The 1996 CIA World Factbook page on Albania

From: The CIA'sTHE WORLD FACTBOOK 1996

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Albania

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Map

Location: 41 00 N, 20 00 E -- Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro

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

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Geography

Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro
Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total area: 28,750 sq km
land area: 27,400 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 720 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro)
Coastline: 362 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Serbian Republic; Albanians in Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public-sector jobs and representation in government; Albania is involved in negotiations with Greece over border demarcation, the treatment of Albania's ethnic Greek minority, and migrant Albanian workers in 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
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit 2,753 m
Natural resources: petroleum, 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%
Irrigated land: 4,230 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Geographic note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)

People

Population: 3,249,136 (July 1996 est.)
note: the IMF, working with Albanian government figures, estimates that the population was 3,120,000 in 1993 and that it has fallen since 1990
Age structure:
0-14 years: 34% (male 570,978; female 529,147)
15-64 years: 60% (male 910,873; female 1,049,662)
65 years and over: 6% (male 77,799; female 110,677) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.34% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 22.21 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.92 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 49.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.92 years
male: 64.91 years
female: 71.17 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.65 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian
Ethnic divisions: 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)
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
Languages: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek
Literacy: age 9 and over can read and write (1955 est.)
total population: 72%
male: 80%
female: 63%

Government

Name of country:
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
Data code: AL
Type of government: emerging democracy
Capital: Tirane
Administrative divisions: 26 districts (rrethe, singular - rreth); Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar, Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore; note - some new administrative units may have been created
Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1912)
Constitution: an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991; a draft constitution was rejected by popular referendum in the fall of 1994 and a new draft is pending
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 Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992) was elected for a five-year term by the People's Assembly
head of government: Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI (since 10 April 1992) was appointed by the president
cabinet: Council of Ministers was appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral
People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor): elections 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
note: six members of the Democratic Party defected, making the present seating in the Assembly DP 86, ASP 38, SDP 7, DAP 6, RP 1, UHP 2
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, chairman of the Supreme Court is elected by the People's Assembly
Political parties and leaders: there are at least 28 political parties; most prominent are the Albanian Socialist Party (ASP; formerly the Albania Workers Party), Fatos NANO, first secretary; Democratic Party (DP); Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO; Omonia (Greek minority party), Sotir QIRJAZATI, first secretary; Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI; Democratic Alliance Party (DAP), Neritan CEKA, chairman; Unity for Human Rights Party (UHP), Vasil MELO, chairman; Ecology Party (EP), Namik HOTI, chairman
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, 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, NACC, OIC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Lublin DILJA
chancery: Suite 1000, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942, 8187
FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph E. LAKE
embassy: Rruga E. Labinoti 103, Tirane
mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624
telephone: [355] (42) 328-75, 335-20
FAX: [355] (42) 322-22
Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center

Economy

Economic 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. Stabilization policies - including a strict monetary policy, public sector layoffs, and reduced social services - have improved the government's fiscal situation and reduced inflation. The recovery has been spurred by the 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. Foreign assistance and humanitarian aid also supported the recovery. Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes. Albania's industrial sector ended its five-year, 78% decline in 1995, recording roughly 6% growth. A sharp fall in chromium prices has reduced hard currency receipts from the mining sector. Large segments of the population, especially those living in urban areas, continue to depend on humanitarian aid to meet basic food requirements. Unemployment remains a severe problem accounting for approximately one-fifth of the work force. Now that sanctions on Serbia have been suspended, the falloff in hard currency earnings from smuggling will aggravate unemployment problems. Growth is expected to continue in 1996, but could falter if workers' remittances from Greece are reduced or foreign assistance declines.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $4.1 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $1,210 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 55%
industry: NA%
services: NA% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16% (1994 est.)
Labor force: 1.692 million (1994 est.) (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed)
by occupation (of those domestically employed): agriculture (nearly all private) 49.5%, private sector 22.2%, state (nonfarm) sector 28.3% (including state-owned industry 7.8%)
Unemployment rate: 19% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $486.3 million
expenditures: $550.4 million, including capital expenditures of $124 million (1994)
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 1,662,000 kW
production: 3.9 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,219 kWh (1994 est.)
Agriculture: wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium production
Exports: $141 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
partners: Italy, US, Greece, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Imports: $601 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: machinery, consumer goods, grains
partners: Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
External debt: $977 million (1994 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1 - 95.65 (January 1996), 100.00 (January 1995), 99.00 (January 1994), 97.00 (January 1993), 50.00 (January 1992), 25.00 (September 1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation

Railways:
total: 670 km
standard gauge: 670 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)
Highways:
total: 18,450 km
paved: 17,450 km
unpaved: 1,000 km (1991 est.)
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 (1991)
Ports: Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
Merchant marine:
total: 11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,967 GRT/76,887 DWT (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 11
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2
with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 (1994 est.)

Communications

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 Tirane exchange to Italy and Greece
Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: 577,000 (1991 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 9
Televisions: 300,000 (1993 est.)

Defense

Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 723,231
males fit for military service: 588,304
males reach military age (19) annually: 29,340 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $45 million, 2.5% of GDP (1995)

Albania

Original publicaton at http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm (June 17, 1997).