Background:

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
Extremes lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Maja e Korabit 2,764 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 43.8%
Forest: 28.3%
Other: 27.9%

Irrigated land: 1027 km² (2006)

Total renewable water resources: 41.7 km³ (2011)

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)

Population: 3,029,278 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 138
Growth rate: 0.3% (2015 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

Age structure
0-14 years: 18.78%
15-24 years: 18.67%
25-54 years: 40.39%
55-64 years: 10.85%
65 years and over: 11.3% (2015 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 years
Male: 30.8 years
Female: 33.3 years

Population growth rate: 0.3% (2015 est.)
Rank: 175

Birth rate: 12.92 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 154

Death rate: 6.58 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 145

Net migration rate: -3.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 184

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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.1 male/female
0-14 years: 1.12 male/female
15-24 years: 1.06 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

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.75 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 14.19 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 11.15 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 118

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.13 years
Male: 75.49 years
Female: 81.04 years
Rank: 60

Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 196

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 69.3% (2008/09)

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 1.15 physicians/1000 population (2013)

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

Sanitation facility access:

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

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

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

Education expenditures: 3.3% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 130

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

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
Note: 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 democracy

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

Independence: 28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)

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

Constitution: several previous; latest approved by parliament 21 October 1998 adopted by popular referendum 22 November 1998 promulgated 28 November 1998; amended 2007 2008 2012 (2014)

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
Birthright citizenship: no

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 one of three rounds or a simple majority in 2 additional rounds to become president; election last held in 4 rounds 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 on fourth round

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Assembly or Kuvendi ; note - in late 2008 Albania replaced its mixed member electoral system with a proportional representation system
Note: seats by parliamentary group as of April 2015 - ASHE 88 APMI 50 2 - outside of the majority and opposition groups
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

Judicial branch
Highest court: Constitutional Court ; Court of Cassation (consists of 14 judges including the chief justice)
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; chairman elected by the People's Assembly for 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:
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

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 its negative effects have put some pressure on the Albanian economy resulting in a significant economic slowdown. While the government is focused on establishing a favorable business climate through the simplification of licensing requirements and tax codes it entered into a new arrangement with the IMF for additional financial and technical support. 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 and make attracting foreign investment difficult. Inward FDI has significantly increased in recent years as the government has embarked on an ambitious program to improve the business climate through fiscal and legislative reforms. 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 begin 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. The country will continue to face challenges from increasing public debt having exceeded its former statutory limit of 60% of GDP in 2013 and reaching 72% in 2014. Strong 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. The government will face critical tests in 2015 as it works to implement IMF-mandated reforms especially those aimed at improving the electricity sector.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: unreported output may be as large as 50% of official GDP
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 123

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 146

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 125

Gross national saving:
Rank: 123

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 78.3%
Government consumption: 10.9%
Investment in fixed capital: 25.9%
Investment in inventories: 2.6%
Exports of goods and services: 35.1%
Imports of goods and services: -52.9%: (2013 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 22.6%
Industry: 15.1%
Services: 62.4%: (2013 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: 2.4% (2014 est.)
Rank: 79

Labor force: 1.295 million (2014 est.)
Rank: 140
By occupation agriculture: 41.8%
By occupation industry: 11.4%
By occupation services: 46.8%

Unemployment rate:
Note: these are official rates that may not include those working at near-subsistence farming
Rank: 136

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

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

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 91

Budget
Revenues: $3.495 billion
Expenditures: $4.342 billion
Surplus or deficit: -6.3% of GDP (2014 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 183

Taxes and other revenues: 26% of GDP (2014 est.)
Rank: 123

Public debt:
Rank: 37

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 86

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 108

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 106

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 119

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 122

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 109

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance:
Rank: 140

Exports:
Rank: 138
Commodities: textiles footwear; asphalt metals and metallic ores crude oil; vegetables fruits tobacco
Partners: Italy 45.2% Kosovo 7.6% China 7.4% Spain 6.7% Greece 4.6% (2014)

Imports:
Rank: 132
Commodities: machinery and equipment foodstuffs textiles chemicals
Partners: Italy 35.4% Greece 11% China 8% Turkey 6.7% Germany 4.3% (2014)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 113

Debt external:
Rank: 111

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 95

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 4.726 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Production rank: 110
Consumption: 7.793 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 118
Exports: 288.5 million kWh (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 50
Imports: 3.355 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 58
Installed generating capacity: 1.878 million kW (2013 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 108
Generation sources fossil fuels: 5.2% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 200
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 38
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 94.8% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 9
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2013 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 152

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 26,600 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 77
Crude oil exports: 23,320 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 52
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 151
Crude oil proven reserves: 168.3 million bbl (1 January 2014 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 63

Refined petroleum
Products production: 3,121 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 108
Products consumption: 28,000 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 118
Products exports: 68 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 119
Products imports: 22,810 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 100

Natural gas
Production: 10 million m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 89
Consumption: 10 million m³ (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 111
Exports: 0 m³ (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 53
Imports: 0 m³ (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 152
Proven reserves: 849.5 million m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 104

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 3.962 million Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 131

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 250,000
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 8
Fixed lines rank: 123
Mobile cellular total: 3.4 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 111
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: 1.7 million
Users percent of population: 56.5%
Users rank: 104

Military expenditures:
Rank: 112

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)

Airports: 4 (2013)
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: 118

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

Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 7,443

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