Albania is a Balkan country in southeastern Europe. It borders Montenegro in the northwest, Serbia in the north, the Republic of Macedonia in the east, and Greece in the south; it has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ionian Sea in the southwest. The country is an emerging democracy and is formally named the Republic of Albania.
Unusual among Balkan nations, indeed anywhere in the world, is that Albania is a nearly homogeneous country with only small minorities. Most of the population is ethnically Albanian, the dominant language is Albanian and many Albanians are fluent in English, Greek and Italian.