National Youth Day (Albania)

National Youth Day is a public holiday in Albania, and it is observed on December 8 each year. The holiday commemorates the student\’s protests for social and economic reforms that occurred in December 1990.

Albania is a country in southeastern Europe, and it fell under the Ottoman Empire in the early 15th century. On November 28, 1912, Albania proclaimed its independence. On November 29, 1944, it was liberated from Nazi Germany by the communist-led National Liberation Front and became a socialist republic.

In 1985, Ramiz Alia became the leader of Albania after Enver Hoxha\’s over 40 years\’ rule, and started to slowly make changes to improve the social and economic problems. However, young people thought that was too limited and cautious, and on December 8, 1990, the students from the then Enver Hoxha University (now the University of Tirana) marched through the streets demanding more political and social reforms. To quell the student unrests, Ramiz Alis met with students and agreed to take more steps to democratize the country.

The following is the list of National Youth Day in Albania from 2022 to 2026.