Albania

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 severe unemployment, the collapse of a fraudulent nationwide investment scheme, widespread gangsterism, and massive refugee influxes from neighboring Kosovo.

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

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

0-14 years:

30% (male 545,329; female 507,589)

15-64 years:

63% (male 1,056,583; female 1,141,664)

65 years and over:

7% (male 104,086; female 135,184) (2000 est.)

at birth:

1.08 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.77 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

total population:

71.57 years

male:

68.75 years

female:

74.59 years (2000 est.)

noun:

Albanian(s)

adjective:

Albanian

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

chief of state:

President of the Republic Rexhep MEIDANI (since 24 July 1997)

head of government:

Prime Minister Ilir META (since 29 October 1999)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president

elections:

• president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term;
• election last held 24 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002);
• prime minister appointed 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

• Albanian Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEHDIU];
• Albanian Socialist Party or PS (formerly the Albania Workers Party) [Fatos NANO, chairman];
• Albanian United Right or DBSH (includes
  • PBK,
  • Albanian Republican Party or PRS,
  • AND PDD) [Abaz ERMENJI]
  ;
• Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Zef BUSHATI];
• Democratic Alliance or PAD [Neritan CEKA];
• Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA];
• Democratic Party of the Right or PDD [Petrit KALAKULA];
• Liberal Union Party [Teodor LACO];
• Movement of Legality Party or PLL [Ekrem SPAHIA];
• National Front (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Abaz ERMENJI];
• Party of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQIRI];
• Right National Front [Hysni SELFO];
• Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI];
• Unity for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vasil MELO, chairman];
• note - Teodar LACO of the Liberal Union Party was leader of the Social Democratic Union of Albania or PBSD

chief of mission:

Ambassador Petrit BUSHATI

chancery:

2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 223-4942

FAX:

[1] (202) 628-7342

chief of mission:

Ambassador Joseph LIMPRECHT

embassy:

Rruga Elbasanit 103, Tirana

mailing address:

American Embassy, Tirana, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-9510

telephone:

[355] (42) 47285 through 47289

FAX:

[355] (42) 32222

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• textiles and footwear;
• asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil;
• vegetables, fruits, tobacco

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

total:

670 km

standard gauge:

670 km 1.435-m gauge (1996)

total:

18,000 km

paved:

5,400 km

unpaved:

12,600 km (1998 est.)

total:

6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,907 GRT/16,101 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 6 (1999 est.)

• the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders but has downplayed them to further its primary foreign policy goal of regional cooperation;
• Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic;
• Albanians in The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public-sector jobs, and representation in government

• 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 cannabis production;
• ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]