Albania

Republic of AlbaniaRepublika e Shqiperise

emerging democracyIndependence 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)

Albania as the 1997 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 99 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 Ionian

Populationas each edition published it

3.3 million July 1997 est. · 3.27m in 1990

Population growth% a year

0.9% 1997 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

2.64 children per woman 1997 est. · 3 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

47.1 deaths per 1,000 live births 1997 est. · 52 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$1,290 1996 est. · $760 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

5% 1996 est. · -10% in 1993

Geography

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

18 fields

Land useshare of 28,750 sq km

arable land 21%permanent crops 5%permanent pastures 15%forests and woodland 38%other 21% (1993 est.)irrigated 3,410 sq km (1993 est.)

Area

28,750sq km

land: 27,400 sq kmwater: 1,350 sq kmslightly smaller than Maryland

Coastline

362km

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

Highest point

2,753m

Maja e Korabitlowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m

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

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

Natural hazards

destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast

Environment - current issues

deforestation;
soil erosion;
water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents

Environment - international agreements

party to:: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified :: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

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

People

15 fields

Population

3,299,757

(July 1997 est.)growth rate: 0.9% (1997 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1997 est.)

Birth

21.96Death

7.54Net migration

-5.46

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1997 est.)

65.24 · 71.55

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1955 est.)72%

80% · 63%

MaleFemaleLife expectancy total population : 68.28 years · Literacy definition: age 9 and over can read and write

Ethnic groups(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 575,087; female 534,618)
15-64 years:: 60% (male 927,791; female 1,068,922)
65 years and over:: 6% (male 80,135; female 113,204) (July 1997 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 : 0.71 male(s)/female
total population:: 0.92 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate

47.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.64 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Albanian(s)
adjective:: Albanian

Languages

Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

Government

Emerging democracy; Prime Minister of the interim National Reconciliation Government Bashkim FINO (since 12 March 1997)

20 fields

Legislature, 140 seats, elected 26 May 1996one dot, one seat

DP 122PS 10RP 3UHP 3Balli Kombetar 2

Country name

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

Government type

emerging democracy

National 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)
head of government:: Prime Minister of the interim National Reconciliation Government Bashkim FINO (since 12 March 1997)
cabinet:: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections:: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term;
election last held NA 1992 (next to be held NA March 1997);
prime minister appointed by the president
election results :: Sali BERISHA elected president; percent of People's Assembly vote - NA

Legislative branch

unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (140 seats; most members are elected by direct popular vote and some by proportional vote for four-year terms)

elections:: last held 26 May 1996 (next tentatively scheduled for 29 June 1997)
election results:: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DP 122, PS 10, RP 3, UHP 3, Balli Kombetar 2

Judicial branch

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

Political parties and leaders

Albanian Socialist Party or PS (formerly the Albania Workers Party) [Fatos NANO, chairman];
Democratic Party or PD [Tritan SHEHU];
Albanian Republican Party or PR [Sabri GODO];
Social Democratic Party or SDP [Skender GJINUSHI];
Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Neritan CEKA, chairman];
Unity for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vasil MELO, chairman];
Movement for Democracy Party or LDP [ruled by committee of Genc RULI, Alfred SERREQI, Dashimir SHEHI, Maksim KONOMI];
Balli Kombetar [Hysen SELFO]

International organization participation

BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, 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 the 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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission :: Ambassador Marisa R. LINO (15 July 1996)
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 description

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.

22 fields

Real growth rate

(1996 est.)industrial production growth: 6% (1995 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

17.4%

(1996)

Unemployment rate

13%

(1996 est.)

Labor force

1.692million

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

GDP - composition by sector(1995)

agriculture 56%industry 21%services 23% (1995)

Budget

Revenues

$624 millionExpenditures

$996 million

expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA

Economy - 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. However, a weakening of government resolve to maintain stabilization policies in the election year of 1996 contributed to renewal of inflationary pressures, spurred by the budget deficit which exceeded 12%. The collapse of financial pyramid schemes in early 1997 - which had attracted deposits from a substantial portion of Albania's adult population - triggered unrest in much of the south in early 1997.

The economy continues to be buoyed by 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. Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes. Overall economic performance is likely to be substantially worse in 1997; inflation will easily top 50% and GDP may drop by 5% or more.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,290 (1996 est.)

Industries

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

Electricity - capacity

1.533 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production

3.86 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita

1,221 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products

wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock

Exports

total value:: $205 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities :: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
partners:: Italy, US, Greece, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Imports

total value:: $680 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities :: machinery, consumer goods, grains
partners:: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Communications

6 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

Transportation

9 fields

Railways

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

Highways

total:: 15,500 km
paved:: 4,650 km
unpaved:: 10,850 km (1995 est.)

total:: 6
over 3,047 m:: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m : 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (1994 est.)

Military

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

7 fields

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.5%

to 2.0% (1996)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes - international

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

Illicit drugs

increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe;
limited opium and cannabis production;
ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active in Central and Eastern Europe ALGERIA

Central Intelligence Agency. “Albania.” The World Factbook 1997. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/albania/1997.

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