Albania

parliamentary republic

name: Tirana (Tirane) geographic coordinates: 41 19 N, 19 49 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the name "Tirana" first appears in a 1418 Venetian document; the origin of the name is unclear

chief of state: President Bajram BEGAJ (since 24 July 2022) head of government: Prime Minister Edi RAMA (since 10 September 2013) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and approved by the Assembly election/appointment process: president indirectly elected by the Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); a candidate needs three-fifths majority vote of the Assembly in 1 of 3 rounds or a simple majority in 2 additional rounds to become president; prime minister appointed by the president on the proposal of the majority party or coalition of parties in the Assembly most recent election date: held in 4 rounds on 16, 23, and 30 May and 4 June 2022 election results: 2022: Bajram BEGAJ elected president in the fourth round; Assembly vote - 78-4, opposition parties boycotted 2017: Ilir META elected president in the fourth round; Assembly vote - 87-2 expected date of next election: 2027

legislature name: Albanian Parliament legislative structure: unicameral chamber name: Parliament (Kuvendi) number of seats: 140 (all directly elected) electoral system: proportional representation scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 4 years most recent election date: 5/11/2025 parties elected and seats per party: Socialist Party of Albania (PS) (83); Democratic Party - Alliance for a Greater Albania (PD-ASHM) (50); Other (7) percentage of women in chamber: 35% expected date of next election: May 2029

highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of 19 judges, including the chief justice); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges, including the chairman) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the High Judicial Council with the consent of the president to serve single 9-year terms; Supreme Court chairman is elected for a single 3-year term by the court members; appointments of Constitutional Court judges are rotated among the president, Parliament, and Supreme Court from a list of pre-qualified candidates (each institution selects 3 judges), to serve single 9-year terms; candidates are pre-qualified by a randomly selected body of experienced judges and prosecutors; Constitutional Court chairman is elected by the court members for a single, renewable 3-year term subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; specialized courts: Court for Corruption and Organized Crime, Appeals Court for Corruption and Organized Crime (responsible for corruption, organized crime, and crimes of high officials)

history: several previous; latest approved by the Assembly 21 October 1998, adopted by referendum 22 November 1998, promulgated 28 November 1998 amendment process: proposed by at least one-fifth of the Assembly membership; passage requires at least a two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; referendum required only if approved by two-thirds of the Assembly; amendments approved by referendum effective upon declaration by the president of the republic

BSEC, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EITI (compliant country), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO note : Albania is an EU candidate country and must complete accession criteria before being granted full membership

2% of GDP (2025 est.) 1.7% of GDP (2024 est.) 1.7% of GDP (2023 est.) 1.2% of GDP (2022 est.) 1.2% of GDP (2021 est.)

Republic of Albania Armed Forces (Forcat e Armatosura t Republik s s Shqip ris (FARSH); aka Albanian Armed Forces (AAF)): Land Forces, Naval Force (includes Coast Guard), Air Forces Ministry of Interior: Guard of the Republic, State Police (includes the Border and Migration Police) (2025) note: the State Police are primarily responsible for internal security, including counterterrorism, while the Guard of the Republic protects senior state officials, foreign dignitaries, and certain state properties

18-30 for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription abolished 2010 (2025) note: as of 2024, women comprised about 15% of the military's full-time personnel

the Albanian Armed Forces (AAF) are responsible for defending the country s independence, sovereignty, and territory, assisting with internal security, providing disaster and humanitarian relief, and participating in international peacekeeping missions; the AAF is a small, lightly armed force that has been undergoing a modernization effort to improve its ability to fulfill NATO missions; the AAF has contributed small numbers of forces to several NATO missions since Albania joined NATO in 2009, including peacekeeping/stability missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Iraq, and multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria and Latvia; it has also contributed to EU and UN missions (2025)

250 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR) (2025)

$51.36 billion (2024 est.) $49.403 billion (2023 est.) $47.532 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$18,900 (2024 est.) $18,000 (2023 est.) $17,100 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

4% (2024 est.) 3.9% (2023 est.) 4.8% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

2.2% (2024 est.) 4.8% (2023 est.) 6.7% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

81.9% of GDP (2021 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP

$9.848 billion (2024 est.) $9.099 billion (2023 est.) $7.057 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$11.697 billion (2024 est.) $10.374 billion (2023 est.) $9.016 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

10.3% (2024 est.) 10.2% (2023 est.) 10.2% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $6.636 billion (2023 est.) expenditures: $6.966 billion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

food; footwear, apparel and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower

milk, maize, tomatoes, watermelons, potatoes, wheat, grapes, onions, cucumbers/gherkins, olives (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 2,551,837 (2025 est.) male: 1,229,151 female: 1,322,686

-1.06% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 18% (male 292,296/female 267,052) 15-64 years: 66.9% (male 1,023,515/female 1,055,388) 65 years and over: 15.1% (2024 est.) (male 215,252/female 253,597)

8.71 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-11.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 79.9 years (2024 est.) male: 77.3 years female: 82.8 years

urban population: 64.6% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.29% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Albanian 82.6%, Greek 0.9%, other 1% (including Vlach, Romani, Macedonian, Montenegrin, and Egyptian), unspecified 15.5% (2011 est.) note: data represent population by ethnic and cultural affiliation

Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Romani, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.) major-language sample(s): Libri i fakteve boterore, burimi i pazevendesueshem per informacione elementare (Albanian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Muslim 56.7%, Roman Catholic 10%, Orthodox 6.8%, atheist 2.5%, Bektashi (a Sufi order) 2.1%, other 5.7%, unspecified 16.2% (2011 est.) note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice

total population: 97.7% (2023 est.) male: 98.2% (2023 est.) female: 97.2% (2023 est.)

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

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 9,381 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 2,203 (2024 est.)

3 (2025)

total: 424 km (2017) 2021-All the trains in the country suspended

total: 69 (2023) by type: general cargo 46, oil tanker 1, other 22

total subscriptions: 2.49 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 89 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 83% (2023 est.)