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The World Factbook 2002

         
  Albania  
Flag of Albania
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  Introduction
  Geography
  People
  Government
  Economy
  Communications
  Transportation
  Military
  Transnational Issues

In general, information available as of 1 January 2002
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2002.


This page was last updated on 1 January 2002


Map of Albania

Legend: Definition Definition Field Listing Field Listing
   Introduction    Albania
Background:
Definition Field Listing
In 1990 Albania ended 44 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven difficult as corrupt governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, a dilapidated infrastructure, widespread gangsterism, and disruptive political opponents. International observers judged local elections in 2001 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, but identified serious deficiencies which should be addressed through reforms in the Albanian electoral code.
   Geography    Albania
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
41 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Europe
Area:
Definition Field Listing
total: 28,748 sq km
water: 1,350 sq km
land: 27,398 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 720 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Yugoslavia 287 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
362 km
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 4%
other: 75% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
3,400 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
   People    Albania
Population:
Definition Field Listing
3,544,841 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 28.8% (male 528,678; female 493,531)
15-64 years: 64% (male 1,094,034; female 1,175,024)
65 years and over: 7.2% (male 111,524; female 142,050) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
1.06% (2002 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing
18.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing
6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
-1.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing
38.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing
total population: 72.1 years
female: 75.14 years (2002 est.)
male: 69.27 years
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing
2.27 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing
less than 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing
less than 100 (2000 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing
less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Gypsy, Serb, and Bulgarian) (1989 est.)
note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 93% (1997 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%
   Government    Albania
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Republic of Albania
conventional short form: Albania
local short form: Shqiperia
former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania
local long form: Republika e Shqiperise
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
emerging democracy
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Tirana
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
36 districts (rrethe, singular - rreth) and 1 municipality* (bashki); Berat, Bulqize, Delvine, Devoll (Bilisht), Diber (Peshkopi), Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Has (Krume), Kavaje, Kolonje (Erseke), Korce, Kruje, Kucove, Kukes, Kurbin, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Malesi e Madhe (Koplik), Mallakaster (Ballsh), Mat (Burrel), Mirdite (Rreshen), Peqin, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar (Corovode), Tepelene, Tirane (Tirana), Tirane* (Tirana), Tropoje (Bajram Curri), Vlore
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Independence Day, 28 November (1912)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: President of the Republic Rexhep MEIDANI (since 24 July 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Pandeli MAJKO (since 22 February 2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president
election results: Rexhep MEIDANI elected president; People's Assembly vote by number - total votes 122, for 110, against 3, abstained 2, invalid 7
elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1997 (next to be held NA July 2002); prime minister appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (140 seats; 100 are elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote for four-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - PS 41.5%, PD and coalition allies 36.8%, NDP 5.2%, PSD 3.6%, PBDNJ 2.6%, PASH 2.6%, PAD 2.5%; seats by party - PS 73, PD and coalition allies 46, NDP 6, PSD 4, PBDNJ 3, PASH 3, PAD 3, independents 2
elections: last held 24 June with subsequent rounds on 8 July, 22 July, 29 July, 19 August 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005)
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term)
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Agrarian Party or PASH [Lufter XHUVELI]; Albanian National Front (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Shptim ROQI]; Albanian Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]; Albanian Socialist Party or PS (formerly the Albania Workers Party) [Fatos NANO, chairman]; Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Zef BUSHATI]; Democratic Alliance or PAD [Nerltan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Group of Reformist Democrats [Leonard NDOKA]; Legality Movement Party or PLL [Ekrem SPAHIA]; Liberal Union Party or PBL [Teodor LACO]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Genc POLLO]; OMONIA [Vagjelis DULES]; Party of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQUIRI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI]; Unity for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vasil MELO, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
NA
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
ACCT, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Fatos TARIFA
chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342
telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph LIMPRECHT
embassy: Rruga Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana
mailing address: U. S. Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Washington, DC 20521-9510
telephone: [355] (4) 247285
FAX: [355] (4) 232222
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
red with a black two-headed eagle in the center
   Economy    Albania
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
Poor and backward by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime and to revive economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by remittances from abroad of $400-$600 million annually, mostly from Greece and Italy. Agriculture, which accounts for 52% of GDP, is held back because of frequent drought and the need to modernize equipment and consolidate small plots of land. Severe energy shortages are forcing small firms out of business, increasing unemployment, scaring off foreign investors, and spurring inflation.
GDP:
Definition Field Listing
purchasing power parity - $13.2 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
7.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing
purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 52%
industry: 21%
services: 27% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
30% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing
3% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing
1.283 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (2000 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture 50%, industry and services 50%
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing
17% officially (2001 est.); may be as high as 30%
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $697 million
expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $368 million (2002 est.)
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
9% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing
4.738 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source:
Definition Field Listing
fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing
5.378 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
100 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
1.072 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products
Exports:
Definition Field Listing
$306 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Italy 70%, Greece 12%, Germany 6%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2%, Austria 1% (2001)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing
$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Italy 32%, Greece 26%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 2% (2001)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing
$1 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
$315 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2000 est.)
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
lek (ALL)
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
ALL
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
leke per US dollar - 140.16 (November 2001), 143.71 (2000) 137.69 (1999), 150.63 (1998), 148.93 (1997); note - leke is the plural of lek
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Albania
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing
120,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing
250,000 (2001)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: Albania has the poorest telephone service in Europe with fewer than two telephones per 100 inhabitants; it is doubtful that every village has telephone service
domestic: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for every village; in 1992, following the fall of the Communist government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used it to build fences
international: inadequate; international traffic carried by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001)
Radios:
Definition Field Listing
1 million (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001)
Televisions:
Definition Field Listing
700,000 (2001)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.al
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
Definition Field Listing
10 (2001)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing
12,000 (2001)
   Transportation    Albania
Railways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 447 km
standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001 est.)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 18,000 km
paved: 5,400 km
unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing
43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
crude oil 196 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1996)
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
Merchant marine:
Definition Field Listing
total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,423 GRT/20,837 DWT
ships by type: cargo 7, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Honduras 1 (2002 est.)
Airports:
Definition Field Listing
11 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 4 (2001)
914 to 1,523 m: 2
over 3,047 m: 1
Heliports:
Definition Field Listing
1 (2001)
   Military    Albania
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Military manpower - military age:
Definition Field Listing
19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 888,086 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 727,406 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 35,792 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing
$56.5 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing
1.49% (FY02)
   Transnational Issues    Albania
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders in the Kosovo region of Yugoslavia and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia while continuing to seek regional cooperation; many Albanians illegally transit neighboring states to emigrate to western Europe
Illicit drugs:
Definition Field Listing
increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a far lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002


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