ALBANIA GEOGRAPHY Total area: 28,750 km2; land area: 27,400 km2 Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland Land boundaries: 768 km total; Greece 282 km, Yugoslavia 486 km Coastline: 362 km Maritime claims: Continental shelf: not specified; Territorial sea: 12 nm Disputes: Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question with 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 Natural resources: crude oil, 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%; includes irrigated 1% Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast; deforestation seems to be slowing Note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) PEOPLE Population: 3,335,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.8% (1991) Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 50 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 79 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Albanian(s); adjective--Albanian Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.) Religion: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990 Albania began allowing private religious practice and was considering the repeal of the constitutional amendment banning religious activities; estimates of religious affiliation--Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% Language: Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek Literacy: 72% (male 80%, female 63%) age 9 and over can read and write (1955) Labor force: 1,500,000 (1987); agriculture about 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986) Organized labor: Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000 members GOVERNMENT Long-form name: Republic of Albania Type: nascent democracy with strong Communist party influence; basic law has dropped all references to socialism 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 Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire); People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946 Constitution: an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991; a new constitution is to be drafted for adoption in four to six months Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 November (1944) Executive branch: president, prime minister of the Council of Ministers, one deputy prime minister of the Council of Ministers Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor) Judicial branch: Supreme Court Leaders: Chief of State--President of the Republic Ramiz ALIA (since 22 November 1982); Head of Government--Prime Minister of the interim Council of Ministers Ylli BUFI (since 5 June 1991); Political parties and leaders: Albanian Workers Party (AWP), Ramiz ALIA, first secretary; Democratic Party (DP), Sali BERISHA, chairman and cofounder with Gramoz PASHKO; Albanian Republican Party, Sabri GODO; Ecology Party, Namik HOTI; Omonia (Greek minority party), leader NA; Agrarian Party, leader NA; note--in December 1990 President ALIA allowed new political parties to be formed in addition to the AWP for the first time since 1944 Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 Elections: President--last held 30 April 1991 (next to be held spring 1992); results--President Ramiz ALIA was reelected with token opposition; People's Assembly--last held 31 March 1991 (next to be held spring 1992); results--AWP 68%, DP 25%; seats--(250 total) preliminary results AWP 168, DP 75, Omonia 5, Veterans Association 1, other 1; note--the AWP's votes came mostly from the countryside while the DP won majorities in the six-largest cities; Communists: 147,000 party members (November 1986); note--in March 1991 the Albanian Workers' Party announced that it considered itself no longer Communist but socialist Member of: ECE, FAO, IAEA, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO Diplomatic representation: the Governments of the United States and Albania agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations to be effective from 15 March 1991 and to exchange diplomatic missions at the level of ambassador Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center below a red five-pointed star outlined in yellow ECONOMY Overview: As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy. For over 40 years, the Stalinist-type economy has operated on the principles of central planning and state ownership of the means of production. In recent years Albania has implemented limited economic reforms to stimulate its lagging economy, provide incentives, and decentralize decisionmaking. In an effort to expand international ties, Tirane has reestablished diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and the US. The Albanians have also passed legislation allowing foreign investment. Albania possesses considerable mineral resources and, until 1990, was largely self-sufficient in food; several years of drought have hindered agricultural development. Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are subject to an especially wide margin of error because the government until recently did not release economic information. GNP: $4.1 billion, per capita $1,250; real growth rate NA% (1990 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA% Unemployment rate: NA% Budget: revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989) Exports: $378 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--asphalt, bitumen, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary Imports: $255 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, GDR External debt: $NA Industrial production: growth rate NA Electricity: 1,690,000 kW capacity; 5,000 million kWh produced, 1,530 kWh per capita (1990) Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, basic metals, hydropower Agriculture: arable land per capita among lowest in Europe; one-half of work force engaged in farming; produces wide range of temperate-zone crops and livestock; claims self-sufficiency in grain output Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA (1988) $5.8 million Currency: lek (plural--leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1--8.00 (noncommercial fixed rate since 1986), 4.14 (commercial fixed rate since 1987) Fiscal year: calendar year COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 543 km total; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and 34 km narrow gauge, single track (1990); line connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986 Highways: 16,700 km total; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km forest and agricultural (1990) Inland waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) Pipelines: crude oil, 145 km; refined products, 55 km; natural gas, 64 km (1988) Ports: Durres, Sarande, Vlore Merchant marine: 11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886 GRT/75,993 DWT Airports: 12 total, 10 usable; more than 5 with permanent-surface runways; more than 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: stations--17 AM, 1 FM, 9 TV; 246,000 TVs (1990); 210,000 radios DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Albanian People's Army, Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops Manpower availability: males 15-49, 900,723; 743,594 fit for military service; 33,497 reach military age (19) annually Defense expenditures: 1.0 billion leks, NA% of GDP (FY90); note--conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results