Memaliaj

40.3519.983333333333130Koordinaten: 40 ° 21 ' N, 19 ° 59 ' E

Memaliaj is a small town in southern Albania. The place in the circle Tepelenë is located in a loop of the River Vjosa, about eight kilometers north of the district capital Tepelenë. In the 2011 census 2646 population was registered. In the civil registry office 7640 individuals were recorded in 2008, however, of which but probably at least half of temporarily living abroad.

The town was founded in 1946 as a center of the local coal industry. Previously there was only a small village with this name on a hill west of the present city center. Discovered in the 1930s, coal reserves, which began north to promote the place after the city's foundation and to enrich, were among the three most important development areas of the country. In 1990, the promotion had increased to 500,000 tons. After the collapse of the communist regime, the industry was shut down. Today Memaliaj suffers from extreme unemployment. The rate is among the highest in the country. In 20 years, the population fell by 50 percent. Many families live below the poverty line. And each has at least one family member working abroad.

Even today, the townscape is dominated along with the new Orthodox church majority of prefabricated housing.

Memaliaj is located on the main road from Fier after Tepelenë, connecting the central Albania with the central southern Albania and the Greek border.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Agron Llakaj ( born 1960 ), comedian, presenter and singer