Background: In 1990 Albania ended 44 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven difficult as corrupt governments have tried to deal with severe unemployment, the collapse of a fraudulent nationwide investment scheme, widespread gangsterism and massive refugee influxes from neighboring Kosovo.

Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 20 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 28,750 km²
Land: 27,400 km²
Water: 1,350 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland

Land boundaries
Total: 720 km
Border countries: (4) Greece 282 km; , The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km; , Serbia and Montenegro 287 km; (114 km; with Serbia, 173 km

Coastline: 362 km

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

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
Extremes lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel

Land use
Arable land: 21%
Permanent crops: 5%
Permanent pastures: 15%
Forests and woodland: 38%
Other: 21% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 3,410 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast

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

Population: 3,364,571 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 1.05% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: 19.6% (1996 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Albanian(s)
Adjective: Albanian

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)

Languages: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 33% (male 568,642; female 530,088)
15-64 years: 61% (male 957,561; female 1,105,870)
65 years and over: 6% (male 84,280; female 118,130) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.05% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 20.74 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 7.35 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.93 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 est.)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.07 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 (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 42.9 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 69 years
Male: 65.92 years
Female: 72.33 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.5 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 9 and over can read and write
Total population: 93%
Male: NA%
Female: NA% (1997 est.)

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

Government type: emerging democracy

Capital: Tirana

Administrative divisions: 36 districts (rrethe, singular_rreth) and 1 municipality* (bashki); Berat, Bulqize, Delvine, Devoll (Bilisht), Diber (Peshkopi), Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Has (Krume), Kavaje, Kolonje (Erseke), Korce, Kruje, Kucove, Kukes, Lac, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Malesi e Madhe (Koplik), Mallakaster (Ballsh), Mat (Burrel), Mirdite (Rreshen), Peqin, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar (Corovode), Tepelene, Tirane (Tirana), Tirane* (Tirana), Tropoje (Bajram Curri), Vlore
Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)

National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1912)

Constitution: a new constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note_the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote

Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: President of the Republic Rexhep MEIDANI (since 24 July 1997)
Head of government: Prime Minister Pandeli MAJKO (since 2 October 1998)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president
Elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Rexhep MEIDANI elected president; People's Assembly vote by number_total votes 122, for 110, against 3, abstained 2, invalid 7

Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (155 seats; most members are elected by direct popular vote and some by proportional vote for four-year terms)
Elections: last held 29 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2001)
Election results: percent of vote by party_PS 53.36%, PD 25.33%, PSD 2.5%, PBDNJ 2.78%, PBK 2.36%, PAD 2.85%, PR 2.25%, PLL 3.09%, PDK 1.00%, PBSD 0.84%; seats by party_PS 101, PD 27, PSD 8, PBDNJ 4, PBK 3, PAD 2, PR 2, PLL 2, PDK 1, PBSD 1, PUK 1, independents 3

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman of the Supreme Court is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term

International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, 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, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Petrit BUSHATI
In the us chancery: 2,100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 223-4,942
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 628-7,342
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Marisa R. LINO
From the us embassy: Rruga Elbasanit 103, Tirana
From the us mailing address: American Embassy, Tirana, Department of State, Washington, DC 20,521-9,510
From the us telephone: [355] (42) 47,285 through 47,289
From the us FAX: [355] (42) 32,222

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

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 population_triggered severe social unrest which led to more than 1,500 deaths, widespread destruction of property, and an 8% drop in GDP. The new government installed in July 1997 has taken strong measures to restore public order and to revive economic activity and trade. The economy continues to be bolstered 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. In 1998, Albania probably recovered most if not all of the 7% drop in GDP of 1997.

Real gdp growth rate: 7% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $1,490 (1998 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 56%
Industry: 21%
Services: 23% (1997)

Agriculture products: wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock

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

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed)
By occupation agriculture: 49.5% (nearly all private; but some state employed)
By occupation private business sector: 22.2%
By occupation state business sector: 28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%
Note: includes only those domestically employed

Unemployment rate: 14% (October 1997) officially, but likely to be as high as 28%

Population below poverty line: 19.6% (1996 est.)

Budget
Revenues: $624 million
Expenditures: $996 million, including capital expenditures of $N/A

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $212 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Commodities: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
Partners: Italy, Greece, Germany, Belgium, US

Imports: $791 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Commodities: machinery, consumer goods, grains
Partners: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Debt external: $645 million (1996)

Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1_139.93 (January 1999), 150.63 (1998), 148.93 (1997), 104.50 (1996), 92.70 (1995), 94.62 (1994)

Electricity
Production: 5.12 billion kWh (1996)
Production by source fossil fuel: 4.3%
Production by source hydro: 95.7%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1996)
Consumption: 5.27 billion kWh (1996)
Exports: 0 kWh (1996) (1996)
Imports: 150 million kWh (1996)

Telephones: 55,000

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 Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $60 million (1998)
Percent of gdp: 2% (1998)

Airports: 9 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3 (1998 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 6
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 2 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)

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

Railways
Total: 447 km (none electrified)
Standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)

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

Merchant marine: total:8 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,394 GRT/41,429 DWT (1998 est.)

Disputes international: the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders but has downplayed them to further its primary foreign policy goal of regional cooperation; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic; Albanians in The Former Yugoslav Republic of 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_to a far lesser extent_cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe