Albania

nascent democracy with strong Communist party influenceIndependence 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)

Albania as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalTirane
Area28,750 km2
1991

Every edition of Albania

Populationas each edition published it
3.34 million July 1991 · 3.27m in 1990
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 1.21% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 26.5 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 73 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.9 children per woman 1991 · 3 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
50 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 52 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $760 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition -10% in 1993

Geography

11 fields
Total area
28,750km2
land area: 27,400 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries
768km total
Greece 282 km, Yugoslavia 486 km

Coastline

362 km Continental shelf: not specified; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes

Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question with Greece

Climate

  • mild temperate;
  • cool, cloudy, wet winters;
  • hot, clear, dry summers;
  • interior is cooler and wetter

Terrain

mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast

Natural resources

crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel

Land use

  • arable land 21%;
  • permanent crops 4%;
  • meadows and pastures 15%;
  • forest and woodland 38%;
  • other 22%;
  • includes irrigated 1%

Environment

  • subject to destructive earthquakes;
  • tsunami occur along southwestern coast;
  • deforestation seems to be slowing

Note

strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)

People

14 fields
Population
3,335,044
(July 1991), growth rate 1.8% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth
24Death
5Net migration
0

Ethnic divisions(1989 est.)

Albanian 90%Greeks 8%other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
Labor force
1,500,000
(1987); agriculture about 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)
Literacy
72%
(male 80%, female 63%) age 9 and over can read and write (1955)

Infant mortality rate

50 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Life expectancy at birth

72 years male, 79 years female (1991)

Total fertility rate

2.9 children born/woman (1991)

Nationality

noun--Albanian(s); adjective--Albanian

Religion

  • all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited;
  • in November 1990 Albania began allowing private religious practice and was considering the repeal of the constitutional amendment banning religious activities;
  • estimates of religious affiliation--Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%

Language

Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek

Organized labor

Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000 members

Government

Nascent democracy with strong Communist party influence

17 fields

People's Assembly, 250 seats, elected 31 March 1991one dot, one seat

preliminary results AWP 168DP 75Omonia 5Veterans Association 1other 1

Percent of vote

AWP 68%DP 25%

Long-form name

Republic of Albania

Type

nascent democracy with strong Communist party influence; basic law has dropped all references to socialism

Capital

Tirane

Administrative divisions

26 districts (rrethe, singular--rreth); Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar, Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore

Independence

28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire); People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946

Constitution

an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991; a new constitution is to be drafted for adoption in four to six months

National holiday

Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)

Executive branch

president, prime minister of the Council of Ministers, one deputy prime minister of the Council of Ministers

Legislative branch

unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor)

Judicial branch

  • Supreme Court Chief of State--President of the Republic Ramiz ALIA (since 22 November 1982);
  • Head of Government--Prime Minister of the interim Council of Ministers Ylli BUFI (since 5 June 1991);

Political parties and leaders

  • Albanian Workers Party (AWP), Ramiz ALIA, first secretary;
  • Democratic Party (DP), Sali BERISHA, chairman and cofounder with Gramoz PASHKO;
  • Albanian Republican Party, Sabri GODO;
  • Ecology Party, Namik HOTI;
  • Omonia (Greek minority party), leader NA;
  • Agrarian Party, leader NA;
  • note--in December 1990 President ALIA allowed new political parties to be formed in addition to the AWP for the first time since 1944

Suffrage

  • universal and compulsory at age 18 President--last held 30 April 1991 (next to be held spring 1992);
  • results--President Ramiz ALIA was reelected with token opposition;
  • People's Assembly--last held 31 March 1991 (next to be held spring 1992);
  • results--AWP 68%, DP 25%;
  • seats--(250 total) preliminary results AWP 168, DP 75, Omonia 5, Veterans Association 1, other 1;
  • note--the AWP's votes came mostly from the countryside while the DP won majorities in the six-largest cities;

Communists

147,000 party members (November 1986); note--in March 1991 the Albanian Workers' Party announced that it considered itself no longer Communist but socialist

Member of

ECE, FAO, IAEA, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation

the Governments of the United States and Albania agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations to be effective from 15 March 1991 and to exchange diplomatic missions at the level of ambassador

Flag

red with a black two-headed eagle in the center below a red five-pointed star outlined in yellow

Economy

As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy.

16 fields

Budget

Revenues
$2.3 billionExpenditures
$2.3 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)

Overview

As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy. For over 40 years, the Stalinist-type economy has operated on the principles of central planning and state ownership of the means of production. In recent years Albania has implemented limited economic reforms to stimulate its lagging economy, provide incentives, and decentralize decisionmaking.

In an effort to expand international ties, Tirane has reestablished diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and the US. The Albanians have also passed legislation allowing foreign investment. Albania possesses considerable mineral resources and, until 1990, was largely self-sufficient in food;

several years of drought have hindered agricultural development. Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are subject to an especially wide margin of error because the government until recently did not release economic information.

GNP

$4.1 billion, per capita $1,250; real growth rate NA% (1990 est.)

Exports

  • $378 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.);
  • commodities--asphalt, bitumen, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco;
  • partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary

Imports

  • $255 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.);
  • commodities--machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals;
  • partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, GDR

Industrial production

growth rate NA

Electricity

1,690,000 kW capacity; 5,000 million kWh produced, 1,530 kWh per capita (1990)

Industries

food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, basic metals, hydropower

Agriculture

  • arable land per capita among lowest in Europe;
  • one-half of work force engaged in farming;
  • produces wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock;
  • claims self-sufficiency in grain output

Economic aid

Western (non-US) countries, ODA (1988) $5.8 million

Currency

lek (plural--leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars

Exchange rates

leke (L) per US$1--8.00 (noncommercial fixed rate since 1986), 4.14 (commercial fixed rate since 1987)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Networkskm

Highways
16,700 (1990)Railroads
543
Highways: ; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km forest and agricultural · Railroads: ; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and 34 km narrow gauge, single track (1990); line connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986

Railroads

  • 543 km total;
  • 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and 34 km narrow gauge, single track (1990);
  • line connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986

Highways

16,700 km total; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km forest and agricultural (1990)

Inland waterways

43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)

Pipelines

crude oil, 145 km; refined products, 55 km; natural gas, 64 km (1988)

Ports

Durres, Sarande, Vlore

Merchant marine

11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886 GRT/75,993 DWT

Airports

  • 12 total, 10 usable;
  • more than 5 with permanent-surface runways;
  • more than 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
  • 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications

  • stations--17 AM, 1 FM, 9 TV;
  • 246,000 TVs (1990);
  • 210,000 radios

Defense Forces

Albanian People's Army, Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops

3 fields
Defense expenditures
1.0billion leks
NA% of GDP (FY90); note--conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results

Branches

Albanian People's Army, Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops

Manpower availability

  • males 15-49, 900,723;
  • 743,594 fit for military service;
  • 33,497 reach military age (19) annually

Central Intelligence Agency. “Albania.” The World Factbook 1991. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/albania/1991.

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