1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

none; Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question with Greece

Climate

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

Coastline

362 km

Comparative area

slightly larger than Maryland

Environment

subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast; deforestation

Land boundaries

716 km total

Land use

21% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 15% meadows and pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes 1% irrigated

Special notes

strategic location on Strait of Otranto linking Adriatic Sea to Mediterranean Sea

Terrain

mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast

Territorial sea

15 nm

Total area

75 km lonian See

28,750 km?; land area: 27,400 km?

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

86.8/1,000 (1971)

Labor force

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

Language

Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek

Life expectancy

69

Literacy

75%

Nationality

noun—Albanian(s); adjective—Albanian

Population

3,085,985 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.03%

Religion

Albania claims to be the world’s first atheist state; all churches and mosques were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; pre-1967 estimates of religious affiliation—70% Muslim, 20% Albanian Orthodox, 10% Roman Catholic

Administrative divisions

26 rrethet (districts)

Branches

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

Capital

Tirané

Communists

147,000 party members (November 1986); 4.9% of population

Elections

national elections held every four years; last elections 1 February 1987 Political parties and leaders: Albanian Workers Party only; First Secretary, Ramiz Alia (since April 1985)

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)

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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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

National holiday

Liberation Day, 29 November

Official name

People’s Socialist Republic of Albania

Suffrage

universal and compulsory over age 18

Type

Communist state

Agriculture

corn, wheat, potatoes, tobacco, sugar beets, cotton

Budget

revenues $2.24 billion, expenditures $2.23 billion; state investment $1.1 billion (1986)

Electric power

1,840,000 kW capacity; 4,900 million kWh produced, 1,610 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$345 million (1985 est.); asphalt, bitumen, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, oil, vegetables, fruits, and tobacco

Fiscal year

calendar year

GNP

$2.7-2.9 billion (1986); about $930 per capita (1986)

Imports

$335 million (1985 est.); machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals

Major industries

agricultural products and processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, and extractive industries (chrome and oil)

Major trade partners

exports—Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Italy, Poland, France; imports—Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, FRG, Romania, Poland, Italy, Greece, France

Monetary conversion rate

4.14 leks=US$1 (1986)

Natural resources

oil, gas, coal, chromium

Shortages

spare parts, machinery and equipment, some food products and consumer goods

Airfields

10 total; 6 with runways 2,500 m or longer

Civil air

none

Freight carried

total freight—85.75 million metric tons; 1.946 billion metric tons/km; highways 1.298 billion metric tons/km; railways 618.8 million metric tons/km; internal waterways 29.2 million metric tons/km (1983)

Highways

4,989 km total; 1,287 km paved, 1,609 km crushed stone and/or gravel, 2,093 km improved or unimproved earth (1975)

Inland waterways

43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1979)

Pipelines

crude oil, 117 km; refined products, 65 km; natural gas, 64 km

Ports

| major (Durrés), 3 minor

Railroads

437 km—425 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track, government owned; 12 km narrow gauge, single track (1986); line connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkodér (Albania) completed August 1986

Telecommunications

14 AM, 4 FM, 9 TV stations; 50,000 TV sets; 210,000 receiver sets

Branches

Albanian People’s Army, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops, Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force

Military budget

announced for fiscal year ending 81 December 1986, 1 billion leks; 10.6% of total budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 830,000; 687,000 fit for military service; 34,000 reach military age (19) annually