Albania

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

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

noun:

Albanian(s)

adjective:

Albanian

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.1 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.11 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.92 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.66 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

total:

4.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

1.75 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

1.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1.43 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

22.4% (2020 est.)

male:

38.8% (2020 est.)

female:

6% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

1.4%

women married by age 18:

11.8%

men married by age 18:

1.2% (2018 est.)

• deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents;
• air pollution from industrial and power plants;
• loss of biodiversity due to lack of resources for sound environmental management

particulate matter emissions:

17.87 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

4.54 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

2.55 megatons (2020 est.)

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

urban population:

64.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.29% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

municipal:

283 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

231.8 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

905 million cubic meters (2017 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

etymology:

• the English-language country name seems to be derived from the ancient Illyrian tribe of the Albani;
• the native name "Shqiperia" is derived from the Albanian word "Shqiponje" ("Eagle") and is popularly interpreted to mean "Land of the Eagles"

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

etymology:

• the name Tirana first appears in a 1418 Venetian document;
• the origin of the name is unclear, but may derive from Tirkan Fortress, whose ruins survive on the slopes of Dajti mountain and which overlooks the city

history:

several previous; latest approved by the Assembly 21 October 1998, adopted by referendum 22 November 1998, promulgated 28 November 1998

amendments:

• proposed by at least one fifth of the Assembly membership;
• passage requires at least a two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly;
• referendum required only if approved by two thirds of the Assembly;
• amendments approved by referendum effective upon declaration by the president of the republic;
• amended several times, last in 2020

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Albania

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President of the Republic Bajram BEGAJ (since 24 July 2022)

head of government:

Prime Minister Edi RAMA (since 10 September 2013); Deputy Prime Minister Arben AHMETAJ (since 18 September 2021)

cabinet:

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

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by the Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• a candidate needs three-fifths majority vote of the Assembly in 1 of 3 rounds or a simple majority in 2 additional rounds to become president;
• election last held in 4 rounds on 16, 23, and 30 May and 4 June 2022 (next election to be held in 2027);
• prime minister appointed by the president on the proposal of the majority party or coalition of parties in the Assembly

election results:

2022: Bajram BEGAJ elected president in the fourth round; Assembly vote - 78-4, opposition parties boycotted; 2017: Ilir META elected president in the fourth round; Assembly vote - 87-2

description:

unicameral Assembly or Kuvendi (140 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 25 April 2021 (next to be held in 2025)

election results:

• percent of vote by party/coalition - PS 48.7%, PD-Alliance for Change 39.4%, LSI 6.8%, PSD 2.3%, other 2.8%;
• seats by party/coalition - PS 74, PD-Alliance for Change 59, LSI 4, PSD 3;
• composition - men 93, women 47, percent of women 33.6%

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of 19 judges, including the chief justice); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges, including the chairman)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges appointed by the High Judicial Council with the consent of the president to serve single 9-year terms;
• Supreme Court chairman is elected for a single 3-year term by the court members;
• appointments of Constitutional Court judges are rotated among the president, Parliament, and Supreme Court from a list of pre-qualified candidates (each institution selects 3 judges), to serve single 9-year terms;
• candidates are pre-qualified by a randomly selected body of experienced judges and prosecutors;
• Constitutional Court chairman is elected by the court members for a single, renewable 3-year term

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal;
• Courts of First Instance;
• specialized courts: Court for Corruption and Organized Crime, Appeals Court for Corruption and Organized Crime (responsible for corruption, organized crime, and crimes of high officials)

• Alliance for Change (electoral coalition led by PD)
• Democratic Party or PD [Enkelejd ALIBEAJ, interim leader]
• Party for Justice, Integration and Unity or PDIU [Shpetim IDRIZI] (part of the Alliance for Change)
• Social Democratic Party or PSD [Tom DOSHI]
• Socialist Movement for Integration or LSI [Monika KRYEMADHI]
• Socialist Party or PS [Edi RAMA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Floreta LULI-FABER (since 18 May 2015)

chancery:

2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 223-4942

FAX:

[1] (202) 628-7342

email address and website:

[email protected]; http://www.ambasadat.gov.al/usa/en

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Yuri KIM (since 27 January 2020)

embassy:

Rruga Stavro Vinjau, No. 14, Tirana

mailing address:

9510 Tirana Place, Washington DC 20521-9510

telephone:

[355] 4 2247-285

FAX:

[355] 4 2232-222

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://al.usembassy.gov/

• red with a black two-headed eagle in the center;
• the design is claimed to be that of 15th-century hero Georgi Kastrioti SKANDERBEG, who led a successful uprising against the Ottoman 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 "Shqiptare," which translates as "sons of the eagle"

name:

"Hymni i Flamurit" (Hymn to the Flag)

lyrics/music:

Aleksander Stavre DRENOVA/Ciprian PORUMBESCU

note: adopted 1912

total World Heritage Sites:

4 (2 cultural, 1 natural, 1 mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Butrint (c);
• Historic Berat and Gjirokastër (c);
• Primeval Beech Forests (n);
• Lake Ohrid Region (m)

• food;
• footwear, apparel and clothing;
• lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower

agriculture:

41.4%

industry:

18.3%

services:

40.3% (2017 est.)

total:

27%

male:

27.8%

female:

25.9% (2019 est.)

lowest 10%:

4.1%

highest 10%:

19.6% (2015 est.)

production:

9,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

119,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

110,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

522 million metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

16,100 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

26,400 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

10,500 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

150 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

42.05 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

consumption:

42.05 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

proven reserves:

5.692 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• Albania has more than 65 TV stations, including several that broadcast nationally;
• Albanian TV broadcasts are also available to Albanian-speaking populations in neighboring countries;
• many viewers have access to Italian and Greek TV broadcasts via terrestrial reception;
• Albania's TV stations have begun a government-mandated conversion from analog to digital broadcast;
• the government has pledged to provide analog-to-digital converters to low-income families affected by this decision;
• cable TV service is available;
• 2 public radio networks and roughly 78 private radio stations;
• several international broadcasters are available (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

2 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 5

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

303,137 (2018)

total:

677 km (2015) (447 km of major railway lines and 230 km of secondary lines)

standard gauge:

677 km (2015) 1.435-m gauge

• the Albanian military was previously equipped with mostly Soviet-era weapons that were sold or destroyed;
• its inventory now includes a mix of mostly donated and second-hand European and US equipment;
• since 2010, it has received limited amounts of equipment from France, Germany, and the US (2021)

• 19 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service;
• 18 is the legal minimum age in case of general/partial compulsory mobilization;
• conscription abolished 2010 (2021)

note: as of 2020, women comprised about 14% of the military's full-time personnel, including 20% of the officers

• active transshipment point for Albanian narco-trafficking organizations moving illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin from Turkey and countries in South America and Asia throughout Europe;
• significant source country for cannabis production