:Albania Geography

Total area:
    28,750 km2
Land area:
    27,400 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
    720 km total; Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km
    (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro)
Coastline:
    362 km
Maritime claims:
  Continental shelf:
    not specified
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
Disputes:
    Kosovo question with Serbia and Montenegro; Northern Epirus question with
    Greece
Climate:
    mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior
    is cooler and wetter
Terrain:
    mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Natural resources:
    crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel
Land use:
    arable land 21%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures 15%; forest and
    woodland 38%; other 22%; includes irrigated 1%
Environment:
    subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast
Note:
    strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea
    and Mediterranean Sea)

:Albania People

Population:
    3,285,224 (July 1992), growth rate 1.1% (1992)
Birth rate:
    23 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    5 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    --6 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    27 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    71 years male, 78 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    2.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Albanian(s); adjective - Albanian
Ethnic divisions:
    Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians)
    (1989 est.)
Religions:
    all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances
    prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious
    practice; estimates of religious affiliation - Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox
    20%, Roman Catholic 10%
Languages:
    Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek
Literacy:
    72% (male 80%, female 63%) age 9 and over can read and write (1955)
Labor force:
    1,500,000 (1987); agriculture about 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)
Organized labor:
    Independent Trade Union Federation of Albania; Confederation of Trade Unions

:Albania Government

Long-form name:
    Republic of Albania
Type:
    nascent democracy
Capital:
    Tirane
Administrative divisions:
    26 districts (rrethe, singular - rreth); Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan,
    Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Kolonje, Kore, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd,
    Lushnje, Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar,
    Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore
Independence:
    28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire); People's Socialist Republic of
    Albania declared 11 January 1946
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 1992
Legal system:
    has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
    Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)
Executive branch:
    president, prime minister of the Council of Ministers, two deputy prime
    ministers of the Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
    unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor)
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992)
  Head of Government:
    Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander MEKSI (since 10 April
    1992)
Political parties and leaders:
    there are at least 18 political parties; most prominent are the Albanian
    Socialist Party (ASP), Fatos NANO, first secretary; Democratic Party (DP),
    Eduard SELAMI, chairman; Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO; Omonia
    (Greek minority party), leader NA (ran in 1992 election as Unity for Human
    Rights Party (UHP)); Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI; note -
    in December 1990 then President ALIA allowed new political parties to be
    formed in addition to the then AWP for the first time since 1944
Suffrage:
    universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections:
  People's Assembly:
    last held 22 March 1992; results - DP 62.29%, ASP 25.57%, SDP 4.33%, RP
    3.15%, UHP 2.92%, other 1.74%; seats - (140 total) DP 92, ASP 38, SDP 7, RP
    1, UHP 2
Member of:
    CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, IMF, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, OIC,
    UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation:
    Minister-Counselor, Charge d'Affaires ad interim (30 April 1991) Sazan Hyda
    BEJO; chancery (temporary) at 320 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10021;
    telephone (212) 249-2059
  US:
    Ambassador (vacant); Embassy at Rruga Labinoti 103, room 2921, Tirane
    (mailing address is APO AE 09624); telephone 355-42-32875; FAX 355-42-32222

:Albania Government

Flag:
    red with a black two-headed eagle in the center

:Albania Economy

Overview:
    The Albanian economy, already providing the lowest standard of living in
    Europe, contracted sharply in 1991, with most industries producing at only a
    fraction of past levels and an unemployment rate estimated at 40%. For over
    40 years, the Stalinist-type economy has operated on the principle of
    central planning and state ownership of the means of production. Albania
    began fitful economic reforms during 1991, including the liberalization of
    prices and trade, the privatization of shops and transport, and land reform.
    These reform measures were crippled, however, by the widespread civil
    disorder that accompanied the collapse of the Communist state. Following
    their overwhelming victory in the 22 March 1991 elections, the new
    Democratic government announced a program of shock therapy to stabilize the
    economy and establish a market economy. In an effort to expand international
    ties, Tirane has reestablished diplomatic relations with the former Soviet
    Union and the US and has joined the IMF and World Bank. The Albanians have
    also passed legislation allowing foreign investment. Albania possesses
    considerable mineral resources and, until 1990, was largely self-sufficient
    in food; however, the breakup of cooperative farms in 1991 and general
    economic decline forced Albania to rely on foreign aid to maintain adequate
    supplies. Available statistics on Albanian economic activity are rudimentary
    and subject to an especially wide margin of error.
GNP:
    purchasing power equivalent - $2.7 billion, per capita $820; real growth
    rate --35% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    100% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
    40% (1992 est.)
Budget:
    revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.4 billion, including capital
    expenditures of $70 million (1991 est.)
Exports:
    $80 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
  commodities:
    asphalt, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude
    oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
  partners:
    Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania,
    Bulgaria, Hungary
Imports:
    $147 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
  commodities:
    machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals,
    pharmaceuticals
  partners:
    Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary,
    Bulgaria
External debt:
    $500 million (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
    growth rate --55% (1991 est.)
Electricity:
    1,690,000 kW capacity; 5,000 million kWh produced, 1,530 kWh per capita
    (1990)
Industries:
    food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, oil, cement, chemicals,
    basic metals, hydropower

:Albania Economy

Agriculture:
    arable land per capita among lowest in Europe; over 60% of arable land now
    in private hands; one-half of work force engaged in farming; wide range of
    temperate-zone crops and livestock; severe dislocations suffered in 1991
Economic aid:
    $190 million humanitarian aid, $94 million in loans/guarantees/credits
Currency:
    lek (plural - leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Exchange rates:
    leke (L) per US$1 - 50 (January 1992), 25 (September 1991)
Fiscal year:
    calendar year

:Albania Communications

Railroads:
    543 km total; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and 34 km narrow
    gauge, single track (1990); line connecting Titograd (Serbia and Montenegro)
    and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986
Highways:
    16,700 km total; 6,700 km highways, 10,000 km forest and agricultural cart
    roads (1990)
Inland waterways:
    43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa
    (1990)
Pipelines:
    crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1988)
Ports:
    Durres, Sarande, Vlore
Merchant marine:
    11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886 GRT/76,449 DWT
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
Telecommunications:
    inadequate service; 15,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 13 AM, 1 TV;
    514,000 radios, 255,000 TVs (1987 est.)

:Albania Defense Forces

Branches:
    Army, Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry
    Troops, Border Troops
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 886,032; 731,072 fit for military service; 33,028 reach
    military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - 1.0 billion leks, NA% of GNP (FY90); note -
    conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current
    exchange rate could produce misleading results