Northumberland role in the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century on. Many coal mines operated in Northumberland until the widespread closures in the 1970s and 1980s. Collieries operated at Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth, Choppington, Netherton, Ellington and Pegswood. The region's coalfields fuelled industrial expansion in other areas of Britain, and the need to transport the coal from the collieries to the Tyne led to the development of the first railways. Shipbuilding and armaments manufacture were other important industries before the deindustrialisation of the 1980s. Northumberland remains largely rural, and is the least-densely populated county in England. In recent years the county has
Vlorë County than two per cent of the county's population is Bektashi with 1,903 adherents. The most densely populated areas are the coastal cities of Vlorë, Sarandë and Himarë, while vast regions such as in the highlands, are very sparsely populated. The county remains a major seaport and commercial centre, with a significant fishing and industrial sector. The city of Vlorë is the economic hub of the county. The surrounding region of the city is mainly agricultural and pastoral and a large producer of petroleum, natural gas, bitumen and salt. That has grown in importance as an agricultural center with very large-scale