The World Factbook (1990)/Albania
Albania
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See regional map V
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: 15 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: 21% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 15% meadows and pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes 1% irrigated
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: 3,273,131 (July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990)
Birth rate: 25 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 52 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Albanian(s); adjective—Albanian
Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
Religion: 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
Language: Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek
Literacy: 75%
Labor force: 1,500,000 (1987); about 60% agriculture, 40% industry and commerce (1986)
Organized labor: Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000 members
Government
Long-form name: People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Type: Communist state (Stalinist)
Capital: Tiranë
Administrative divisions: 26 districts (rrethe, singular—rreth); Berat, Dibrë, Durrës, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokastër, Gramsh, Kolonjë, Korçë, Krujë, Kukës, Lezhë, Librazhd, Lushnjë, Mat, Mirditë, Përmet, Pogradec, Pukë, Sarandë, Shkodër, Skrapar, Tepelenë, Tiranë, Tropojë, Vlorë
Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Turkey); People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946
Constitution: 27 December 1976
Legal system: 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
National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)
Executive branch: 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
Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvëndi Popullor)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: 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 ÇARÇANI (since 14 January 1982)
Political parties and leaders: only party—Albanian Workers Party, Ramiz Alia, first secretary
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Elections: 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
Communists: 147,000 party members (November 1986)
Member of: CCC, CEMA (has not participated since rift with USSR in 1961), FAO, IAEA, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: 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
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. 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.
GNP: $3.8 billion, per capita $1,200; real growth rate NA% (1989 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: 1,630,000 kW capacity; 4,725 million kWh produced, 1,440 kWh per capita (1989)
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
Aid: none
Currency: lek (plural—lekë); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Exchange rates: lekë (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 (1988); line
connecting Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkodër (Albania) completed August 1986
Highways: 16,700 km total; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km forest and agricultural
Inland waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa
Pipelines: crude oil, 145 km; refined products, 55 km; natural gas, 64 km (1988)
Ports: Durrës, Sarandë, Vlorë
Merchant marine: 11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886 GRT/75,993 DWT; includes 11 cargo
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, 5 FM, 9 TV; 52,000 TV sets; 210,000 radios
Defense Forces
Branches: Albanian People's Army, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops, Albanian Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 882,965; 729,635 fit for military service; 33,598 reach military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures: 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