Albania

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

total:

1.31 cu km/yr (43%/18%/39%)

per capita:

413.6 cu m/yr (2006)

• 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

noun:

Albanian(s)

adjective:

Albanian

at birth:

1.11 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.12 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.91 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.89 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

total number:

72,818

percentage:

12 % (2005 est.)

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

• several previous;
• latest approved by parliament 21 October 1998, adopted by popular referendum 22 November 1998, promulgated 28 November 1998;
• amended 2007, 2008, 2012 (2014)

chief of state:

President of the Republic Bujar NISHANI (since 24 July 2012)

head of government:

Prime Minister Edi Rama (since 10 September 2013)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and approved by parliament; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president is elected by the Assembly for a five-year term and is eligible for a second term (a candidate needs a three-fifths majority of the Assembly's 140 votes (84 votes) in one of the first three rounds of voting or a simple majority in round four or five to become president; up to five rounds of voting are held, if necessary);
• four election rounds held between 30 May and 11 June 2012 (next election to be held in 2017);
• prime minister appointed by the president on the proposal of the party or coalition of parties that has the majority of seats in the Assembly

election results:

• Bujar NISHANI elected president on fourth round of voting;
• Assembly vote (for first three rounds three-fifths majority, 84 votes, required; fourth round, a simple majority of votes is required): Bujar NISHANI 73 votes

highest court(s):

Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges, including a chairman); Court of Cassation (consists of 14 judges, including the chief justice)

judge selection and term of office:

• Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president with the consent of the Assembly to serve single 9-year terms;
• chairman elected by the People's Assembly for single 3-year term;
• Court of Cassation judges, including the chairman, appointed by the president with the consent of the Assembly to serve single, 9-year terms)

subordinate courts:

Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance

• Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania or KSSH [Kol NIKOLLAJ]
• Omonia [Vasil BOLLANO]
• Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania or BSPSH [Gezim KALAJA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Gilbert GALANXHI (since 5 January 2011)

chancery:

1312 18th Street NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 223-4942

FAX:

[1] (202) 628-7342

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Alexander ARVIZU (since 10 November 2010)

embassy:

Rruga e Elbasanit, 103, Tirana

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[355] (4) 2247-285

FAX:

[355] (4) 2232-222

• red with a black two-headed eagle in the center;
• the design is claimed to be that of 15th-century hero George Kastrioti SKANDERBEG, who led a successful uprising against the Turks that resulted in a short-lived independence for some Albanian regions (1443-78);
• an unsubstantiated explanation for the eagle symbol is the tradition that Albanians see themselves as descendants of the eagle;
• they refer to themselves as "Shqipetare," which translates as "sons of the eagle"

• wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes;
• meat, dairy products;
• sheep

• food and tobacco products;
• textiles and clothing;
• lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower

agriculture:

54.6%

industry:

12.8%

services:

32.6%

(December 2012 est)

lowest 10%:

3.5%

highest 10%:

29% (2008)

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

general assessment:

• despite new investment in fixed lines, teledensity remains low with roughly 10 fixed lines per 100 people;
• mobile-cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective

domestic:

• offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile-cellular phone service has been available since 1996;
• by 2011 multiple companies were providing mobile services and mobile teledensity had reached 100 per 100 persons;
• Internet broadband services initiated in 2005 but growth has been slow;
• 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 (2011)

• 3 public TV networks, one of which transmits by satellite to Albanian-language communities in neighboring countries;
• more than 60 private TV stations;
• many viewers can pick up Italian and Greek TV broadcasts via terrestrial reception;
• cable TV service is available;
• 2 public radio networks and roughly 25 private radio stations;
• several international broadcasters are available (2010)

total:

339 km

country comparison to the world: 117

standard gauge:

339 km 1.435-m gauge (2009)

total:

18,000 km

country comparison to the world: 116

paved:

7,020 km

unpaved:

10,980 km (2002)

males age 16-49:

731,111

females age 16-49:

780,216 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

622,379

females age 16-49:

660,715 (2010 est.)

male:

31,986

female:

29,533 (2010 est.)

current situation:

• Albania is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• Albanian victims of sexual exploitation are trafficked within Albania and in Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Kosovo, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, and the UK;
• some Albanian women become sex trafficking victims after accepting offers of legitimate jobs;
• Albanian children are forced to beg or perform other forms of forced labor;
• Filipino victims of labor trafficking were identified in Albania during 2012

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Albania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• the government decreased its trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and convictions over the last year and, because of inconsistent implementation of operating procedures, continues to punish victims for unlawful acts that are a direct result of being subjected to sex trafficking;
• the high turnover rate of law enforcement personnel prevents progress at the local level in identifying and protecting trafficking victims;
• removal of the national anti-trafficking coordinator hinders efforts to implement the 2011 national action plan against trafficking;
• the government provides limited funding to NGO shelters (2013)

• 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