It borders Montenegro and Kosovo to the north, Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. In the west, the natural border is the coast of the Adriatic and Ionian Sea - Albania is one of the Mediterranean countries.
Albania is separated from Italy by the 72 km Strait of Otranto - a strait connecting the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separating the Apennine and Balkan peninsulas. The strait was of particularly strategic importance during World War I.
