State of Culture in Albania 2025 · Municipal profiles · Artivista Center (Qendra Artivista)
This profile is based on information provided by the Municipality of Shkodër in reply to Artivista's request for information on culture (2026), the municipality's medium term budget plans (PBA), and INSTAT's 2023 Population and Housing Census. Amounts are in Albanian lek.
At a glance
| Region (qark) | Shkodër |
| Administrative units | 11, from the city of Shkodër to Velipojë on the coast and the Dukagjin highlands |
| Area | 872.71 km² |
| Population, 2023 Census | 102,434 (about 117 residents per km²); 24.5% fewer than in 2011 |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 20.7% (national average 19.7%) |
| Culture budget, programme 08220 | 77.7 million lek spent in 2021, 89.9 million in 2022, about 121 to 127 million a year planned for 2023 - 2026 |
| Cultural institutions | Library, Cultural Centre, Historical Museum, Site of Witness and Memory, Art Gallery, Migjeni Theatre, Republika Cinema |
| Staff | 55 (the named units add up to 54) |
| Heritage works | The responsibility of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage |
Summary
Shkodër, the largest city in the north, has 102,434 residents, 24.5% fewer than in 2011. It runs a wide network of cultural institutions: a library, a cultural centre, a historical museum, the Site of Witness and Memory, an art gallery, the Migjeni Theatre and the Republika Cinema.
Instead of answering each question, the reply points to documents on the municipality's website: yearly budgets, monitoring reports, council decisions and consultation records for 2020 - 2025. It gives the staff directly: 55 people work in culture, 26 of them at the Migjeni Theatre.
The municipality's budget plan shows the culture programme rising from 77.7 million lek spent in 2021 to a budget of 127.5 million lek in 2023, with about 121 to 123 million lek a year planned for 2024 - 2026.
1. Governance and institutions
Culture is run by the Directorate of Culture, within the General Directorate of Culture and Sport. The reply lists seven institutions: the Marin Barleti Library, the Pjetër Gaci Cultural Centre, the Historical Museum, the Site of Witness and Memory, the Art Gallery, the Migjeni Theatre and the Republika Cinema. The reply was signed on behalf of Mayor Benet Beci by Deputy Mayor Alban Preka.
2. Staff and funding
According to Council Decision Nr. 445 of 31 December 2025, 55 staff cover culture: 26 at the Migjeni Theatre, 6 at the library, 4 each at the Cultural Centre, the Historical Museum, the Republika Cinema and the Directorate of Culture, and 3 each at the Site of Witness and Memory and the Art Gallery. These add up to 54, one fewer than the total given.
The culture programme (08220) spent 77,679,000 lek in 2021 and 89,863,000 lek in 2022. Its budget for 2023 was 127,479,000 lek, and the plan sets 121,474,000 lek for 2024, 121,203,000 lek for 2025 and 123,264,000 lek for 2026. The reply refers to the yearly monitoring reports on the website for the actual figures of later years.
3. Cultural programme
The reply does not give the number of activities or beneficiaries. It says these are published in the budget and monitoring reports on the municipality's website, and lists twelve links to them.
4. Heritage
The reply explains that restoration of heritage sites is the responsibility of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage. Spending on the upkeep of the buildings that house the library, the museum, the Site of Witness and Memory, the gallery and the theatre is published in the same online documents.
5. Planning and public participation
Each budget programme, culture included, is consulted with the public under Law Nr. 146/2014 on notification and public consultation, and the materials are published in the “Këshillim me Publikun” section of the website. The reply does not give the number of consultations.
Conclusions
- Shkodër has a wide network of seven cultural institutions, with 55 staff.
- The culture programme rose from 77.7 million lek in 2021 to about 121 to 127 million lek a year.
- The reply points to online documents instead of giving figures directly.
- Heritage restoration is left to the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage.
- The population fell by a quarter between the two censuses.
Recommendations
Give the figures directly
Stating budgets, activities and beneficiaries in the reply would make Shkodër easier to compare with other municipalities.
Culture in all eleven units
Showing activities by administrative unit would make clear how far culture reaches beyond the city.
Work with the heritage directorate
A shared plan with the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage would help care for the sites in the municipality.
Count the consultations
Reporting how many consultations dealt with culture would show how residents take part.
About the data
Population figures come from the INSTAT 2023 Census. Institutions, staff, heritage and consultations are as reported by the Directorate of Culture in the municipality's reply (2026). Budget figures come from the municipality's PBA 2024 - 2026 summary relacion.
Every effort has been made to base this analysis on the data provided by the municipality, complemented with data from its Medium Term Budget Programmes (PBA) published online. For comments or questions, please contact artivista@arti-vista.org.
This article was prepared within the CulturAL project, with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the National Centre for Community Services and Artivista Center and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
