Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The modern nation state of Albania emerged in 1912 following the defeat of the Ottomans in the Balkan Wars. The modern Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania, before becoming a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, a Communist state titled the People's Socialist Republic of Albania was founded under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and the Party of Labour. The country experienced widespread social and political transformations in the communist era, as well as isolation from much of the international community. In the aftermath of the Revolutions of 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the fourth Republic of Albania was established." [Wikipedia] "The only other dominantly Muslim country in Europe is Albania, where 59 percent of the population of 2.9 million are adherents of Islam. Albania shares with one other country— Moldova—the status of being Europe’s poorest state. It has one of Europe’s higher rates of natural population growth, and many Albanians try to emigrate to the EU by crossing the Adriatic Sea to Italy." [Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, 17th Edition, p. 187]