2020 Edition
factbook.json (GitHub)
Introduction
Background
After declaring independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, Albania experienced a period of political upheaval that led to a short-lived monarchy, which ended in 1939 when Italy conquered the country. Germany then occupied Albania in 1943, and communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960) and then with China (until 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. Government-endorsed pyramid schemes in 1997 led to economic collapse and civil disorder, which only ended when UN peacekeeping troops intervened. In 1999, some 450,000 ethnic Albanians fled from Kosovo to Albania to escape the war with the Serbs. Albania joined NATO in 2009 and became an official candidate for EU membership in 2014.
Geography
Area
- land
- 27,398 sq km
- total
- 28,748 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
- highest point
- Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m
- lowest point
- Adriatic Sea 0 m
- mean elevation
- 708 m
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
1,907 sq km (2022)
Land boundaries
- border countries
- Greece 212 km; Kosovo 112 km; North Macedonia 181 km; Montenegro 186 km
- total
- 691 km
Land use
- agricultural land
- 38.1% (2023 est.)
- agricultural land: arable land
- arable land: 21.6% (2023 est.)
- agricultural land: permanent crops
- permanent crops: 3.2% (2023 est.)
- agricultural land: permanent pasture
- permanent pasture: 13.4% (2023 est.)
- forest
- 34.3% (2023 est.)
- other
- 27.5% (2023 est.)
Location
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece to the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north
Major lakes (area sq km)
- fresh water lake(s)
- Lake Scutari (shared with Montenegro) - 400 sq km note - largest lake in the Balkans
Major watersheds (area sq km)
- Atlantic Ocean drainage
- (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km)
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; floods; drought
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower, arable land
Population distribution
a fairly even distribution, with somewhat higher concentrations of people in the western and central parts of the country
Terrain
mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
People and Society
Age structure
- 0-14 years
- 18% (male 292,296/female 267,052)
- 15-64 years
- 66.9% (male 1,023,515/female 1,055,388)
- 65 years and over
- 15.1% (2024 est.) (male 215,252/female 253,597)
Alcohol consumption per capita
- beer
- 1.75 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- other alcohols
- 0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- spirits
- 1.43 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- total
- 4.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
- wine
- 1.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Birth rate
8.71 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Child marriage
- men married by age 18
- 1.2% (2018)
- women married by age 15
- 1.4% (2018)
- women married by age 18
- 11.8% (2018)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
1.5% (2017 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
65.7% (2018 est.)
Death rate
7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Dependency ratios
- elderly dependency ratio
- 24.9 (2025 est.)
- potential support ratio
- 4 (2025 est.)
- total dependency ratio
- 49 (2025 est.)
- youth dependency ratio
- 24.1 (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
- improved: rural
- rural: 94.1% of population (2022 est.)
- improved: total
- total: 95.1% of population (2022 est.)
- improved: urban
- urban: 95.7% of population (2022 est.)
- unimproved: rural
- rural: 5.9% of population (2022 est.)
- unimproved: total
- total: 4.9% of population (2022 est.)
- unimproved: urban
- urban: 4.3% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
- Education expenditure (% GDP)
- 3.1% of GDP (2023 est.)
- Education expenditure (% national budget)
- 10.9% national budget (2023 est.)
Ethnic groups
Albanian 82.6%, Greek 0.9%, other 1% (including Vlach, Romani, Macedonian, Montenegrin, and Egyptian), unspecified 15.5% (2011 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.52 (2025 est.)
Health expenditure
- Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
- 7.3% of GDP (2021)
- Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
- 9.2% of national budget (2022 est.)
Hospital bed density
2.9 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
- female
- 9.2 deaths/1,000 live births
- male
- 11.3 deaths/1,000 live births
- total
- 10.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
Languages
- Languages
- Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Romani, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
- major-language sample(s)
- Libri i fakteve boterore, burimi i pazevendesueshem per informacione elementare (Albanian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Life expectancy at birth
- female
- 82.8 years
- male
- 77.3 years
- total population
- 79.9 years (2024 est.)
Literacy
- female
- 97.2% (2023 est.)
- male
- 98.2% (2023 est.)
- total population
- 97.7% (2023 est.)
Major urban areas - population
520,000 TIRANA (capital) (2023)
Maternal mortality ratio
7 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Median age
- female
- 37.8 years
- male
- 34.8 years
- total
- 37.9 years (2025 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
26.6 years (2020 est.)
Nationality
- adjective
- Albanian
- noun
- Albanian(s)
Net migration rate
-11.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
21.7% (2016)
Physician density
1.88 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
Population
- female
- 1,322,686
- male
- 1,229,151
- total
- 2,551,837 (2025 est.)
Population growth rate
-1.06% (2025 est.)
Religions
Muslim 56.7%, Roman Catholic 10%, Orthodox 6.8%, atheist 2.5%, Bektashi (a Sufi order) 2.1%, other 5.7%, unspecified 16.2% (2011 est.)
Sanitation facility access
- improved: rural
- rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
- improved: total
- total: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)
- improved: urban
- urban: 99.8% of population (2022 est.)
- unimproved: rural
- rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
- unimproved: total
- total: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)
- unimproved: urban
- urban: 0.2% of population (2022 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
- female
- 15 years (2023 est.)
- male
- 14 years (2023 est.)
- total
- 15 years (2023 est.)
Sex ratio
- 0-14 years
- 1.09 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years
- 0.97 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over
- 0.85 male(s)/female
- at birth
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- total population
- 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Tobacco use
- female
- 6.2% (2025 est.)
- male
- 37% (2025 est.)
- total
- 21.4% (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.09 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Urbanization
- rate of urbanization
- 1.29% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
- urban population
- 64.6% of total population (2023)
Government
Administrative divisions
12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Berat, Diber, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Korce, Kukes, Lezhe, Shkoder, Tirane (Tirana), Vlore
Capital
- daylight saving time
- +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
- etymology
- the name "Tirana" first appears in a 1418 Venetian document; the origin of the name is unclear
- geographic coordinates
- 41 19 N, 19 49 E
- name
- Tirana (Tirane)
- time difference
- UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Citizenship
- citizenship by birth
- no
- citizenship by descent only
- at least one parent must be a citizen of Albania
- dual citizenship recognized
- yes
- residency requirement for naturalization
- 5 years
Constitution
- amendment process
- proposed by at least one-fifth of the Assembly membership; passage requires at least a two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; referendum required only if approved by two-thirds of the Assembly; amendments approved by referendum effective upon declaration by the president of the republic
- history
- several previous; latest approved by the Assembly 21 October 1998, adopted by referendum 22 November 1998, promulgated 28 November 1998
Country name
- conventional long form
- Republic of Albania
- conventional short form
- Albania
- etymology
- name may be derived from the pre-Celtic word alb, meaning "hill," or from the Indo-European root word albh, meaning "white;" the local name "Shqiperia" is derived from the Albanian word shqiponje ("eagle") and is popularly interpreted to mean "Land of the Eagles"
- former
- People's Socialist Republic of Albania
- local long form
- Republika e Shqiperise
- local short form
- Shqiperia
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission
- Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Nancy VANHORN (since August 2024)
- email address and website
- ACSTirana@state.gov https://al.usembassy.gov/
- embassy
- Rruga Stavro Vinjau, No. 14, Tirana
- FAX
- [355] 4 2232-222
- mailing address
- 9510 Tirana Place, Washington DC 20521-9510
- telephone
- [355] 4 2247-285
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chancery
- 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
- chief of mission
- Ambassador Ervin BUSHATI (since 15 September 2023)
- consulate(s) general
- New York
- email address and website
- embassy.washington@mfa.gov.al http://www.ambasadat.gov.al/usa/en
- FAX
- [1] (202) 628-7342
- telephone
- [1] (202) 223-4942
Executive branch
- cabinet
- Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and approved by the Assembly
- chief of state
- President Bajram BEGAJ (since 24 July 2022)
- election results
- 2022: Bajram BEGAJ elected president in the fourth round; Assembly vote - 78-4, opposition parties boycotted 2017: Ilir META elected president in the fourth round; Assembly vote - 87-2
- election/appointment process
- president indirectly elected by the Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); a candidate needs three-fifths majority vote of the Assembly in 1 of 3 rounds or a simple majority in 2 additional rounds to become president; prime minister appointed by the president on the proposal of the majority party or coalition of parties in the Assembly
- expected date of next election
- 2027
- head of government
- Prime Minister Edi RAMA (since 10 September 2013)
- most recent election date
- held in 4 rounds on 16, 23, and 30 May and 4 June 2022
Flag
description: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center meaning: Albanians traditionally see themselves as descendants of the eagle; they refer to themselves as "Shqiptare," which translates as "sons of the eagle" history: the design is said to originate with 15th-century Albanian hero Georgi Kastrioti SKANDERBEG, who led a successful uprising against the Ottoman Turks
Government type
parliamentary republic
Independence
28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International organization participation
BSEC, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EITI (compliant country), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Judicial branch
- highest court(s)
- Supreme Court (consists of 19 judges, including the chief justice); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges, including the chairman)
- judge selection and term of office
- Supreme Court judges appointed by the High Judicial Council with the consent of the president to serve single 9-year terms; Supreme Court chairman is elected for a single 3-year term by the court members; appointments of Constitutional Court judges are rotated among the president, Parliament, and Supreme Court from a list of pre-qualified candidates (each institution selects 3 judges), to serve single 9-year terms; candidates are pre-qualified by a randomly selected body of experienced judges and prosecutors; Constitutional Court chairman is elected by the court members for a single, renewable 3-year term
- subordinate courts
- Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; specialized courts: Court for Corruption and Organized Crime, Appeals Court for Corruption and Organized Crime (responsible for corruption, organized crime, and crimes of high officials)
Legal system
civil law system except in the northern rural areas where customary law known as the "Code of Leke" is still present
Legislative branch
- chamber name
- Parliament (Kuvendi)
- electoral system
- proportional representation
- expected date of next election
- May 2029
- legislative structure
- unicameral
- legislature name
- Albanian Parliament
- most recent election date
- 5/11/2025
- number of seats
- 140 (all directly elected)
- parties elected and seats per party
- Socialist Party of Albania (PS) (83); Democratic Party - Alliance for a Greater Albania (PD-ASHM) (50); Other (7)
- percentage of women in chamber
- 35%
- scope of elections
- full renewal
- term in office
- 4 years
National anthem(s)
- history
- adopted 1912; only the first two stanzas of the original poem are used, with the second stanza as a chorus
- lyrics/music
- Aleksander Stavre DRENOVA/Ciprian PORUMBESCU
- title
- "Hymni i Flamurit" (Hymn to the Flag)
National coat of arms
adopted in 1998 and features the national symbol, the double-headed black eagle, in the national colors of red and black; red represents the courage and strength of the Albanian people, and the golden border represents the country’s wealth; the helmet above the eagle is modeled on the helmet of Skanderbeg, a 15th-century Albanian military hero who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire; the goat on top of the helmet represents defiance and resistance
National color(s)
red, black
National heritage
- selected World Heritage Site locales
- Butrint (c); Historic Berat and Gjirokastër (c); Primeval Beech Forests (n); Lake Ohrid Region (m)
- total World Heritage Sites
- 4 (2 cultural, 1 natural, 1 mixed)
National holiday
Independence Day, 28 November (1912), also known as Flag Day
National symbol(s)
black double-headed eagle
Political parties
Alliance for Change (electoral coalition led by PD) Democratic Party or PD Party for Justice, Integration and Unity or PDIU (part of the Alliance for Change) Social Democratic Party or PSD Freedom Party of Albania or PL (formerly the Socialist Movement for Integration or LSI) Socialist Party or PS
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economy
Agricultural products
milk, maize, tomatoes, watermelons, potatoes, wheat, grapes, onions, cucumbers/gherkins, olives (2023)
Budget
- expenditures
- $6.966 billion (2023 est.)
- revenues
- $6.636 billion (2023 est.)
Current account balance
- Current account balance 2022
- -$1.117 billion (2022 est.)
- Current account balance 2023
- -$281.7 million (2023 est.)
- Current account balance 2024
- -$646.107 million (2024 est.)
Debt - external
- Debt - external 2023
- $5.363 billion (2023 est.)
Economic overview
upper-middle-income Balkan economy; EU accession candidate; growth bolstered by tourism, agriculture, mining, construction, and private consumption; fiscal consolidation through revenue collection and tax compliance enhancements to address public debt; challenges include weak governance, corruption, and high emigration rates
Exchange rates
- Currency
- leke (ALL) per US dollar -
- Exchange rates 2020
- 108.65 (2020 est.)
- Exchange rates 2021
- 103.52 (2021 est.)
- Exchange rates 2022
- 113.042 (2022 est.)
- Exchange rates 2023
- 100.645 (2023 est.)
- Exchange rates 2024
- 93.123 (2024 est.)
Exports
- Exports 2022
- $7.057 billion (2022 est.)
- Exports 2023
- $9.099 billion (2023 est.)
- Exports 2024
- $9.848 billion (2024 est.)
Exports - commodities
garments, footwear, electricity, crude petroleum, iron alloys (2023)
Exports - partners
Italy 41%, Greece 10%, Germany 5%, Spain 5%, Serbia 4% (2023)
GDP - composition, by end use
- exports of goods and services
- 38.7% (2023 est.)
- government consumption
- 12% (2023 est.)
- household consumption
- 70.2% (2023 est.)
- imports of goods and services
- -43.8% (2023 est.)
- investment in fixed capital
- 24% (2023 est.)
- investment in inventories
- -1.1% (2023 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin
- agriculture
- 15.5% (2024 est.)
- industry
- 22.4% (2024 est.)
- services
- 48.9% (2024 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$27.178 billion (2024 est.)
Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income
- Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2020
- 29.4 (2020 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
- highest 10%
- 22.8% (2020 est.)
- lowest 10%
- 3.4% (2020 est.)
Imports
- Imports 2022
- $9.016 billion (2022 est.)
- Imports 2023
- $10.374 billion (2023 est.)
- Imports 2024
- $11.697 billion (2024 est.)
Imports - commodities
cars, refined petroleum, garments, packaged medicine, iron bars (2023)
Imports - partners
Italy 22%, China 11%, Turkey 9%, Germany 7%, Greece 6% (2023)
Industrial production growth rate
-0.2% (2024 est.)
Industries
food; footwear, apparel and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022
- 6.7% (2022 est.)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023
- 4.8% (2023 est.)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024
- 2.2% (2024 est.)
Labor force
1.37 million (2024 est.)
Population below poverty line
22% (2020 est.)
Public debt
- Public debt 2021
- 81.9% of GDP (2021 est.)
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
- Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2022
- $47.532 billion (2022 est.)
- Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2023
- $49.403 billion (2023 est.)
- Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2024
- $51.36 billion (2024 est.)
Real GDP growth rate
- Real GDP growth rate 2022
- 4.8% (2022 est.)
- Real GDP growth rate 2023
- 3.9% (2023 est.)
- Real GDP growth rate 2024
- 4% (2024 est.)
Real GDP per capita
- Real GDP per capita 2022
- $17,100 (2022 est.)
- Real GDP per capita 2023
- $18,000 (2023 est.)
- Real GDP per capita 2024
- $18,900 (2024 est.)
Remittances
- Remittances 2022
- 9.2% of GDP (2022 est.)
- Remittances 2023
- 8.6% of GDP (2023 est.)
- Remittances 2024
- 8.4% of GDP (2024 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
- Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2022
- $5.266 billion (2022 est.)
- Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2023
- $6.455 billion (2023 est.)
- Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 2024
- $6.516 billion (2024 est.)
Taxes and other revenues
17.8% (of GDP) (2023 est.)
Unemployment rate
- Unemployment rate 2022
- 10.2% (2022 est.)
- Unemployment rate 2023
- 10.2% (2023 est.)
- Unemployment rate 2024
- 10.3% (2024 est.)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
- female
- 26.9% (2024 est.)
- male
- 23.9% (2024 est.)
- total
- 25.1% (2024 est.)
Energy
Coal
- consumption
- 255,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
- exports
- 345,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
- imports
- 180,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
- production
- 473,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
- proven reserves
- 522 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Electricity
- consumption
- 7.49 billion kWh (2023 est.)
- exports
- 2.2 billion kWh (2023 est.)
- imports
- 1.922 billion kWh (2023 est.)
- installed generating capacity
- 2.857 million kW (2023 est.)
- transmission/distribution losses
- 1.238 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Electricity access
- electrification - total population
- 100% (2022 est.)
Electricity generation sources
- hydroelectricity
- 96.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
- solar
- 3.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Energy consumption per capita
- Total energy consumption per capita 2023
- 27.407 million Btu/person (2023 est.)
Natural gas
- consumption
- 49.977 million cubic meters (2023 est.)
- production
- 49.977 million cubic meters (2023 est.)
- proven reserves
- 5.692 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
Petroleum
- crude oil estimated reserves
- 150 million barrels (2021 est.)
- refined petroleum consumption
- 21,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
- total petroleum production
- 14,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Communications
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
- subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
- 22 (2023 est.)
- total
- 632,000 (2023 est.)
Broadcast media
over 65 TV stations, including several that broadcast nationally and are sometimes available to neighboring countries; many viewers have access to Italian and Greek TV via terrestrial reception; TV stations have begun a government-mandated conversion from analog to digital broadcast; cable TV service is available; 2 public radio networks and roughly 78 private radio stations; several international broadcasters are available (2024)
Internet country code
.al
Internet users
- percent of population
- 83% (2023 est.)
Telephones - fixed lines
- subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
- 6 (2024 est.)
- total subscriptions
- 165,000 (2024 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
- subscriptions per 100 inhabitants
- 89 (2024 est.)
- total subscriptions
- 2.49 million (2024 est.)
Transportation
Airports
3 (2025)
Civil aircraft registration country code prefix
ZA
Heliports
9 (2025)
Merchant marine
- by type
- general cargo 46, oil tanker 1, other 22
- total
- 69 (2023)
Ports
- key ports
- Durres, Shengjin, Vlores
- large
- 0
- medium
- 0
- ports with oil terminals
- 0
- small
- 1
- total ports
- 3 (2024)
- very small
- 2
Railways
- total
- 424 km (2017)
Military and Security
Military - note
the Albanian Armed Forces (AAF) are responsible for defending the country’s independence, sovereignty, and territory, assisting with internal security, providing disaster and humanitarian relief, and participating in international peacekeeping missions; the AAF is a small, lightly armed force that has been undergoing a modernization effort to improve its ability to fulfill NATO missions; the AAF has contributed small numbers of forces to several NATO missions since Albania joined NATO in 2009, including peacekeeping/stability missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Iraq, and multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria and Latvia; it has also contributed to EU and UN missions (2025)
Military and security forces
Republic of Albania Armed Forces (Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë (FARSH); aka Albanian Armed Forces (AAF)): Land Forces, Naval Force (includes Coast Guard), Air Forces Ministry of Interior: Guard of the Republic, State Police (includes the Border and Migration Police) (2025)
Military and security service personnel strengths
approximately 7,500 active-duty military personnel (2025)
Military deployments
250 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR) (2025)
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions
the military is in the process of modernizing by replacing its inventory of Soviet-era weapons with NATO standard armaments; in recent years, acquisitions have included equipment from France, Israel, Italy, Turkey and the US (2025)
Military expenditures
- Military Expenditures 2021
- 1.2% of GDP (2021 est.)
- Military Expenditures 2022
- 1.2% of GDP (2022 est.)
- Military Expenditures 2023
- 1.7% of GDP (2023 est.)
- Military Expenditures 2024
- 1.7% of GDP (2024 est.)
- Military Expenditures 2025
- 2% of GDP (2025 est.)
Military service age and obligation
18-30 for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription abolished 2010 (2025)
Transnational Issues
Refugees and internally displaced persons
- refugees
- 9,381 (2024 est.)
- stateless persons
- 2,203 (2024 est.)
Terrorism
Terrorist group(s)
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)
Environment
Carbon dioxide emissions
- from coal and metallurgical coke
- 566,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
- from consumed natural gas
- 93,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
- from petroleum and other liquids
- 2.734 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
- total emissions
- 3.392 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Environmental issues
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents; air pollution from industrial and power plants; loss of biodiversity
International environmental agreements
- party to
- Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
- signed, but not ratified
- none of the selected agreements
Particulate matter emissions
16.6 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Total renewable water resources
30.2 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Total water withdrawal
- agricultural
- 565 million cubic meters (2022)
- industrial
- 11 million cubic meters (2022)
- municipal
- 221 million cubic meters (2022)
Waste and recycling
- municipal solid waste generated annually
- 1.087 million tons (2024 est.)
- percent of municipal solid waste recycled
- 20.5% (2022 est.)