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Albania

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Background :

Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. 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, a dilapidated physical 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. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, there have been claims of electoral fraud in every one of Albania's post-communist elections. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges to reduce crime and corruption, promote economic growth, and decrease the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and is a potential candidate for EU accession. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure. 

Location :

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece in the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

41 00 N, 20 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 19.29
North 42.67
East 21.07
South 39.65

Area :

total 28 748 square km
land 27 398 square km
water 1 350 square km

Land boundaries :

total 717 km
Greece (gr) 282 km
Macedonia (mk) 151 km
Montenegro (me) 172 km
Kosovo 112 km

Coastline :

362.00 km

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 0 metres
highest point 2 764 metres

Natural resources :

bauxite chromite
coal copper
hydropower iron ore
natural gas nickel
petroleum salt
timber

Land use :

arable land 20.10 %
permanent crops 4.21 %
other 75.69 %

Irrigated land :

3 530 square km

Natural hazards :

destructive earthquakes floods
tsunamis

current issues :

deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents 

international agreements :

Air Pollution Biodiversity
Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Desertification Endangered Species
Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea
Ozone Layer Protection Wetlands

Population :

3 639 453 

Indicators :

Growth rate 0.55 %
Birth rate 15.29 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 2.01 children born/woman
Death rate 5.55 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -4.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 23.10 %
15-64 years 67.10 %
65 years and over 9.80 %

Median age :

total 29.90 years
male 29.30 years
female 30.60 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.10 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.10 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.87 male(s)/female
total population 1.04 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 18.62 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 77.96 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 75.28 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 80.89 years

Religions :

Muslim 70.00 %
Orthodox 20.00 %
Roman Catholic 10.00 %

Languages :

Albanian  
Greek  
Vlach  
Romani  
Slavic dialects  

Literacy :

total population 98.70 %
male 99.20 %
female 98.30 %

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

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 AL
ISO Numeric 8
ISO3 ALB
FIPS AL
ccTLD al
English Albania

Administrative divisions :

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

Capital :

name Tirana
geographic coordinates 41 19 N, 19 49 E
time difference 1.00
daylight saving time 1

International organization participation :

BSEC CE
CEI EAPC
EBRD FAO
IAEA IBRD
ICAO ICCt
ICRM IDA
IDB IFAD
IFC IFRCS
ILO IMF
IMO IOC
IOM IPU
ISO (correspondent) ITU
ITUC Interpol
MIGA MINURCAT
NATO OIC
OIF OPCW
OSCE SECI
UN UNCTAD
UNESCO UNIDO
UNWTO UPU
WCO WFTU
WHO WIPO
WMO WTO

Independence :

1912-11-28 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1912-11-28

Executive branch :

President Bamir TOPI Prime Minister Sali BERISHA

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 22 590 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 11 730 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 2.10 %
PPP - per capita 6 200 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 20.60 %
industry 18.80 %
services 60.60 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 58.00 %
industry 15.00 %
services 27.00 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 1 103 000 people
Unemployment rate 12.00 %
Population below poverty line 25.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 26.70
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.10 %
Investment (gross fixed) 23.70 % of GDP
Current account balance - 1 195 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 1 747 000 000 $
Debt external 1 550 000 000 $
Military expenditures 1.49 % of GDP
Public debt 54.90 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 3.20 %
highest 10% 25.90 %

Budget :

revenues 3 460 000 000 $
expenditures 4 099 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

corn dairy
fruits grapes
meat potatoes
sugar beets vegetables
wheat

Industries :

basic metals cement
chemicals clothing
food processing hydropower
mining oil
textiles timber

Energy :

Electricity Production 2 888 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 3 603 000 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 2 475 000 000 kWh
Oil Production 5 985 bbl/day
Oil Consumption 34 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 748 bbl/day
Oil Imports 24 080 bbl/day
Oil Proved reserves 199 100 000 bbl
Natural gas Production 30 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Consumption 30 000 000 cubic metres
Electricity Exports 849 500 000 cubic metres

Value :

1 194 000 000 $

Commodities :

asphalt crude oil
fruits metals and metallic ores
textiles and footwear tobacco
vegetables

Value :

3 602 000 000 $

Partners :

Italy (it) 32.10 %
Greece (gr) 13.10 %
Turkey (tr) 7.20 %
Germany (de) 6.60 %
China (cn) 4.50 %
Russia (ru) 4.20 %

Commodities :

chemicals foodstuffs
machinery and equipment textiles

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 316 400
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 3 141 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 46
Television broadcast stations 65
Internet Country code (ccTLD) al
Internet Hosts 14 245
Internet Users 471 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 4
Heliports 1
Pipelines - gas 339 km
Pipelines - oil 207 km
Roadways - total 18 000 km
Roadways - paved 7 020 km
Roadways - unpaved 10 980 km
Railways 896 km
Waterways 43 km

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