Statistical information Albania 2016

Albania in the World

Albania - Introduction 2016

Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912 but was conquered by Italy in 1939 and occupied by Germany in 1943. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960) and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment widespread corruption dilapidated infrastructure powerful organized crime networks and combative political opponents.
Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991 but deficiencies remain. Most of Albania's post-communist elections were marred by claims of electoral fraud; however international observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and in June 2014 became a candidate for EU accession. Albania in November 2016 received a European Commission recommendation to open EU accession negotiations conditioned upon implementation of a judicial reform package passed the same year. Although Albania's economy continues to grow it has slowed and the country is still one of the poorest in Europe. A large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure remain obstacles.

Albania - Geography 2016

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Location: Southeastern Europe bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea between Greece to the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north

Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N 20 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 28,748 km²
Land: 27,398 km²
Water: 1350 km²
Rank: 145
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries
Total: 691 km
Border countries: (4) Greece 212 km; Kosovo 112 km; Macedonia 181 km; Montenegro 186 km

Coastline: 362 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

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

Elevation
Mean elevation: 708 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m: highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m

Natural resources: petroleum natural gas coal bauxite chromite copper iron ore nickel salt timber hydropower arable land

Land use

Land use
Agricultural land: 43.8%

arable land: 22.7%
permanent crops: 2.7%
permanent pasture: 18.4%

Forest: 28.3%
Other: 27.9%

Irrigated land: 3,310 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought

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

Albania - People 2016

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Population
Distribution: a fairly even distribution with somewhat higher concentrations of people in the western and central parts of the country: 3,038,594 (July 2016 est.)
Rank: 137
Growth rate: 0.31% (2016 est.)
Growth rate rank: 175
Below poverty line: 14.3% (2012 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Albanian
Adjective: Albanian

Ethnic groups: Albanian 82.6% Greek 0.9% other 1% (including Vlach Roma (Gypsy) Macedonian Montenegrin and Egyptian) unspecified 15.5% (2011 est.)

Languages: Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect) Greek 0.5% other 0.6% (including Macedonian Roma Vlach Turkish Italian and Serbo-Croatian) unspecified 0.1% (2011 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%
Note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990 Albania began allowing private religious practice

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years: 18.37%
15-24 years: 18.09%
25-54 years: 40.73%
55-64 years: 11.23%
65 years and over: 11.58% (2016 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 44.8%
Youth dependency ratio: 26.9%
Elderly dependency ratio: 18%
Potential support ratio: 5.6%

Median age
Total: 32.5 years
Male: 31.2 years
Female: 33.8 years
Rank: 96

Population growth rate: 0.31% (2016 est.)
Rank: 175

Birth rate: 13.1 births/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 153

Death rate: 6.7 deaths/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 141

Net migration rate: -3.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 184

Population distribution: a fairly even distribution with somewhat higher concentrations of people in the western and central parts of the country

Urbanization
Urban population: 57.4% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2.21% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: TIRANA (capital) 454,000 (2015)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.1 male/female
0-14 years: 1.12 male/female
15-24 years: 1.07 male/female
25-54 years: 0.91 male/female
55-64 years: 0.98 male/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male/female
Total population: 0.98 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 25 (2010 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.3 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 13.7 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 10.8 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 120

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.3 years
Male: 75.7 years
Female: 81.2 years
Rank: 61

Total fertility rate: 1.51 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Rank: 197

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 69.3% (2008/09)

Drinking water source:

urban: 84.3% of population
rural: 81.8% of population
total: 83.6% of population
urban: 15.7% of population
rural: 18.2% of population
total: 16.4% of population (2015 est.)

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.15 physicians/1000 population (2013)

Hospital bed density: 2.6 beds/1000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access:

urban: 95.5% of population
rural: 90.2% of population
total: 93.2% of population
urban: 4.5% of population
rural: 9.8% of population
total: 6.8% of population (2015 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.04% (2013 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 126
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 18.1% (2014)
Rank: 88

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 6.3% (2009)
Rank: 80

Education expenditures: 3.54% of GDP (2013)
Rank: 130

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97.6%
Male: 98.4%
Female: 96.9%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 16 years

Youth unemployment

Albania - Government 2016

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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
Etymology: the English-language country name seems to be derived from the ancient Illyrian tribe of the Albani; the native name 'Shqiperia' is popularly interpreted to mean 'Land of the eagles'

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Tirana
Geographic coordinates: 41 19 N 19 49 E
Time difference: UTC+1
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 12 counties (qarqe singular - qark); Berat Diber Durres Elbasan Fier Gjirokaster Korce Kukes Lezhe Shkoder Tirane Vlore

Dependent areas

Independence: 28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: Independence Day 28 November (1912) also known as Flag Day

Constitution
History: several previous; latest approved by the Assembly 21 October 1998 adopted by referendum 22 November 1998 promulgated 28 November 1998; amended several times last in 2012
Amendments: proposed by at least one-fifth of Assembly members; approval required by at least two-thirds vote of members; referendum required only if approved by two-thirds of Assembly; amendments approved by referendum effective upon declaration by the president of the republic; amended several times last in 2012

Legal system: civil law system except in the northern rural areas where customary law known as the 'Code of Leke' prevails

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President of the Republic Bujar NISHANI
Head of government: Prime Minister Edi RAMA ; Deputy Prime Minister Niko PELESHI
Cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister nominated by the president and approved by the Assembly
Electionsappointments: president indirectly elected by the Assembly for a 5-year 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; election last held in 4 rounds during the period 30 May-11 June 2012 (next election to be held in 2017); prime minister appointed by the president on the proposal of the majority party or coalition of parties in the Assembly
Election results: Bujar NISHANI elected president; Assembly vote - 73 of 140 in fourth round

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Assembly or Kuvendi
Elections: last held on 23 June 2013
Election results: percent of vote by party - PS 41.36% PD 30.63% LSI 10.46% PR 3.02% PDIU 2.61% other 11.92%; seats by party - PS 65 PD 50 LSI 16 PDIU 4 PR 3 other 2; seats by parliamentary group as of April 2015 - ASHE 88 APMI 50 2 - outside of the majority and opposition groups

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme ; note - Algeria's judicial system does not include sharia courts
Judge selection and term of office: Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president with the consent of the Assembly to serve single 9-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years; chairman elected by the People's Assembly for a single 3-year term; Court of Cassation judges including the chairman appointed by the president with the consent of the Assembly to serve single 9-year terms)
Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance

Political parties and leaders:

Union for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vangjel DULE]
New Democratic Spirit or FRD [Bamir TOPI]

Note: only the major parties of each coalition are listed

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 UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Floreta FABER
In the us chancery: 1312 18th Street NW 4th Floor Washington DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] 223-4,942
In the us FAX: [1] 628-7,342
In the us consulate general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Donald LU
From the us embassy: Rruga e Elbasanit 103 Tirana
From the us mailing address: US Department of State 9,510 Tirana Place Dulles VA 20,189-9,510
From the us telephone: [355] 2,247-285
From the us FAX: [355] 2,232-222

Flag description

: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center; the design is claimed to be that of 15th-century hero George Kastrioti SKANDERBEG who led a successful uprising against the Ottoman Turks that resulted in a short-lived independence for some Albanian regions (1443-78); an unsubstantiated explanation for the eagle symbol is the tradition that Albanians see themselves as descendants of the eagle; they refer to themselves as 'Shqiptare' which translates as 'sons of the eagle'

National symbols: double-headed eagle; national colors: red black

National anthem
Name: 'Hymni i Flamurit'
Lyrics and music: Aleksander Stavre DRENOVA/Ciprian PORUMBESCU
Note: adopted 1912

National heritage

Albania - Economy 2016

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Economy overview:

Albania a formerly closed centrally-planned state is a developing country with a modern open-market economy. Albania managed to weather the first waves of the global financial crisis but more recently the negative effects of the crisis have caused a significant economic slowdown. Close trade remittance and banking sector ties with Greece and Italy make Albania vulnerable to spillover effects of debt crises and weak growth in the euro zone.
Remittances a significant catalyst for economic growth declined from 12-15% of GDP before the 2008 financial crisis to 5.7% of GDP in 2014 mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy. The agricultural sector which accounts for almost half of employment but only about one-fifth of GDP is limited primarily to small family operations and subsistence farming because of a lack of modern equipment unclear property rights and the prevalence of small inefficient plots of land. Complex tax codes and licensing requirements a weak judicial system endemic corruption poor enforcement of contracts and property issues and antiquated infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment making attracting foreign investment difficult.
Albania’s electricity supply is uneven despite upgraded transmission capacities with neighboring countries. Technical and non-technical losses in electricity - including theft and non-payment - continue to undermine the financial viability of the entire system although the government has taken steps to stem non-technical losses and has begun to upgrade the distribution grid. Also with help from international donors the government is taking steps to improve the poor national road and rail network a long standing barrier to sustained economic growth.
Inward FDI has increased significantly in recent years as the government has embarked on an ambitious program to improve the business climate through fiscal and legislative reforms. The government is focused on the simplification of licensing requirements and tax codes and it entered into a new arrangement with the IMF for additional financial and technical support. Albania’s IMF program may be at risk however because the government has not collected sufficient tax revenue needed to reduce the budget deficit. The country continues to face increasing public debt exceeding its former statutory limit of 60% of GDP in 2013 and reaching 73% in 2015.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: unreported output may be as large as 50% of official GDP
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 127

Real gdp growth rate:

2.6% (2015 est.)
2% (2014 est.)
1.1% (2013 est.)

Rank: 108

Real gdp per capita:

$11,900 (2015 est.)
$11,400 (2014 est.)
$11,000 (2013 est.)

Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 129

Gross national saving:

18.4% of GDP (2015 est.)
14% of GDP (2014 est.)
17.7% of GDP (2013 est.)

Rank: 122

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 85.8%
Government consumption: 10.6%
Investment in fixed capital: 27.7%
Investment in inventories: 1.7%
Exports of goods and services: 36.7%
Imports of goods and services: -62.5%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 21.9%
Industry: 14.9%
Services: 63.3%: (2015 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat corn potatoes vegetables fruits sugar beets grapes; meat dairy products; sheep

Industries: food and tobacco products; textiles and clothing; lumber oil cement chemicals mining basic metals hydropower

Industrial production growth rate: 2.3% (2015 est.)
Rank: 92

Labor force: 1.122 million (2015 est.)
Rank: 142
By occupation agriculture: 41.8%
By occupation industry: 11.4%
By occupation services: 46.8%

Labor force

Unemployment rate:

17.3% (2015 est.)
17.5% (2014 est.)

Note: these official rates may not include those working at near-subsistence farming
Rank: 162

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 14.3% (2012 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 4.1%
Highest 10: 20.5%

Distribution of family income gini index:

29 (2012 est.)
30 (2008 est.)

Rank: 126

Budget
Revenues: $3.019 billion
Expenditures: $3.472 billion
Surplus or deficit: -3.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 138

Taxes and other revenues: 26.2% of GDP (2015 est.)
Rank: 109

Public debt:

71.4% of GDP (2015 est.)
69.3% of GDP (2014 est.)

Rank: 42

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

1.9% (2015 est.)
1.6% (2014 est.)

Rank: 118

Central bank discount rate:

2.25% (31 December 2014)
3% (31 December 2013)

Rank: 112

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

8.7% (31 December 2015 est.)
8.66% (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 96

Stock of narrow money:

$3.054 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$3.066 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 117

Stock of broad money:

$5.72 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$6.269 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 124

Stock of domestic credit:

$7.18 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$8.231 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 113

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance:

-$1.311 billion (2015 est.)
-$1.71 billion (2014 est.)

Rank: 129

Exports:

$854.7 million (2015 est.)
$1.241 billion (2014 est.)

Rank: 160
Commodities: textiles footwear; asphalt metals and metallic ores crude oil; vegetables fruits tobacco
Partners: Italy 43.4% Kosovo 9.8% US 7.7% China 6.2% Greece 5.3% Spain 4.8% (2015)

Imports:

$3.402 billion (2015 est.)
$4.17 billion (2014 est.)

Rank: 138
Commodities: machinery and equipment foodstuffs textiles chemicals
Partners: Italy 33.5% China 10.1% Greece 9% Turkey 6.7% Germany 5.2% (2015)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$3.139 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$2.665 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 101

Debt external:

$7.716 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$8 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Rank: 114

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:

$5.557 billion (31 December 2013)
$4.994 billion (31 December 2012)

Rank: 98

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:

leke (ALL) per US dollar -
125.96 (2015 est.)
105.48 (2014 est.)
105.48 (2013 est.)
108.19 (2012 est.)
100.9 (2011 est.)

Albania - Energy 2016

Albania - Communication 2016

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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 226,718
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 7
Fixed lines rank: 123
Mobile cellular total: 3.401 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 112
Mobile cellular rank: 133

Telephone system
General assessment: despite new investment in fixed lines teledensity remains low with roughly 10 fixed lines per 100 people; mobile-cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective
Domestic: offsetting the shortage of fixed-line capacity mobile-cellular phone service has been available since 1996; by 2011 multiple companies were providing mobile services and mobile teledensity had reached 100 per 100 persons; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005 but growth has been slow; Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread outside the capital
International: country code - 355; submarine cable provides connectivity to Italy Croatia and Greece; the Trans-Balkan Line a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system provides additional connectivity to Bulgaria Macedonia and Turkey; international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and when necessary by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece

Broadcast media: 3 public TV networks one of which transmits by satellite to Albanian-language communities in neighboring countries; more than 60 private TV stations; many viewers can pick up Italian and Greek TV broadcasts via terrestrial reception; cable TV service is available; 2 public radio networks and roughly 25 private radio stations; several international broadcasters are available (2010)

Internet
Country code: .al
Users total: 1.916 million
Users percent of population: 63.2%
Users rank: 104

Broadband fixed subscriptions

Albania - Military 2016

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Military expenditures:

0.85% of GDP (2015)
1.04% of GDP (2014)
1.5% of GDP (2013)
1.47% of GDP (2012)
1.52% of GDP (2011)

Rank: 112

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 19 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; 18 is the legal minimum age in case of general/partial compulsory mobilization (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups

Albania - Transportation 2016

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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 151,632
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: ZA (2016)

Airports: 4 (2016)
Rank: 183
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 331 km; oil 249 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 677 km
Standard gauge: 677 km 1.435-m gauge
Rank: 104

Roadways
Total: 18,000 km
Paved: 7,020 km
Unpaved: 10,980 km
Rank: 116

Waterways: 41 km (on the Bojana River) (2011)
Rank: 103

Merchant marine
Total: 17
By type: cargo 16 roll on/roll off 1
Foreign owned: 1
Registered in other countries: 5 (2010)
Rank: 99

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Durres Sarande Shengjin Vlore

Albania - Transnational issues 2016

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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 7,442

Illicit drugs: increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates hashish and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and expanding cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics arms contraband and illegal aliens