Albania

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

total:

1.71 cu km/yr (27%/11%/62%)

per capita:

546 cu m/yr (2000)

• destructive earthquakes;
• tsunamis occur along southwestern coast;
• floods;
• drought

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

party to:

Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.1 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

1.04 male(s)/female (2009 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

name:

Tirana (Tirane)

geographic coordinates:

41 19 N, 19 49 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• approved by parliament on 21 October 1998;
• adopted by popular referendum on 22 November 1998;
• promulgated 28 November 1998

• has a civil law system;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction;
• has accepted jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for its citizens

chief of state:

President of the Republic Bamir TOPI (since 24 July 2007)

head of government:

Prime Minister Sali BERISHA (since 10 September 2005)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and approved by parliament

elections:

• president elected by the Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• four election rounds held between 8 and 20 July 2007 (next election to be held in 2012);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Bamir TOPI elected president; Assembly vote, fourth round (three-fifths majority (84 votes) required): Bamir TOPI 85 votes, Neritan CEKA 5 votes

• Agrarian Environmentalist Party or PAA [Lufter XHUVELI];
• Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Nard NDOKA];
• Communist Party of Albania or PKSH [Hysni MILLOSHI];
• Democratic Alliance Party or AD [Neritan CEKA];
• Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA];
• G99 Political Movement [Erion VELIAJ];
• Liberal Union Party or BLD [Arjan STAROVA];
• National Front Party (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Artur ROSHI];
• New Democratic Party or PDR [Genc POLLO];
• Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU];
• Social Democracy Party of Albania or PDSSh [Paskal MILO];
• Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI];
• Socialist Movement for Integration or LSI [Ilir META];
• Socialist Party or PS [Edi RAMA];
• Socialist Party 1991 [Petro KOCI];
• Union for Human Rights Party or PBDNj [Vangjel DULE]

• Citizens Advocacy Office [Kreshnik SPAHIU];
• Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania or KSSH [Kastriot MUCO];
• Front for Albanian National Unification or FBKSH [Gafur ADILI];
• Mjaft Movement;
• Omonia [Jani JANI];
• Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania or BSPSH [Gezim KALAJA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Aleksander SALLABANDA

chancery:

2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 223-4942

FAX:

[1] (202) 628-7342

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador John L. WITHERS, II

embassy:

Rruga e Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana

mailing address:

US Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Dulles, VA 20189-9510

telephone:

[355] (4) 2247285

FAX:

[355] (4) 2232222

• red with a black two-headed eagle in the center;
• the design is claimed to be that of 15th-century hero George Castriota SKANDERBERG, who led a successful uprising against the Turks that resulted in a short-lived independence for some Albanian regions (1443-1478)

agriculture:

58%

industry:

15%

services:

27% (September 2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.2%

highest 10%:

25.9% (2005)

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

general assessment:

• despite new investment in fixed lines, the density of main lines remains low with roughly 10 lines per 100 people;
• cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective;
• combined fixed line and mobile telephone density is approaching 100 telephones per 100 persons

domestic:

• offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile phone service has been available since 1996;
• by 2003, two companies were providing mobile services at a greater density than some of Albania's neighbors;
• Internet broadband services initiated in 2005;
• Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread outside the capital

international:

• country code - 355;
• submarine cable provides connectivity to Italy, Croatia, and Greece;
• the Trans-Balkan Line, a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system, provides additional connectivity to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey;
• international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and, when necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece (2008)

total:

896 km

country comparison to the world: 96

standard gauge:

896 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

total:

18,000 km

country comparison to the world: 117

paved:

7,020 km

unpaved:

10,980 km (2002)

males age 16-49:

944,592

females age 16-49:

908,527 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

800,665

females age 16-49:

768,536 (2009 est.)

male:

34,778

female:

31,673 (2009 est.)

• the Albanian Government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in neighboring countries, and the peaceful resolution of interethnic disputes;
• some ethnic Albanian groups in neighboring countries advocate for a "greater Albania," but the idea has little appeal among Albanian nationals;
• the mass emigration of unemployed Albanians remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy

current situation:

• Albania is a source country for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor;
• it is no longer considered a major country of transit;
• Albanian victims are trafficked to Greece, Italy, Macedonia, and Kosovo, with many trafficked onward to Western European countries;
• children were also trafficked to Greece for begging and other forms of child labor;
• approximately half of all Albanian trafficking victims are under age 18;
• internal sex trafficking of women and children is on the rise

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Albania is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007, particularly in the area of victim protection;
• the government did not appropriately identify trafficking victims during 2007, and has not demonstrated that it is vigorously investigating or prosecuting complicit officials (2008)

• increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe;
• limited opium and expanding cannabis production;
• ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and expanding in Europe;
• vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens