1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
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
Disputes
Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question with Greece
Environment
subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast; deforestation seems to be slowing
Land boundaries
768 km total; Greece 282 km, Yugoslavia 486 km
Land use
arable land 21%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures 15%; forest and woodland 38%; other 22%; includes irrigated 1%
Maritime claims
Continental shelf: not specified; Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel
Note
strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
Terrain
mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Total area
28,750 km2; land area: 27,400 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
24 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
Infant mortality rate
50 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
1,500,000 (1987); agriculture about 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)
Language
Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek
Life expectancy at birth
72 years male, 79 years female (1991)
Literacy
72% (male 80%, female 63%) age 9 and over can read and write (1955)
Nationality
noun--Albanian(s); adjective--Albanian
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000 members
Population
3,335,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.8% (1991)
Religion
all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990 Albania began allowing private religious practice and was considering the repeal of the constitutional amendment banning religious activities; estimates of religious affiliation--Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
Total fertility rate
2.9 children born/woman (1991)
Government
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
Capital
Tirane
Communists
147,000 party members (November 1986); note--in March 1991 the Albanian Workers' Party announced that it considered itself no longer Communist but socialist
Constitution
an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991; a new constitution is to be drafted for adoption in four to six months
Diplomatic representation
the Governments of the United States and Albania agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations to be effective from 15 March 1991 and to exchange diplomatic missions at the level of ambassador
Elections
President--last held 30 April 1991 (next to be held spring 1992); results--President Ramiz ALIA was reelected with token opposition; People's Assembly--last held 31 March 1991 (next to be held spring 1992); results--AWP 68%, DP 25%; seats--(250 total) preliminary results AWP 168, DP 75, Omonia 5, Veterans Association 1, other 1; note--the AWP's votes came mostly from the countryside while the DP won majorities in the six-largest cities;
Executive branch
president, prime minister of the Council of Ministers, one deputy prime minister of the Council of Ministers
Flag
red with a black two-headed eagle in the center below a red five-pointed star outlined in yellow
Independence
28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire); People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Leaders
Chief of State--President of the Republic Ramiz ALIA (since 22 November 1982); Head of Government--Prime Minister of the interim Council of Ministers Ylli BUFI (since 5 June 1991);
Legal system
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor)
Long-form name
Republic of Albania
Member of
ECE, FAO, IAEA, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
National holiday
Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)
Political parties and leaders
Albanian Workers Party (AWP), Ramiz ALIA, first secretary; Democratic Party (DP), Sali BERISHA, chairman and cofounder with Gramoz PASHKO; Albanian Republican Party, Sabri GODO; Ecology Party, Namik HOTI; Omonia (Greek minority party), leader NA; Agrarian Party, leader NA; note--in December 1990 President ALIA allowed new political parties to be formed in addition to the AWP for the first time since 1944
Suffrage
universal and compulsory at age 18
Type
nascent democracy with strong Communist party influence; basic law has dropped all references to socialism
Economy
Agriculture
arable land per capita among lowest in Europe; one-half of work force engaged in farming; produces wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock; claims self-sufficiency in grain output
Budget
revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
Currency
lek (plural--leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Economic aid
Western (non-US) countries, ODA (1988) $5.8 million
Electricity
1,690,000 kW capacity; 5,000 million kWh produced, 1,530 kWh per capita (1990)
Exchange rates
leke (L) per US$1--8.00 (noncommercial fixed rate since 1986), 4.14 (commercial fixed rate since 1987)
Exports
$378 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--asphalt, bitumen, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary
External debt
$NA
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$4.1 billion, per capita $1,250; real growth rate NA% (1990 est.)
Imports
$255 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, GDR
Industrial production
growth rate NA
Industries
food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, basic metals, hydropower
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
NA%
Overview
As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy. For over 40 years, the Stalinist-type economy has operated on the principles of central planning and state ownership of the means of production. In recent years Albania has implemented limited economic reforms to stimulate its lagging economy, provide incentives, and decentralize decisionmaking. In an effort to expand international ties, Tirane has reestablished diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and the US. The Albanians have also passed legislation allowing foreign investment. Albania possesses considerable mineral resources and, until 1990, was largely self-sufficient in food; several years of drought have hindered agricultural development. Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are subject to an especially wide margin of error because the government until recently did not release economic information.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Airports
12 total, 10 usable; more than 5 with permanent-surface runways; more than 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Highways
16,700 km total; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km forest and agricultural (1990)
Inland waterways
43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
Merchant marine
11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886 GRT/75,993 DWT
Pipelines
crude oil, 145 km; refined products, 55 km; natural gas, 64 km (1988)
Ports
Durres, Sarande, Vlore
Railroads
543 km total; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and 34 km narrow gauge, single track (1990); line connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986
Telecommunications
stations--17 AM, 1 FM, 9 TV; 246,000 TVs (1990); 210,000 radios
Military and Security
Branches
Albanian People's Army, Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops
Defense expenditures
1.0 billion leks, NA% of GDP (FY90); note--conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 900,723; 743,594 fit for military service; 33,497 reach military age (19) annually