Languages
Native
Albanian
95%
Secondary languages
English
40%
Language Samples
Përshëndetje, si jeni?
Hello, how are you?
Jam shumë mirë, faleminderit.
I am very well, thanks.
Një, dy, tre, katër, pesë, gjashtë, shtatë, tetë, nëntë, dhjetë.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Linguistic History
Albanian is one of the oldest surviving branches of Indo-European, with no close relatives — it forms its own branch of the family, alongside Greek and Armenian. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and while over 100 countries recognise it, its status remains disputed. The population is overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian, and the Gheg dialect of Albanian spoken in Kosovo differs noticeably from the Tosk dialect that forms the basis of standard Albanian in Albania. Serbian remains co-official and is spoken by the Serb minority in the north. Despite its turbulent recent history, Kosovo has a young and educated population with high rates of English fluency, making it linguistically distinct from its neighbours in more ways than one.
Similar Languages
Albanian (Albania)
95%
Aromanian
20%
Media
Pristina, the capital of Kosovo — one of Europe's youngest capitals
Photo: Petrit Ibrahimi · CC BY 2.0
Did You Know
01
Albanian forms its own independent branch of Indo-European — it has no close relatives among living languages.
02
Kosovo declared independence in 2008 and is recognised by over 100 UN member states, though its status remains disputed by Serbia and others.
03
The Gheg dialect spoken in Kosovo differs enough from standard Albanian (based on Tosk) that speakers sometimes struggle with formal written Albanian.
04
Kosovo has one of the youngest populations in Europe, with a median age under 30 — a demographic legacy of high birth rates and post-war recovery.