Republic of Albania

National name: Republika e Shqiperise

President: Alfred Moisiu (2002)

Prime Minister: Sali Berisha (2005)

Land area: 10,579 sq mi (27,400 sq km); total area: 11,100 sq mi (28,748 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 3,581,655 (growth rate: 0.5%); birth rate: 15.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 20.8/1000; life expectancy: 77.4; density per sq mi: 339

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Tirana, 353,400

Other large cities: Durres, 113,900; Elbasan, 97,000

Monetary unit: Lek

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

Ethnicity/race: Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2%: Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians (1989 est.)

Religions: Islam 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% (est.)

Literacy rate: 87% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $18.07 billion; per capita $4,900. Real growth rate: 5.5%. Inflation: 2.4%. Unemployment: 14.3% official rate, but may exceed 30%. Arable land: 20.1%. Agriculture: wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products. Labor force: 1.09 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers); agriculture 58%, nonagricultural private sector 19%, public sector 23% (2004 est.). Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower. Exports: $650.1 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco. Imports: $2.473 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals. Major trading partners: Italy, Canada, Germany, Greece, Turkey (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 255,000 (2003); mobile cellular: 1.1 million (2003). Radio broadcast stations: AM 13, FM 46 (3 national, 62 local), shortwave 1 (2005). Television broadcast stations: 65 (3 national, 62 local); note - 2 cable networks (2005). Internet hosts: 749 (2005). Internet users: 75,000 (2005).

Transportation: Railways: total: 447 km (2004). Highways: total: 18,000 km; paved: 5,400 km; unpaved: 12,600 km (2002). Waterways: 43 km (2006). Ports and harbors: Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore. Airports: 11 (2005).

International disputes: the Albanian Government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in neighboring countries, and the peaceful resolution of interethnic disputes; some ethnic Albanian groups in neighboring countries advocate for a "greater Albania," but the idea has little appeal among Albanian nationals; thousands of unemployed Albanians emigrate annually to nearby Italy and other developed countries.

 

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