Education

Before the Communist regime, Albania's illiteracy rate was as high as 85%. Schools were scarce between World War I and World War II. When the Communist regime over took the country in 1944, the regime wanted to wipe out illiteracy. The regulations became so strict that anyone between the ages of 12 and 40 who could not read or write was mandated to attend classes to learn. Since these times of struggle the country's literacy rate has improved remarkably.[84] Today the overall literacy rate in Albania is 98.7%, the male literacy rate is 99.2% and female literacy rate is 98.3%.[68] Since the rather large population movements in the 1990s to urban areas, education has moved as well. Thousands of teachers moved to urban areas to follow students. The University of Tirana is the oldest university in Albania, founded in October 1957.