medieval Art in Korge; and the Shkodër Museum in Shkodër, a historical museum tracing Albanian culture to the Neolithic Age. The cities of Berat and Gjirokastër, the first dating from antiquity and the second from the Middle Ages, have been designated "museum-cities."

Communications are owned and operated by the state and are administered by the Ministry of Communications. In 2001, there were 120,000 main line telephones and 250,000 mobile cellular phones. Some villages may not have telephone service at all. Radio and TV broadcasting is governed by the National Council of Radio and Television (NCRT), a seven-member bipartisan body elected by the Parliament. Seventeen radio stations (13 AM and 4 FM) operated by Radiotelevizioni Shqiptar (Albanian Radio and Television—RTVSh), are located at Kashar, a suburb of Tiranë, and at Shkodër, Stalin, Vlorë, Gjirokastër, Korçë, and several other towns. Television was introduced in 1961, color broadcasts in 1981. As of 2000, there were 2 national and 50 local television stations. In the same year, there were 1,000,000 radios and 700,000 television sets.

There are several daily newspapers published in Tiranë. In 2002 the four major ones were Koha Jone (Our Time, circulation 400,000); Zërii Popullit (People's Voice—circulation 105,000), published by the Socialist Party; Rlindia Demokratike (The Democratic Revival—circulation 50,000), published by the Democratic Party; and Bashkimi Kombetar (circulation 30,000), published by the Democratic Front. There are about 200 publications overall, including daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and pamphlets. At least 2 newspapers were published in Greek with about 15 Greek papers and magazines distributed, primarily throughout the south. Albanian Newspaper (circulation 30,000) is published in Italian and Albanian Daily News is a daily paper published in English. Agjensia Telegrafike Shqiptare (Albanian Telegraphic Agency) is the official news agency.

Though the law protects freedom of speech and press, nearly all news stories are designed to suit the publishers political and economic interests.

As of 2001, there were 10 Internet service providers and about 12,000 Internet users.

Before and during World War II, about three-fourths of the population was illiterate. Great strides have been made since then, and as of 2000, the government claims that complete literacy has been achieved; however, Western estimates put the adult illiteracy rate at 15% (8% for males and 23% for females). Public expenditures on education were estimated at 3% of GDP in 1995.

Preschool training for children ages three through six is general but not obligatory. The basic compulsory school program, extending for eight years (ages 6 to 14), combines practical work with study. In 1997, there were 559,457 primary students, with a teaching staff of about 30,110. Secondary education lasts from three to five years, depending on the type of school attended. These include comprehensive and vocational schools as well as schools specializing in the arts, sports, foreign languages, and pedagogy. At the secondary level in 1996, there were 6,321 teachers and 89,895 students. Student-to-teacher ratio as of 1999 stood at 18 to 1 for primary education and 17 to 1 for secondary schools.

Other institutes of higher learning include two agricultural schools, one institute for fine arts, one institute of physical culture, and three teacher-training institutes. In 1997, all institutions of higher education had 2,348 teachers and a combined enrollment of 34,257 students. In 1957, the Institute of Sciences was elevated to university rank, and Tiranë State University became the first and only institution of university status in Albania. It was later renamed Enver Hoxha University of Tiranë. In 1971, two more universities were founded—Universiteti I Koree and Universiteti Bujguesor I Tiranes. In 1991, the University of Shkodër was established.

Health care facilities in the 1990s were substandard and much of their equipment obsolete. In 1992 Albania had 16 hospitals, with 14,000 beds. In 1996, hospital beds declined to 9,600. In 1993 there were almost 1,000 health centers staffed by primary care physicians and nurses and more than 2,300 walk-in clinics staffed by a nurses or midwifes. As of 1999, the total expenditure on health was estimated at 3.3% of GDP. In 1995, the ratio of hospital beds per 1,000 people stood at 3.2. In 1998, there were an estimated 1.3 physicians and 3.8 nurses per 1,000 people. There is a medical school in Tiranë (part of the Enver Hoxha University) and some Albanians receive medical training abroad. Tertiary care, available mostly in Tiranë, includes a teaching hospital, an obstetric and gynecological facility, a facility for treating respiratory diseases, and a military hospital. Albania's health care system was strained by the admission of as many as 500,000 Albanian refugees from Kosovo in the spring of 1999.

The general improvement of health conditions in the country is reflected in the lower mortality rate, down to an estimated 6.49 deaths per 1,000 in 2000, as compared with 17.8 per 1,000 in 1938. In 2000, average life expectancy was estimated at 74 years, compared to 38 years at the end of World War II. Albania's infant mortality rate, estimated at 20 per 1,000 live births in 2000, has also declined over the years since the high rate of 151 per 1,000 live births in 1960. There were 69,802 births in 1999 and the fertility rate in 1999 was 2.5 while the maternal mortality rate was 65 per 100,000 live births in 1993. In addition, in 1997, Albania had high immunization rates for children up to one year old: tuberculosis at 94%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 99%; measles, 95%; and polio, 99.5%. In 1996, the incidence of tuberculosis was 23 in 100,000 people. In 1995 there were two reported cases of AIDS and seven cases in 1996. As of 2000 the number of people living with HIV/AIDS was estimated at less than 100. The leading causes of death are cardiovascular disease, trauma, cancer, and respiratory disease.