Agricultural Land Change and Rural Restructuring in Albania, 2000–2020: Patterns and Drivers
By: Fatmir Guri, Saimir Tollia and Oltjana Zoto
References
- Alikaj, M., Brahushi, F., Kupe, L. & Bahiti, E. (2022). Land cover data assessment in Albania Thalassia Salentina 44, 59–64. DOI: 10.1285/I15910725V44P59.
- Aune-Lundberg, L. & Strand, G.-H. (2021). The content and accuracy of the CORINE Land Cover dataset for Norway. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 95, 102238. DOI: 10.1016/j.jag.2020.102238.
- Bański, J. (2011). Changes in agricultural land ownership in Poland in the period of the market economy. Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská Ekonomika), 57(2), 93–101. DOI: 10.17221/18/2010-AGRICECON.
- Bielecka, E. & Jenerowicz, A. (2019). Intellectual Structure of CORINE Land Cover Research Applications in Web of Science: A Europe-Wide Review. Remote Sensing, 11(17), 2017. DOI: 10.3390/rs11172017.
- Cegielska, K., Noszczyk, T., Kukulska, A., Szylar, M., Hernik, J., Dixon-Gough, R., Jombach, S., Valánszki, I. & Filepné Kovács, K. (2018). Land use and land cover changes in post-socialist countries: Some observations from Hungary and Poland. Land Use Policy, 78, 1–18. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.06.017.
- Ciaian, P., Guri, F., Rajcaniova, M., Drabik, D. & Paloma, S. G. (2018). Land fragmentation and production diversification: A case study from rural Albania. Land Use Policy, 76, 589–599. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.02.039.
- Ciaian, P., Kancs, D. & Swinnen, J. (2014). The Impact of the 2013 Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy on Land Capitalization in the European Union. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 36(4), 643–673. DOI: 10.1093/aepp/ppu016.
- Cungu, A. & Swinnen, J. F. M. (1999). Albania’s radical agrarian reform. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 47(3), 605–619. DOI: 10.1086/452421.
- Damo, R. & Icka, P. (2010). Soil and water management for combating floods at the field of Maliq. The Annals of “Valahia” University of Târgoviște, 12, 45–50.
- Debussche, M., Lepart, J. & Dervieux, A. (1999). Mediterranean landscape changes: Evidence from old postcards. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 8(1), 3–15. DOI: 10.1046/j.1466-822X.1999.00116.x.
- Díaz-Pacheco, J. & Gutiérrez, J. (2014). Exploring the limitations of CORINE Land Cover for monitoring urban land-use dynamics in metropolitan areas. International Journal of Digital Earth, 7(6), 502–522. DOI: 10.1080/17538947.2013.786149.
- Emmerson, M., Morales, M. B., Oñate, J. J., Batáry, P., Berendse, F., Liira, J., Aavik, T., Guerrero, I., Bommarco, R., Eggers, S., Pärt, T., Tscharntke, T., Weisser, W., Clement, L. & Bengtsson, J. (2016). How Agricultural Intensification Affects Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Advances in Ecological Research 55, 43–97. DOI: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2016.08.005.
- Fotheringham, A. S. & Wong, D. W. S. (1991). The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem in Multivariate Statistical Analysis. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 23(7), 1025–1044. DOI: 10.1068/a231025.
- Guri, F., Ciaian, P. & Drabik, D. (2018). Characteristics of Farming Systems in Albania [Technical Report]. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- Guri, F., Civici, A. & Jouve, A. (2009). A është barazia ekstreme një objektiv për t’u mburrur. ECONOMICUS, 1(3), 97–108.
- Guri, F., Civici, A. & Jouve, A.-M. (2011). Est-ce que l’extrême égalité sociale est un objectif à atteindre? Le cas des réformes agraires en Albanie. New Medit, 10(1), 25–34.
- Guri, F., Jouve, A.-M. & Dashi, E. (2014). L’impact de l’exode rural sur les stratégies d’utilisation du foncier agricole dans le Nord-est albanais. New Medit, 13(1), 22–30.
- Guri, F., Kapaj, I., Musabelliu, B., Meço, M., Topulli, E., Keco, R., Hodaj, N., Domi, S., Mehmeti, G. & Paloma, S. G. y. (2015). Characteristics of farming systems in Albania [JRC Research Reports, JRC95833]. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the EU.
- Guri, F., Topulli, E. & Gómez y Paloma, S. (2016). Does agriculture provide enough incomes for the rural households? The Albanian case. New Medit, 15(1), 17–27.
- Hagedorn, K. (2014). Post-socialist farmers’ cooperatives in Central and Eastern Europe. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 85(4), 555–577. DOI: 10.1111/apce.12051.
- Haxhiu, L. & others (2025). Urban change detection in Tirana, Albania (2000–2025). ISPRS Archives, XLVIII-4/W13, 143–150. DOI: 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-4-W-13-2025-143-2025.
- Hersperger, A. M. & Bürgi, M. (2009). Going beyond landscape change description: Quantifying the importance of driving forces of landscape change in a Central Europe case study. Land Use Policy, 26(3), 640–648. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2008.08.015.
- Keenleyside, C. & Tucker, G. (2010). Farmland abandonment in the EU: an assessment of trends and prospects. London: Institute for European Environmental Policy.
- Lambin, E. F. & Geist, eds. (2006). Land-Use and Land-Cover Change: Local Processes and Global Impacts. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/3-540-32202-7.
- Lambin, E. F. & Meyfroidt, P. (2010). Land use transitions: Socio-ecological feedback versus socio-economic change. Land Use Policy, 27(2), 108–118. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.09.003.
- Lerman, Z., Csaki, C. & Feder, G. (2002). Land Policies and Evolving Farm Structures in Transition Countries. Washington, DC: World Bank. DOI: 10.1596/1813-9450-2794.
- Levers, C., Butsic, V., Verburg, P. H., Müller, D. & Kuemmerle, T. (2016). Drivers of changes in agricultural intensity in Europe. Land Use Policy, 58, 380–393. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.08.013.
- Lushaj, S. (2021). Improving the Governance and Administration of Agricultural Land in Albania. Annual Review of Territorial Governance in the Western Balkans, 3(1), 62–74. DOI: 10.32034/CP-TGWBAR-I03-05.
- MacDonald, D., Crabtree, J. R., Wiesinger, G., Dax, T., Stamou, N., Fleury, P., Gutierrez Lazpita, J. & Gibon, A. (2000). Agricultural abandonment in mountain areas of Europe: Environmental consequences and policy response. Journal of Environmental Management, 59(1), 47–69. DOI: 10.1006/jema.1999.0335.
- Maho, A., Ajҫe, S., Mero, G. & Skenderasi, B. (2025). Evaluation of the water quality of the rivers used for the irrigation of the Korçë field, Albania. Ecologia Balkanica, 17(1), 178–185. DOI: 10.69085/eb20251178.
- Mottet, A., Ladet, S., Coqué, N. & Gibon, A. (2006). Agricultural land-use change and its drivers in mountain landscapes: A case study in the Pyrenees. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 114(2–4), 296–310. DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2005.11.017.
- Müller, D., Kuemmerle, T., Rusu, M. & Griffiths, P. (2009). Lost in transition: Determinants of post-socialist cropland abandonment in Romania. Journal of Land Use Science, 4(1–2), 109–129. DOI: 10.1080/17474230802645881.
- Müller, D., Leitão, P. J. & Sikor, T. (2013). Comparing the determinants of cropland abandonment in Albania and Romania using boosted regression trees. Agricultural Systems, 117, 66–77. DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2012.12.010.
- Müller, D. & Munroe, D. K. (2008). Changing Rural Landscapes in Albania: Cropland Abandonment and Forest Clearing in the Postsocialist Transition. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 98(4), 855–876. DOI: 10.1080/00045600802262323.
- Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Land Economics, 68(3), 354. DOI: 10.2307/3146384.
- Pe’er, G., Dicks, L. V., Visconti, P., Arlettaz, R., Báldi, A., Benton, T. G., Collins, S., Dieterich, M., Gregory, R. D., Hartig, F., Henle, K., Hobson, P. R., Kleijn, D., Neumann, R. K., Robijns, T., Schmidt, J., Shwartz, A., Sutherland, W. J., Turbé, A., Wlf, F. & Scott, A. V. (2014). EU agricultural reform fails on biodiversity. Science, 344(6188), 1090–1092. DOI: 10.1126/science.1253425.
- Pontius, R. G., Shusas, E. & McEachern, M. (2004). Detecting important categorical land changes while accounting for persistence. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 101(2–3), 251–268. DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2003.09.008.
- Prishchepov, A. V., Radeloff, V. C., Müller, D., Dubinin, M. & Baumann, M. (2011). Determinants of agricultural land abandonment in post-soviet European Russia (1). In Will the „BRICs Decade" continue? – Prospects for trade and growth. Halle a.S.: IAMO.
- Rajcaniova, M., Ciaian, P., Guri, F., Zhllima, E. & Shahu, E. (2018). The impact of crop rotation and land fragmentation on farm productivity in Albania. In IAAE 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Article 275893. Toronto: IAAE. DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.275893.
- Rosina, K., Batista e Silva, F., Vizcaino, P., Marín Herrera, M., Freire, S. & Schiavina, M. (2020). Increasing the detail of European land use/cover data by combining heterogeneous data sets. International Journal of Digital Earth, 13(5), 602–626. DOI: 10.1080/17538947.2018.1550119.
- Sikor, T., Müller, D. & Stahl, J. (2009). Land fragmentation and cropland abandonment in Albania: Implications for the roles of state and community in post-socialist land consolidation. World Development, 37(8), 1411–1423. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2008.08.013.
- Strohbach, M. W., Kohler, M. L., Dauber, J. & Klimek, S. (2015). High Nature Value farming: From indication to conservation. Ecological Indicators, 57, 557–563. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.05.021.
- Sutcliffe, L. M. E., Batáry, P., Kormann, U., Báldi, A., Dicks, L. V., Herzon, I., Kleijn, D., Tryjanowski, P., Apostolova, I., Arlettaz, R., Aunins, A., Aviron, S., Baležentienė, L., Fischer, C., Halada, L., Hartel, T., Helm, A., Hristov, I., Jelaska, S. D., Kaligarič, M., Kamp, J., Klimek, S., Koorberg, P., Kostiuková, J., Kovács-Hostyánszki, A., Kuemmerle, T., Leuschner, C., Lindborg, R., Loos, J., Maccherini, S., Marja, R., Máthé, O., Paulini, I., Proença, V., Rey-Benayas, J., Sans, F. X., Seifert, C., Stalenga, J., Timaeus, J., Török, P., van Swaay, C., Viik, E. & Tscharntke, T. (2015). Harnessing the biodiversity value of Central and Eastern European farmland. Diversity and Distributions, 21(6), 722–730. DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12288.
- Tešić, D. (2022). Corine land cover change detection in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Zbornik Radova Departmana Za Geografiju, Turizam i Hotelijerstvo, 51(2), 98–110. DOI: 10.5937/ZbDght2202098T.
- Turner, B. L., Lambin, E. F. & Reenberg, A. (2007). The emergence of land change science for global environmental change and sustainability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(52), 20666–20671. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0704119104.
- Varga, O. G., Pontius Jr. R. G., Szabó, Z. & Szabó, S. (2020a). Effects of Category Aggregation on Land Change Simulation Based on Corine Land Cover Data. Remote Sensing, 12(8), 1314. DOI: 10.3390/rs12081314.
- Varga, O. G., Pontius Jr. R. G., Szabó, Z. & Szabó, S. (2020b). Effects of category aggregation on land change simulation based on corine land cover data. Remote Sensing, 12(8), 1314. DOI: 10.3390/rs12081314.
- Verburg, P. H., Schot, P. P., Dijst, M. J. & Veldkamp, A. (2004). Land use change modelling: Current practice and research priorities. GeoJournal, 61(4), 309–324. DOI: 10.1007/s10708-004-4946-y.
- Zabel, F., Delzeit, R., Schneider, J. M., Seppelt, R., Mauser, W. & Václavík, T. (2019). Global impacts of future cropland expansion and intensification on agricultural markets and biodiversity. Nature Communications, 10(1), 2844. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10775-z.
- Zhllima, E. & Guri, F. (2013). Agriculture and land reform in Albania. In Chan-Halbrendt, C. & Fantle-Lepczyk, J., eds., Agricultural markets in a transitioning economy: An Albanian case study (pp. 18–34). Wallingford: CABI. DOI: 10.1079/9781780641003.0018.
- Other sources
- AZHBR (2023, October 27). AZHBR – Agjencia për zhvillim bujqësor dhe rural. https://azhbr.gov.al/.
- Civici, A. (2002). Albania: From absolute collectivism to radical egalitarian land distribution. [47]. IRAM / APM / Fondation Charles Leopold Mayer pour le Progrès de l’Homme. Retrieved from Online Knowledge Base https://www.agter.org/bdf/en/corpus_chemin/fiche-chemin-75.html. Last accessed: 05 June 2026.
- Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (2017). CLC2018 technical guidelines: Minimum mapping unit (MMU) 25 ha for status and 5 ha for change. European Environment Agency.
- European Commission (2022). Commission Implementing Decision approving the IPARD III programme for Albania (2021–2027).
- European Commission, DG AGRI (2024). EU Agri-food trade statistical factsheet: European Union–Albania.
- European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2015). Territorial patterns of urbanisation and land take in Europe. Publications Office of the European Union. DOI: 10.2788/817171.
- European Environment Agency (EEA) (2007a). CLC2006 Technical Guidelines (Technical Report No. Tech. Rep. 17/2007). European Environment Agency. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/technical-report-17-2007.
- European Environment Agency (EEA) (2007b). CLC2006 Technical Guidelines (Technical Report No. 17/2007). European Environment Agency.
- FAO (2018). Albania country profile. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- FAO/INSTAT (2017). Census of Agricultural Holdings 2012: Final results (final dissemination in 2017).
- INSTAT (n.d.). Agriculture census portal (Albania).
- INSTAT (2023). Regjistrat e Biznesit, 2023. https://www.instat.gov.al/al/temat/industria-tregtia-dhe-sh%25C3%25ABrbimet/regjistrat-e-biznesit/publikimet/2024/regjistrat-e-biznesit-2023/.
- INSTAT (2024a). Census of Population and Housing 2023 – Main results. Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). https://www.instat.gov.al/media/13626/cens-2023-census-botim.pdf.
- INSTAT (2024b). International trade in goods and enterprises 2023 (Food & live animals = 10% of exports; +50.4% vs 2019) [Statistical report].
- Regional development in the Tirana–Durrës corridor (2022). Regional development in the Tirana–Durrës corridor. In Uneven peripheral developments in Central and Eastern Europe: A case study of the Tirana city region.
- State of Water Quality of Thana Reservoir and Its Influence on Irrigated Soils (2021). State of Water Quality of Thana Reservoir and Its Influence on Irrigated Soils.
- UNIDO (2023). Global Quality and Standards Programme in the Western Balkans – Albania country report [Quality infrastructure for export-oriented agrifood]. UNIDO.
- World Bank (1999). Albania – Irrigation Rehabilitation Project [Implementation Completion Report]. World Bank.
- World Bank (2006). Status of land reform and real property markets in Albania. World Bank. https://data.landportal.org/library/resources/status-land-reform-and-real-property-markets-albania.
- World Bank (2020). Economy Profile of Albania [Text/HTML]. World Bank. https://archive.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies.
- World Bank (2024). Rural population (% of total) – Albania (WDI series SP.RUR.TOTL.ZS).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2026-0009 | Journal eISSN: 1803-8417
Language: English
Page range: 181 - 201
Submitted on: Oct 13, 2025
Accepted on: Feb 24, 2026
Published on: Jun 30, 2026
Published by: Mendel University in Brno
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
Related subjects:
© 2026 Fatmir Guri, Saimir Tollia, Oltjana Zoto, published by Mendel University in Brno
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.