Wikipedia
Maliq is a town and a municipality in Korçë County of eastern Albania. It is the smaller of two cities in the district, the other being Korçë, southeast of Maliq. Before the Second World War the region was a swamp, which was drained as an attempt of the ruling Party of Labour of Albania to revitalize Albania's agriculture. The city flourished around a sugar factory built in 1951 through Soviet foreign aid. Eventually the factory was closed in the 1990s leading to a significant unemployment in the city. The current enlarged municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former administrative units of Gorë, Libonik, Maliq, Moglicë, Pirg, Pojan and Vreshtas. The seat of the municipality is the town Maliq. The total population is 41,757 (2011 census), in a total area of 656.34 km. The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 4,290. The municipal unit consists of the town Maliq and the villages Kolanec, Goce, Gjyras, Bickë, Fshat Maliq and Plovisht.