Albania

Geography

Location:
  Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula between Serbia and Montenegro
  and Greece
Map references:
  Africa, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the
  World
Area:
 total area:
  28,750 km2
 land area:
  27,400 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
  total 720 km, Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km
  (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro)
Coastline:
  362 km
Maritime claims:
 continental shelf:
  not specified
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  Kosovo question with Serbia and Montenegro; Northern Epirus question with
  Greece
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
Natural resources:
  petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel
Land use:
 arable land:
  21%
 permanent crops:
  4%
 meadows and pastures:   15%
 forest and woodland:
  38%
 other:
  22%
Irrigated land:
  4,230 km2 (1989)
Environment:
  subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast
Note:
  strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea
  and Mediterranean Sea)

*Albania, People

Population:
  3,333,839 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  1.21% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  23.24 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  5.45 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -5.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  31.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  73 years
 male:
  70.01 years
 female:
  76.21 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  2.85 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Albanian(s)
 adjective:
  Albanian
Ethnic divisions:
  Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians)
  (1989 est.)
Religions:
  Muslim 70%, Greek 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:
  age 9 and over can read and write (1955)
 total population:
  72%
 male:
  80%
 female:
  63%
Labor force:
  1.5 million (1987)
 by occupation:
  agriculture 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)

*Albania, Government

Names:
 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
Digraph:
  AL
Type:
  nascent democracy
Capital:
  Tirane
Administrative divisions:
  26 districts (rrethe, singular - rreth); Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan,
  Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd,
  Lushnje, Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar,
  Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore
Independence:
  28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
Constitution:
  an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991;
  a new constitution was to be drafted for adoption in 1992, but is still in
  process
Legal system:
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)
Political parties and leaders:
  there are at least 18 political parties; most prominent are the Albanian
  Socialist Party (ASP; formerly the Albania Workers Party), Fatos NANO, first
  secretary; Democratic Party (DP), Eduard SELAMI, chairman; Albanian
  Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO; Omonia (Greek minority party), leader NA
  (ran in 1992 election as Unity for Human Rights Party (UHP)); Social
  Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI; Democratic Alliance Party (DAP),
  Spartak NGJELA, chairman
Suffrage:
  18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Elections:
 People's Assembly:
  last held 22 March 1992; results - DP 62.29%, ASP 25.57%, SDP 4.33%, RP
  3.15%, UHP 2.92%, other 1.74%; seats - (140 total) DP 92, ASP 38, SDP 7, RP
  1, UHP 2
Executive branch:
  president, prime minister of the Council of Ministers, two deputy prime
  ministers of the Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
  unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992)

*Albania, Government

 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since
  10 April 1992)
Member of:
  BSEC, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF, INTERPOL,
  IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Roland BIMO
 chancery:
  1511 K Street, NW, Washington, DC
 telephone:
  (202) 223-4942
 FAX:
  (202) 223-4950
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador William E. RYERSON
 embassy:
  Rruga Labinoti 103, room 2921, Tirane
 mailing address:
  PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624
 telephone:
  355-42-32875, 33520
 FAX:
  355-42-32222
Flag:
  red with a black two-headed eagle in the center

*Albania, Economy

Overview:
  The Albanian economy, already providing the lowest standard of living in
  Europe, contracted sharply in 1991, with most industries producing at only a
  fraction of past levels and an unemployment rate estimated at 40%. For over
  40 years, the Stalinist-type economy operated on the principle of central
  planning and state ownership of the means of production. Fitful economic
  reforms begun during 1991, including the liberalization of prices and trade,
  the privatization of shops and transport, and land reform, were crippled by
  widespread civil disorder. Following its overwhelming victory in the 22
  March 1992 elections, the new Democratic government announced a program of
  shock therapy to stabilize the economy and establish a market economy. In an
  effort to expand international ties, Tirane has reestablished diplomatic
  relations with the major republics of the former Soviet Union and the US and
  has joined the IMF and the World Bank. The Albanians have also passed
  legislation allowing foreign investment, but not foreign ownership of real
  estate. Albania possesses considerable mineral resources and, until 1990,
  was largely self-sufficient in food; however, the breakup of cooperative
  farms in 1991 and general economic decline forced Albania to rely on foreign
  aid to maintain adequate supplies. In 1992 the government tightened
  budgetary contols leading to another drop in domestic output. The
  agricultural sector is steadily gaining from the privatization process. Low
  domestic output is supplemented by remittances from the 200,000 Albanians
  working abroad.
National product:
  GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $2.5 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  -10% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $760 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  210% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  40% (1992 est.)
Budget:
  revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.4 billion, including capital
  expenditures of $70 million (1991 est.)
Exports:
  $45 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables,
  fruits, tobacco
 partners:
  Italy, Macedonia, Germany, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania,
  Bulgaria, Hungary
Imports:
  $120 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  machinery, consumer goods, grains
 partners:
  Italy, Macedonia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary,
  Bulgaria, Greece
External debt:
  $500 million (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate -55% (1991 est.)
Electricity:   1,690,000 kW capacity; 5,000 million kWh produced, 1,520 kWh per
 capita
  (1992)

*Albania, Economy

Industries:
  food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, oil, cement, chemicals,
  mining, basic metals, hydropower
Agriculture:
  arable land per capita among lowest in Europe; over 60% of arable land now
  in private hands; one-half of work force engaged in farming; wide range of
  temperate-zone crops and livestock
Illicit drugs:
  transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route
Economic aid:
  recipient - $190 million humanitarian aid, $94 million in
  loans/guarantees/credits
Currency:
  1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Exchange rates:
  leke (L) per US$1 - 97 (January 1993), 50 (January 1992), 25 (September
  1991)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year

*Albania, Communications

Railroads:
  543 km total; 509 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and 34 km
  narrow gauge, single track (1990); line connecting Titograd (Serbia and
  Montenegro) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986
Highways:
  16,700 km total; 6,700 km highways, 10,000 km forest and agricultural cart
  roads (1990)
Inland waterways:
  43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa
  (1990)
Pipelines:
  crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991)
Ports:
  Durres, Sarande, Vlore
Merchant marine:
  11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,967 GRT/76,887 DWT
Airports:
 total:
  12
 usable:
  10
 with permanent-surface runways:
  3
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0  with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  6
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  4
Telecommunications:
  inadequate service; 15,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 13 AM, 1 TV;
  514,000 radios, 255,000 TVs (1987 est.)

*Albania, Defense Forces

Branches:
  Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 896,613; fit for military service 739,359; reach military
  age (19) annually 32,740 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  215 million leke, NA% of GNP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense
  expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce
  misleading results