Community-Led Count of Albanian Americans Reaches 1,000

NEW YORK, MAY 24, 2026 — The National Albanian Registry (NAR), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, announced today that its registry crossed 1,000 self-attested registrants — 29 days after the first signup.

The U.S. Census Bureau's most recent American Community Survey estimates approximately 224,000 Albanian Americans in the United States. Community organizations have long argued the actual population — including ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Çamëria, and the Arbëreshë of southern Italy, along with second- and third-generation US-born descendants — is closer to one million. The gap between those two figures is the open question NAR was founded to answer.

The first 1,000 registrants joined without a paid advertising campaign. Growth came from regional ambassadors distributing personal QR codes at community events, organic Instagram and Facebook posts, and registration links sent from one person to the next. The fastest single day added 40 new registrants.

“The first thousand are the easy thousand. The next 999,000 are the work.”

— Ervin Toro, President of the National Albanian Registry

The registry is free to join and takes approximately 60 seconds to complete. Each registrant receives a numbered certificate authenticated with a cryptographic signature and a permanent place in the historical record. NAR does not sell or share registrant data.

The National Albanian Registry incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and seated its founding board of directors in May 2026. Registration is open at albanianregistry.org.