Brief History:
The name Albania is derived from an ancient Illyrian tribe, the Albanoi, forbears of the modern Albanians. The Albanian name for their country is Shqiperia.
Prior to the 20th century, Albania was subject to foreign domination except for a brief period (1443-78) of revolt from Ottoman rule. Albania declared its independence during the first Balkan War in 1912 and remained independent after the World War I largely through the intercession of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference.
After World War II, Albania became a Stalinist state under Enver Hoxha, and remained staunchly isolationist until its transition to democracy after 1990.
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 high unemployment, a dilapidated infrastructure, widespread gangsterism, and disruptive political opponents. International observers judged local elections in 2000 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, but serious deficiencies remain to be corrected before the 2001 parliamentary elections.
Socialist Party chairman Nano replaced Pandeli Majko in July 2002 to become Albania's third prime minister in less than a year.
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Geography:
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Area: Total: 28,748 sq km Land: 27,398 sq km Water: 1,350 sq km
Land Boundaries: Total: 720 km
Border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Yugoslavia 287 km
Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower
Environmental Issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
Demographics:
| Population | 3,510,484 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age Structure | 0-14 years: 29.53%
15-64 years: 63.48%
65 years and over: 6.99% |
| Population Growth Rate | 0.88% (2001 est.) |
| Birth Rate | 19.01 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death Rate | 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net Migration Rate | -3.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Sex Ratio | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate | 39.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life Expectancy at Birth | total population: 71.83 years
male: 69.01 years female: 74.87 years (2001 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate | 2.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 93% (1997 est.)
male: NA% female: NA% |
% of population with access to
safe water |
% of population with access to
adequate sanitation |
| Water - Total | 97 | Sanitation - Total | 91 |
| Water - Urban | 99 | Sanitation - Urban | 99 |
| Water - Rural | 95 | Sanitation - Rural | 85 |
Economy:
Albania is Europe's poorest country and continues to face severe difficulties adjusting to the new Europe after decades of Stalinist isolation. More recently, conditions have been worsened by regional political instability and the collapse of 'pyramid' investment schemes. Albania is blessed with appreciable natural resources: it is one of the world's largest producers of chromium, and boasts reserves of copper, nickel, pyrites and coal. There are also oil deposits, both on and offshore. The agricultural sector, which accounts for 40% of GDP and underwent some upheaval following de-collectivization, has now settled down with all but a few farming enterprises in the private sector. New components of the economy, such as tourism, which were mostly set up with foreign investment have suffered badly in the wake of the 1997 upheaval. A great deal of Albania's hard-won economic progress was destroyed during that period. Since then, the already substantial black economy, based on large-scale smuggling, has become an even greater influence over the national economy. Meanwhile, the legitimate economy is slowly being put back together. In July 2000, Albania was admitted to the World Trade Organization - as much a valuable symbol of international recognition as a potential boost to the economy.
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.5 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - Real Growth Rate | 7.5% (2000 est.) |
| GDP - Per Capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) |
| GDP - Composition by Sector | agriculture: 55%
industry: 24%
services: 21% (2000) |
| Inflation Rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2000 est.) |
| Labor force | 1.692 million (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (1994 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% |
| Budget | revenues: $393 million
expenditures: $676 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
| Industries | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
| Exports | $310 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports commodities | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil;vegetables, fruits, tobacco |
| Exports partners | Italy 67%, Greece 15%, Germany 5%, Austria 2%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2% (2000) |
| Imports | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
| Imports partners | Italy 37%, Greece 28%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 3% (2000) |
| Currency | lek (ALL) |
| Exchange Rates | leke per US dollar - 146.08 (December 2000), 143.71 (2000), 137.69 (1999), 150.63 (1998), 148.93 (1997), 104.50 (1996);
note - leke is the plural of lek |
Albania is completing the process of transition from a centralized planned economy to a free-market. The state's role in the economy is shrinking as this process continues. In 2000, the GOA sold the state-owned mobile phone company, AMC, to a Norwegian-Greek consortium for USD 86 million. In 2001, the GOA privatized its four remaining small and medium-sized enterprises, a brewery, distillery, dairy, and pharmaceutical company and sold a second GSM license for USD 38 million. The GOA plans to sell the Savings Bank of Albania and INSIG, the state-owned insurance company, in 2001-2002. Nearly all land in Albania is privately owned.
| Telephones - main lines in use | 87,000 (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,100 (1999) |
| Televisions | 405,000 (1997) |
| Internet country code | .al |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 7 (2000) |
| Internet users | 2,500 (2000) |
| Railways | total: 447 km
standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
| Highways | total: 18,000 km
paved: 5,400 km
unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.) |
| Waterways | 43 km
note: includes 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) |
