1997 Edition

Area

total: 28,750 sq km land: 27,400 sq km water: 1,350 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Maryland

Climate

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

Coastline

362 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point : Maja e Korabit 2,753 m

Environment - current issues

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

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Wetlands signed, but not ratified : none of the selected agreements

Geographic coordinates

41 00 N, 20 00 E

Geography - note

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

Irrigated land

3,410 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

total: 720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro)

Land use

arable land: 21% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 38% other: 21% (1993 est.)

Location

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

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

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

Natural hazards

destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast

Natural resources

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

Terrain

mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast

Age structure

0-14 years: 34% (male 575,087; female 534,618) 15-64 years: 60% (male 927,791; female 1,068,922) 65 years and over: 6% (male 80,135; female 113,204) (July 1997 est.)

Birth rate

21.96 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate

7.54 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Ethnic groups

Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.) note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)

Infant mortality rate

47.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Languages

Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

Life expectancy at birth

total population : 68.28 years male: 65.24 years female: 71.55 years (1997 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population: 72% male: 80% female: 63% (1955 est.)

Nationality

noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian

Net migration rate

-5.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Population

3,299,757 (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate

0.9% (1997 est.)

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

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female 65 years and over : 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.64 children born/woman (1997 est.)

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 note: some new administrative units may have been created

Constitution

an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991; a draft constitution was rejected by popular referendum in the fall of 1994 and a new draft is pending

Country name

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

Data code

AL

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission : Ambassador Marisa R. LINO (15 July 1996) embassy: Rruga E. Labinoti 103, Tirane mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624 telephone: [355] (42) 328-75, 335-20

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission : Ambassador Lublin DILJA chancery: Suite 1000, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942, 8187

Executive branch

chief of state : President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992) head of government: Prime Minister of the interim National Reconciliation Government Bashkim FINO (since 12 March 1997) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term; election last held NA 1992 (next to be held NA March 1997); prime minister appointed by the president election results : Sali BERISHA elected president; percent of People's Assembly vote - NA

FAX

[1] (202) 628-7342

[355] (42) 322-22

Flag description

red with a black two-headed eagle in the center

Government type

emerging democracy

Independence

28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)

International organization participation

BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NACC, OIC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, chairman of the Supreme Court is elected by the People's Assembly

Legal system

has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (140 seats; most members are elected by direct popular vote and some by proportional vote for four-year terms) elections: last held 26 May 1996 (next tentatively scheduled for 29 June 1997) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DP 122, PS 10, RP 3, UHP 3, Balli Kombetar 2

National capital

Tirane

National holiday

Independence Day, 28 November (1912)

Political parties and leaders

Albanian Socialist Party or PS (formerly the Albania Workers Party) [Fatos NANO, chairman]; Democratic Party or PD [Tritan SHEHU]; Albanian Republican Party or PR [Sabri GODO]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Skender GJINUSHI]; Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Neritan CEKA, chairman]; Unity for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vasil MELO, chairman]; Movement for Democracy Party or LDP [ruled by committee of Genc RULI, Alfred SERREQI, Dashimir SHEHI, Maksim KONOMI]; Balli Kombetar [Hysen SELFO]

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Agriculture - products

wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock

Budget

revenues: $624 million expenditures : $996 million, including capital expenditures of $NA

Currency

1 lek (L) = 100 qintars

Debt - external

$500 million (1994 est.)

Economic aid

recipient : ODA, $NA

Economy - overview

An extremely poor country by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993-95 after a severe depression accompanying the collapse of the previous centrally planned system in 1990 and 1991. However, a weakening of government resolve to maintain stabilization policies in the election year of 1996 contributed to renewal of inflationary pressures, spurred by the budget deficit which exceeded 12%. The collapse of financial pyramid schemes in early 1997 - which had attracted deposits from a substantial portion of Albania's adult population - triggered unrest in much of the south in early 1997. The economy continues to be buoyed by remittances of some 20% of the labor force which works abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP and help offset the large foreign trade deficit. Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes. Overall economic performance is likely to be substantially worse in 1997; inflation will easily top 50% and GDP may drop by 5% or more.

Electricity - capacity

1.533 million kW (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita

1,221 kWh (1995 est.)

Electricity - production

3.86 billion kWh (1994)

Exchange rates

leke (L) per US$1 - 150.00 (May 1997), 104.50 (1996), 92.70 (1995), 94.62 (1994), 102.06 (1993), 75.03 (1992)

Exports

total value: $205 million (f.o.b., 1995) commodities : asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco partners: Italy, US, Greece, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $4.4 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 56% industry: 21% services: 23% (1995)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,290 (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

5% (1996 est.)

Imports

total value: $680 million (f.o.b., 1995) commodities : machinery, consumer goods, grains partners: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Industrial production growth rate

6% (1995 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate - consumer price index

17.4% (1996)

Labor force

total: 1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) by occupation : agriculture (nearly all private) 49.5%, private sector 22.2%, state (nonfarm) sector 28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%); note - includes only those domestically employed

Unemployment rate

13% (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 17, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios

577,000 (1991 est.)

Telephone system

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 Tirane exchange to Italy and Greece

Telephones

55,000

Television broadcast stations

9

Televisions

300,000 (1993 est.)

Airports

11 (1994 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (1994 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 6 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m : 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (1994 est.)

Highways

total: 15,500 km paved: 4,650 km unpaved: 10,850 km (1995 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 8 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 39,201 GRT/57,938 DWT (1996 est.)

Pipelines

crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991)

Ports and harbors

Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore

Railways

total : 670 km standard gauge: 670 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

Waterways

43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)

Military branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$42 million (1996)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.5% to 2.0% (1996)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 738,082 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males: 600,403 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - military age

19 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 31,823 (1997 est.)

Disputes - international

the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic; Albanians in Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public-sector jobs and representation in government

Illicit drugs

increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active in Central and Eastern Europe ______________________________________________________________________ ALGERIA