1986 Edition

Airfields

41 total, 34 usable; 12 with permanent-surface runways; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 16 with runways 1, 220-2,439 m

Branches

Armed Forces, Air and Defense Forces, border guard forces, Defense of the Revolution Force, National Police Force, Government Information Service, People's Militia, operational battalions

legislature (People's Assembly), Council of Ministers, judiciary

Capital

Tirane

Civil air

5 major transport aircraft

Coastline

418 km (including Sazan Island) People

Communists

122,600 party members (November 1981); 4.5% of population

Elections

national elections held every four years; last elections 12 November 1982; 100% of electorate voted (with one dissenting vote) Political parties and leaders: Albanian Workers Party only; First Secretary, Ramiz Alia (since April 1985)

Ethnic divisions

96% Albanian; remaining 4% are Greeks, Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians

Government leaders

Ramiz ALIA, Chairman, Presidium of the People's Assembly (chief of state; since November 1982); Adil CARCANI, Chairman, Council of Ministers (premier; since November 1982)

Highways

21,000 km total (1984); 2,800 km hard surface, 1,650 km bituminous treated gravel and improved earth, 16,550 km unimproved earth and tracks

Infant mortality rate

86.8/1,000(1971)

Inland waterways

total navigability 1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles steamers up to about 500 metric tons

Labor force

584,000 (1978); about 22% agriculture, 40% industry and commerce, 38% other (1978) Government

Land boundaries

716 km Water

Language

Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek

Legal system

based on constitution adopted in 1976; judicial review of legislative acts only in the Presidium of the People's Assembly, which is not a true court; legal education at University of Tirane; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Life expectancy

69

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

15 nm

Literacy

75%

Member of

CEMA, FAO, IAEA, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO; has not participated in CEMA since rift with USSR in 1961; officially withdrew from Warsaw Pact 13 September 1968

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 20 March 1984, $210 million, about 63% of central government budget Adriatic Sea Ionian Set See regional imp V Land 28,748 km2; slightly larger than Maryland; 43% forest and wood; 21% arable; 19% meadows and pasture; 5% permanent crop; 5% inland water; 7% other

Military manpower

males 15-49, about 3,657,000; 2,030,000 fit for military service; about 149,000 reach military age (22) annually

National holiday

Liberation Day, 29 November

Nationality

noun — Albanian(s); adjective — Albanian

Official name

People's Socialist Republic of

Pipelines

natural gas, 180 km

Political subdivisions

26 rrethet (districts)

Population

3,020,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 2.0%

Ports

3 minor river ports; largest Shir Khan

Railroads

9.6 km (single track) 1.524-meter gauge, spur of Soviet line from Kushka (USSR) to Towraghondt and from Termez (USSR) to Kheyrabad Transhipment Point (15 km) on south bank Amu Darya (government owned)

Religion

Albania claims to be the world's first atheist state; prewar est. — 70% Muslim, 20% Albanian Orthodox, 10% Roman Catholic; observances prohibited

Suffrage

universal and compulsory over age

Supply

dependent on foreign sources, almost exclusively the USSR

Telecommunications

limited telephone, telegraph, and radiobroadcast services; television introduced in 1980; 31,200 telephones (0.2 per 100 popl.); 5 AM and no FM stations, 1 TV station, 1 earth satellite station Defense Forces

Type

Communist state