From Wikitravel

[edit] Geography

Location 

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

Geographic coordinates 

41 00 N, 20 00 E

Map references 

Europe

Area 

total: 28,748 sq km
water: 1,350 sq km
land: 27,398 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries 

total: 720 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km

Coastline 

362 km

Maritime claims 

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM

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

Elevation extremes 

lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m

Natural resources 

petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower

Land use 

arable land: 21.09%
permanent crops: 4.45%
other: 74.46% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

3,400 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards 

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

Environment - current issues 

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

Geography - note 

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

[edit] People

Population 

3,544,841 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure 

0-14 years: 28.8% (male 528,678; female 493,531)
15-64 years: 64% (male 1,094,034; female 1,175,024)
65 years and over: 7.2% (male 111,524; female 142,050) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

1.06% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

18.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 

-1.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio 

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

38.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 72.1 years
female: 75.14 years (2002 est.)
male: 69.27 years

Total fertility rate 

2.27 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 

less than 0.01% (1999 est.)

Nationality 

noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian

Ethnic groups 

Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Gypsy, Serb, and Bulgarian) (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

Languages 

Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

Literacy 

definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 93% (1997 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

[edit] Government

Country name 

conventional long form: Republic of Albania
conventional short form: Albania
local short form: Shqiperia
former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania
local long form: Republika e Shqiperise

Government type 

emerging democracy

Capital 

Tirana

Administrative divisions 

12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Qarku i Beratit, Qarku i Dibres, Qarku i Durresit, Qarku i Elbasanit, Qarku i Fierit, Qarku i Gjirokastres, Qarku i Korces, Qarku i Kukesit, Qarku i Lezhes, Qarku i Shkodres, Qarku i Tiranes, Qarku i Vlores

Independence 

28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)

National holiday 

Independence Day, 28 November (1912)

Constitution 

a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote

Legal system 

has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage 

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Flag description 

red with a black two-headed eagle in the center

[edit] Economy

Economy - overview 

Poor and backward by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime and to revive economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by remittances from abroad of $400-$600 million annually, mostly from Greece and Italy. Agriculture, which accounts for half of GDP, is held back because of frequent drought and the need to modernize equipment and consolidate small plots of land. Severe energy shortages are forcing small firms out of business, increasing unemployment, scaring off foreign investors, and spurring inflation. The government plans to boost energy imports to relieve the shortages.

Population below poverty line 

30% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share 

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 

6% (2002 est.)

Labor force 

1.283 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation 

agriculture 50%, industry and services 50%

Unemployment rate 

17% officially (2001 est.); may be as high as 30% (2001)

Budget 

revenues: $697 million
expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $368 million (2002 est.)

Industries 

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

Industrial production growth rate 

9% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production 

4.738 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 

5.378 billion kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products 

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

Exports 

$340 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities 

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

Exports - partners 

Italy 71%, Greece 12%, Germany 7%, Yugoslavia 3% (2001)

Imports 

$1.5 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities 

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals

Imports - partners 

Italy 32%, Greece 26%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 2% (2001)

Currency 

lek (ALL)

Currency code 

ALL

Exchange rates 

leke per US dollar - 140.16 (November 2001), 143.71 (2000) 137.69 (1999), 150.63 (1998), 148.93 (1997); note - leke is the plural of lek

Fiscal year 

calendar year

[edit] Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

120,000 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

250,000 (2001)

Telephone system 

general assessment: Albania has the poorest telephone service in Europe with fewer than two telephones per 100 inhabitants; it is doubtful that every village has telephone service
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

Radio broadcast stations 

AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001)

Radios 

1 million (2001)

Television broadcast stations 

3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001)

Televisions 

700,000 (2001)

Internet country code 

.al

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

10 (2001)

Internet users 

12,000 (2001)

[edit] Transportation

Railways 

total: 447 km
standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001 est.)

Highways 

total: 18,000 km
paved: 5,400 km
unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.)

Waterways 

43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)

Pipelines 

crude oil 196 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1996)

Ports and harbors 

Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore

Airports 

11 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways 

total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 4 (2002)
914 to 1,523 m: 2
over 3,047 m: 1

Heliports 

1 (2002)

[edit] Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders in the Kosovo region of Serbia and Montenegro and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia while continuing to seek regional cooperation; many Albanians illegally transit neighboring states to emigrate to western Europe

Illicit drugs 

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 growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens

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