Airports [time series]

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

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

16,700 km total; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km forest and agricultural

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa

Merchant marine [time series]

11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886 GRT/75,993 DWT; includes 11 cargo

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil, 145 km; refined products, 55 km; natural gas, 64 km (1988)

Ports [time series]

Durres, Sarande, Vlore

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

543 km total; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and 34 km narrow gauge, single track (1988); line connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

stations--17 AM, 5 FM, 9 TV; 52,000 TV sets; 210,000 radios

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Albanian People's Army, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops, Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

1.1 billion leks, 11.3% of total budget (FY88); note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 882,965; 729,635 fit for military service; 33,598 reach military age (19) annually

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Aid [time series]

none

Budget [time series]

revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

lek (plural--leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars

Electricity [time series]

1,630,000 kW capacity; 4,725 million kWh produced, 1,440 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

leke (L) per US$1--8.00 (noncommercial fixed rate since 1986), 4.14 (commercial fixed rate since 1987)

Exports [time series]

$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

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$NA

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

GNP [time series]

$3.8 billion, per capita $1,200; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.)

Imports [time series]

$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

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate NA

Industries [time series]

food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, basic metals, hydropower

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

NA%

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy. The Stalinist-type economy operates 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, although they do not go nearly so far as current reforms in the USSR and Eastern Europe. Attempts at self-reliance and a policy of not borrowing from international lenders--sometimes overlooked in recent years--have greatly hindered the development of a broad economic infrastructure. Albania, however, possesses considerable mineral resources and is largely self-sufficient in food. Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are subject to an especially wide margin of error because the government is isolated and closemouthed.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA%

Climate [time series]

mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter

Coastline [time series]

362 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than Maryland

Continental shelf [time series]

not specified;

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question with Greece

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast; deforestation seems to be slowing

Land boundaries [time series]

768 km total; Greece 282 km, Yugoslavia 486 km

Land use [time series]

21% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 15% meadows and pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes 1% irrigated

Natural resources [time series]

crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel

Note [time series]

strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)

Terrain [time series]

mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast

Maritime claims (Territorial sea) [time series]

15 nm

Area (Total area) [time series]

28,750 km2; land area: 27,400 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Tirane

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

147,000 party members (November 1986)

Constitution [time series]

27 December 1976

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

none--the US does not recognize the Albanian Government and has no diplomatic or consular relations with Albania; there is no third-power representation of Albanian interests in the US or of US interests in Albania

Executive branch [time series]

president of the Presidium of the People's Assembly, three vice presidents, Presidium of the People's Assembly; chairman of the Council of Ministers, three deputy chairmen, Council of Ministers

Flag [time series]

red with a black two-headed eagle in the center below a red five-pointed star outlined in yellow

Independence [time series]

28 November 1912 (from Turkey); People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State--President of the Presidium of the People's Assembly Ramiz ALIA (since 22 November 1982); Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adil CARCANI (since 14 January 1982)

Legal system [time series]

judicial review of legislative acts only in the Presidium of the People's Assembly, which is not a true court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

People's Socialist Republic of Albania

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

CCC, CEMA (has not participated since rift with USSR in 1961), FAO, IAEA, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

National holiday [time series]

Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

only party--Albanian Workers Party, Ramiz Alia, first secretary

Suffrage [time series]

universal and compulsory at age 18 President--last held 19 February 1987 (next to be held February 1991); results--President Ramiz Alia was reelected without opposition; People's Assembly--last held 1 February 1987 (next to be held February 1991); results--Albanian Workers Party is the only party; seats--(250 total) Albanian Workers Party 250

Government type (Type) [time series]

Communist state (Stalinist)

Birth rate [time series]

25 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)

Infant mortality rate [time series]

52 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

1,500,000 (1987); about 60% agriculture, 40% industry and commerce (1986)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

72 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

75%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Albanian(s); adjective--Albanian

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000 members

Population [time series]

3,273,131 (July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

Albania claims to be the world's first atheist state; all churches and mosques were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; pre-1967 estimates of religious affiliation--70% Muslim, 20% Albanian Orthodox, 10% Roman Catholic

Total fertility rate [time series]

3.0 children born/woman (1990)