Albania

Republic of AlbaniaRepublika e Shqiperise

emerging democracyIndependence 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)

Albania as the 1996 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 87 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

Position41 00 N, 20 00 E

Area28,750 sq km

LocationSoutheastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and

Populationas each edition published it

3.25 million July 1996 est. · 3.27m in 1990

Population growth% a year

1.34% 1996 est. · 1.21% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 26.5 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

67.92 years 1996 est. · 73 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.65 children per woman 1996 est. · 3 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

49.2 deaths per 1,000 live births 1996 est. · 52 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$1,210 1995 est. · $760 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

6% 1995 est. · -10% in 1993

Geography

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and | Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro

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Land useshare of 28,750 sq km

arable land 21%permanent crops 4%meadows and pastures 15%forest and woodland 38%other 22%irrigated 4,230 sq km (1989)

Area

28,750sq km

land area: 27,400 sq kmcomparative area: slightly larger than Maryland

Coastline

362km

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitationterritorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

720km

border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro)

Location

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro

International disputes

the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders;
Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic;
Albanians in Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public-sector jobs and representation in government;
Albania is involved in negotiations with Greece over border demarcation, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek minority, and migrant Albanian workers in 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

lowest point:: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point:: Maja e Korabit 2,753 m

Natural resources

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

Environment

current issues:: deforestation;
soil erosion;
water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
natural hazards:: destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast
international agreements:: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Geographic note

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

People

15 fields

Population

3,249,136

(July 1996 est.)note: the IMF, working with Albanian government figures, estimates that the population was 3,120,000 in 1993 and that it has fallen since 1990growth rate: 1.34% (1996 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1996 est.)

Birth

22.21Death

7.64Net migration

-1.17

Male · female(1996 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years67.92

64.91 · 71.17

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy72%

80% · 63%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 9 and over can read and write (1955 est.)

Ethnic divisions(1989 est.)

Albanian 95%Greeks 3%other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)

Religions

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

Age structure

0-14 years:: 34% (male 570,978; female 529,147)
15-64 years:: 60% (male 910,873; female 1,049,662)
65 years and over:: 6% (male 77,799; female 110,677) (July 1996 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years:: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 0.7 male(s)/female
all ages:: 0.92 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate

49.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.65 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Albanian(s)
adjective:: Albanian

Languages

Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

Government

Emerging democracy; President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992) was elected for a five-year term by the People's Assembly; Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992) was appointed by the president

20 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%

Name of country

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

Data code

Type of government

emerging 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;
note - some new administrative units may have been created

Independence

28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)

National holiday

Independence Day, 28 November (1912)

Constitution

an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991;
a draft constitution was rejected by popular referendum in the fall of 1994 and a new draft is pending

Legal system

has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch

chief of state:: President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992) was elected for a five-year term by the People's Assembly
head of government:: Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992) was appointed by the president
cabinet:: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president

Legislative branch

unicameral

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

note: six members of the Democratic Party defected, making the present seating in the Assembly DP 86, ASP 38, SDP 7, DAP 6, RP 1, UHP 2

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, chairman of the Supreme Court is elected by the People's Assembly

Political parties and leaders

there are at least 28 political parties;
most prominent are the Albanian Socialist Party (ASP; formerly the Albania Workers Party), Fatos NANO, first secretary;
Democratic Party (DP);
Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO;
Omonia (Greek minority party), Sotir QIRJAZATI, first secretary;
Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI;
Democratic Alliance Party (DAP), Neritan CEKA, chairman;
Unity for Human Rights Party (UHP), Vasil MELO, chairman;
Ecology Party (EP), Namik HOTI, chairman

International organization participation

BSEC, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Lublin DILJA
chancery:: Suite 1000, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone:: [1] (202) 223-4942, 8187

FAX

[1] (202) 628-7342

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: Ambassador Joseph E. LAKE
embassy:: Rruga E. Labinoti 103, Tirane
mailing address:: PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624
telephone:: [355] (42) 328-75, 335-20

FAX

[355] (42) 322-22

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.

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GDP per capita, PPP

$1,210

(1995 est.)

Real growth rate

(1995 est.)industrial production growth: 6% (1995 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

16%

(1994 est.)

Unemployment rate

19%

(1994 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$486.3 millionExpenditures

$550.4 million (1994)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $124 million

Installed generating capacity, 1,662,000 kW

Electricity production

3.9 billionElectricity consumption per capita

1,219 (1994 est.)

Economic overview

An extremely poor country by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993-95 after a severe depression accompanying the collapse of the previous centrally planned system in 1990 and 1991. Stabilization policies - including a strict monetary policy, public sector layoffs, and reduced social services - have improved the government's fiscal situation and reduced inflation.

The recovery has been spurred by the remittances of some 20% of the labor force which works abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP and help offset the large foreign trade deficit. Foreign assistance and humanitarian aid also supported the recovery. Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes.

Albania's industrial sector ended its five-year, 78% decline in 1995, recording roughly 6% growth. A sharp fall in chromium prices has 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. Now that sanctions on Serbia have been suspended, the falloff in hard currency earnings from smuggling will aggravate unemployment problems. Growth is expected to continue in 1996, but could falter if workers' remittances from Greece are reduced or foreign assistance declines.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $4.1 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture:: 55%
industry:: NA%
services:: NA% (1995 est.)

Labor force

1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed); by occupation (of those domestically employed): agriculture (nearly all private) 49.5%, private sector 22.2%, state (nonfarm) sector 28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%)

Industries

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

Agriculture

wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium production

Exports

$141 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

commodities:: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
partners:: Italy, US, Greece, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Imports

$601 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

commodities:: machinery, consumer goods, grains
partners:: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

External debt

$977 million (1994 est.)

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency

1 lek (L) = 100 qintars

Exchange rates

leke (L) per US$1 - 95.65 (January 1996), 100.00 (January 1995), 99.00 (January 1994), 97.00 (January 1993), 50.00 (January 1992), 25.00 (September 1991)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Transportation

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Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 11 in all

2 438 to 3 047 m

914 to 1 523 m

over 3 047 m

1 524 to 2 437 m

PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways

18,450Railways

670

Highways: paved: 17,450 km · unpaved: 1,000 km (1991 est.) · Railways: standard gauge: 670 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

Railways

total:: 670 km
standard gauge:: 670 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

Highways

total:: 18,450 km
paved:: 17,450 km
unpaved:: 1,000 km (1991 est.)

Communications

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior | Ministry Troops, Border Guards

9 fields

Fixed lines

55,000

Telephone system

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 Tirane exchange to Italy and Greece

males age 15-49:: 723,231
males fit for military service:: 588,304
males reach military age (19) annually:: 29,340 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $45 million, 2.5% of GDP (1995)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Albania.” The World Factbook 1996. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/albania/1996.

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