15%
forest and woodland:
  38%
other:
  22%
Irrigated land:
  4,230 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues:
  deforestation
natural hazards:
  subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern
  coast
international agreements:
  party to - Biodiversity
Note:
  strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to
  Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)

@Albania, People

Population:
  3,374,085 (July 1994 est.)
note:
  IMF, working with Albanian government figures estimates the population
  at 3,120,000 in 1993 and that the population has fallen since 1990
Population growth rate:
  1.19% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
  22.46 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
  5.32 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -5.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  30 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
  73.4 years
male:
  70.42 years
female:
  76.61 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  2.78 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
  Albanian(s)
adjective:
  Albanian
Ethnic divisions:
  Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and
  Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
Religions:
  Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note:
  all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances
  prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious
  practice
Languages:
  Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek
Literacy:
  age 9 and over can read and write (1955)
total population:
  72%
male:
  80%
female:
  63%
Labor force:
  1.5 million (1987)
by occupation:
  agriculture 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)

@Albania, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
  Republic of Albania
conventional short form:
  Albania
local long form:
  Republika e Shqiperise
local short form:
  Shqiperia
former:
  People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Digraph:
  AL
Type:
  nascent democracy
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)
National holiday:
  Liberation Day, 28 November (1944; changed by decree on 12 November
  1993)
Constitution:
  an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April
  1991; a new constitution was to be drafted for adoption in 1992, but
  is still in process
Legal system:
  has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
  18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state:
  President of the Republic Sali BERISHA (since 9 April 1992)
head of government:
  Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers Aleksander Gabriel MEKSI
  (since 10 April 1992)
Cabinet:
  Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
  unicameral
People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor):
  elections last held 22 March 1992; results - DP 62.29%, ASP 25.57%,
  SDP 4.33%, RP 3.15%, UHP 2.92%, other 1.74%; seats - (140 total) DP
  92, ASP 38, SDP 7, RP 1, UHP 2
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
  there are at least 18 political parties; most prominent are the
  Albanian Socialist Party (ASP; formerly the Albania Workers Party),
  Fatos NANO, first secretary; Democratic Party (DP), Eduard SELAMI,
  chairman; Albanian Republican Party (RP), Sabri GODO; Omonia (Greek
  minority party), leader NA (ran in 1992 election as Unity for Human
  Rights Party (UHP)); Social Democratic Party (SDP), Skender GJINUSHI;
  Democratic Alliance Party (DAP), Spartak NGJELA, chairman
Member of:
  BSEC, CCC, CE (guest), CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
  IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL,
  IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
  Ambassador Lublin Hasan DILJA
chancery:
  Suite 1010, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone:
  (202) 223-4942, 8187
FAX:
  (202) 628-7342
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
  Ambassador William E. RYERSON
embassy:
  Rruga E. Elbansanit 103, Tirane
mailing address:
  PSC 59, Box 100 (A), APO AE 09624
telephone:
  355-42-32875, 33520
FAX:
  355-42-32222
Flag:
  red with a black two-headed eagle in the center

@Albania, Economy
Overview:
  An extremely poor country by European standards, Albania is making the
  difficult transition to a more open-market economy. The economy
  rebounded in 1993 after a severe depression accompanying the collapse
  of the previous centrally planned system in 1990 and 1991.
  Stabilization policies, including public sector layoffs and reduced
  social services, have improved the government's fiscal situation and
  reduced inflation. The recovery was spurred by the remittances of some
  5% of the population which works abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy.
  Foreign assistance and humanitarian aid also supported the recovery.
  Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving
  peasant incomes. Albania's limited industrial sector, now less than
  one-sixth of GDP, continued to decline in 1993. A sharp fall in
  chromium prices reduced hard currency receipts from the mining sector.
  Large segments of the population, especially those living in urban
  areas, continue to depend on humanitarian aid to meet basic food
  requirements. Unemployment remains a severe problem accounting for
  approximately one-fifth of the work force. Growth is expected to
  continue in 1994, but could falter if Albania becomes involved in the
  conflict in the former Yugoslavia, workers' remittances from Greece
  are reduced, or foreign assistance declines.
National product:
  GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $3.3 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  11% (1993)
National product per capita:
  $1,100 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  31% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  18% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
  $1.1 billion
expenditures:
  $1.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $70 million (1991
  est.)
Exports:
  $70 million (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
  asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude oil, vegetables,
  fruits, tobacco
partners:
  Italy, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Greece,
  Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary
Imports:
  $524 million (f.o.b.,