Albania

nascent democracyIndependence 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)

Albania as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 122 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
LocationBalkan State, Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula between
1994

Every edition of Albania

Populationas each edition published it
3.37 million July 1994 est. · 3.27m in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.19% 1994 est. · 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
2.78 children per woman 1994 est. · 3 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
30 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 52 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$1,100 1993 est. · $760 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
11% 1993 · -10% in 1993

Geography

Balkan State, Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula between | Serbia and Montenegro and Greece

23 fields
Land boundaries
720km
total · Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro)
Irrigated land
4,230sq km
(1989)

Location

Balkan State, Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula between Serbia and Montenegro and Greece

Map references

Africa, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

28,750 sq km

land area

27,400 sq km

comparative area

slightly larger than Maryland

continental shelf

not specified

territorial sea

12 nm

International disputes

Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbia and Montenegro, and the Albanian Government supports the Kosovo position politically

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

petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel

arable land

21%

permanent crops

4%

meadows and pastures

15%

forest and woodland

38%

other

22%

current issues

deforestation

natural hazards

subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast

international agreements

party to - Biodiversity

Note

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

People

23 fields
Population
3,374,085
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 1.19% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
22.46Death
5.32Net migration
-5.27

Ethnic divisions(1989 est.)

Albanian 95%Greeks 3%other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)

Religions

Muslim 70%Greek Orthodox 20%Roman Catholic 10%
Labor force
1.5million
(1987)
Literacy
9and over can read and write
age · (1955)

note

IMF, working with Albanian government figures estimates the population at 3,120,000 in 1993 and that the population has fallen since 1990

Infant mortality rate

30 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

73.4 years

male

70.42 years

female

76.61 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.78 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Albanian(s)

adjective

Albanian

note

all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice

Languages

Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

total population

72%

male

80%

female

63%

by occupation

agriculture 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)

Government

Nascent democracy

32 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

62.29%
DP 62.29%ASP 25.57%SDP 4.33%RP 3.15%UHP 2.92%other 1.74%

Legislature, 140 seatsone dot, one seat

DP 92ASP 38SDP 7RP 1UHP 2

conventional long form

Republic of Albania

conventional short form

Albania

local long form

Republika e Shqiperise

local short form

Shqiperia

former

People's Socialist Republic of Albania

Type

nascent democracy

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)

National holiday

Liberation Day, 28 November (1944; changed by decree on 12 November 1993)

Constitution

an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991; a new constitution was to be drafted for adoption in 1992, but is still in process

Suffrage

18 years of age, universal and compulsory

chief of state

President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992)

head of government

Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992)

Cabinet

Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor)

  • elections last held 22 March 1992;
  • results - DP 62.29%, ASP 25.57%, SDP 4.33%, RP 3.15%, UHP 2.92%, other 1.74%;
  • seats - (140 total) DP 92, ASP 38, SDP 7, RP 1, UHP 2

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

  • there are at least 18 political parties;
  • most prominent are the Albanian Socialist Party (ASP; formerly the Albania Workers Party), Fatos NANO, first secretary;
  • Democratic Party (DP), Eduard SELAMI, chairman;
  • Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO;
  • Omonia (Greek minority party), leader NA (ran in 1992 election as Unity for Human Rights Party (UHP));
  • Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI;
  • Democratic Alliance Party (DAP), Spartak NGJELA, chairman

Member of

BSEC, CCC, CE (guest), CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

chief of mission

Ambassador Lublin Hasan DILJA

chancery

Suite 1010, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005

telephone

(202) 223-4942, 8187

FAX

(202) 628-7342

chief of mission

Ambassador William E. RYERSON

embassy

Rruga E. Elbansanit 103, Tirane

mailing address

PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624

telephone

355-42-32875, 33520

FAX

355-42-32222

Flag

red with a black two-headed eagle in the center

Economy

An extremely poor country by European standards, Albania is making the | difficult transition to a more open-market economy.

26 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$1,100
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
11%
(1993)industrial production growth: growth rate -10% (1993 est.); accounts for 16% of GDP (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate
18%
(1993 est.)

Overview

An extremely poor country by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993 after a severe depression accompanying the collapse of the previous centrally planned system in 1990 and 1991. Stabilization policies, including public sector layoffs and reduced social services, have improved the government's fiscal situation and reduced inflation.

The recovery was spurred by the remittances of some 5% of the population which works abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy. Foreign assistance and humanitarian aid also supported the recovery. Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes. Albania's limited industrial sector, now less than one-sixth of GDP, continued to decline in 1993.

A sharp fall in chromium prices reduced hard currency receipts from the mining sector. Large segments of the population, especially those living in urban areas, continue to depend on humanitarian aid to meet basic food requirements. Unemployment remains a severe problem accounting for approximately one-fifth of the work force.

Growth is expected to continue in 1994, but could falter if Albania becomes involved in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, workers' remittances from Greece are reduced, or foreign assistance declines.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $3.3 billion (1993 est.)

revenues

$1.1 billion

expenditures

$1.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $70 million (1991 est.)

Exports

$70 million (f.o.b., 1992)

commodities

asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco

partners

Italy, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary

Imports

$524 million (f.o.b., 1992)

commodities

machinery, consumer goods, grains

partners

Italy, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece

External debt

$724 million (1993 est.)

capacity

1,690,000 kW

production

5 billion kWh

consumption per capita

1,520 kWh (1992)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • accounts for 55% of GDP;
  • arable land per capita among lowest in Europe;
  • 80% of arable land now in private hands;
  • one-half of work force engaged in farming;
  • produces wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route; limited opium production

recipient

$190 million humanitarian aid; $94 million in loans/guarantees/credits

Currency

1 lek (L) = 100 qintars

Exchange rates

leke (L) per US$1 - 99 (January 1994), 97 (January 1993), 50 (January 1992), 25 (September 1991)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

15 fields

Railroads

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

total

16,700 km

paved

6,700 km

unpaved

earth 10,000 km (1990)

Inland waterways

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

Pipelines

crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991)

Ports

Durres, Sarande, Vlore

Merchant marine

11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,967 GRT/76,887 DWT

total

12

usable

10

with permanent-surface runways

3

with runways over 3,659 m

0

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

6

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

4

Telecommunications

  • inadequate service;
  • 15,000 telephones;
  • broadcast stations - 13 AM, 1 TV;
  • 514,000 radios, 255,000 TVs (1987 est.)

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops

3 fields
Defense expenditures
215million leke
NA% of GNP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 906,938;
  • fit for military service 746,945;
  • reach military age (19) annually 33,184 (1994 est.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Albania.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/albania/1994.

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