Tirana is one of the top 10 European capital cities, ranked by share of urban tree cover, according to data from the European Environmental Agency.

Tirana outclasses important capitals like Brussels, Athens and Belgrade, and ranks first among the Mediterranean capitals, recording a significant achievement for the Albanian capital that has significantly expanded the public green areas in the last nine years thanks to continued tree planting campaigns launched by the Municipality of Tirana.

Sarajevo tops the list as it has the highest share of urban tree cover, but the city’s population hasn’t grown after the war in 1994. Baltic and Scandinavian capitals also rank high for their high urban tree cover rate helped by their sub-polar climate and large urban areas.

Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj took to the social media on Sunday to describe the ranking as super news for the Albanian capital.

“An incredible achievement and reward for the work we have done in the last nine years with the tree planting campaigns as the only way to improve life of our kids and everyone else,” Veliaj said.

/u.sh/