Albania became dependent on Soviet aid and know-how
after the
break with Yugoslavia in 1948. In February 1949, Albania
gained
membership in the communist bloc's organization for
coordinating
economic planning, the Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance
(Comecon). Tiranë soon entered into trade agreements with
Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and the Soviet Union.
Soviet
and East European technical advisers took up residence in
Albania, and the Soviet Union also sent Albania military
advisers
and built a submarine installation on Sazan Island. After
the
Soviet-Yugoslav split, Albania and Bulgaria were the only
countries the Soviet Union could use to funnel war
matériel to
the communists fighting in Greece. What little strategic
value
Albania offered the Soviet Union, however, gradually
shrank as
nuclear arms technology developed.
Anxious to pay homage to Stalin, Albania's rulers
implemented
new elements of the Stalinist economic system. In 1949
Albania
adopted the basic elements of the Soviet fiscal system,
under
which state enterprises paid direct contributions to the
treasury
from their profits and kept only a share authorized for
self-financed investments and other purposes. In 1951 the
Albanian government launched its first five-year plan,
which
emphasized exploiting the country's oil, chromite, copper,
nickel, asphalt, and coal resources; expanding electricity
production and the power grid; increasing agricultural
output;
and improving transportation. The government began a
program of
rapid industrialization after the APL's Second Party
Congress and
a campaign of forced collectivization of farmland in 1955.
At the
time, private farms still produced about 87 percent of
Albania's
agricultural output, but by 1960 the same percentage came
from
collective or state farms.
Soviet-Albanian relations remained warm during the last
years
of Stalin's life despite the fact that Albania was an
economic
liability for the Soviet Union. Albania conducted all its
foreign
trade with Soviet European countries in 1949, 1950, and
1951 and
over half its trade with the Soviet Union itself. Together
with
its satellites, the Soviet Union underwrote shortfalls in
Albania's balance of payments with long-term grants (see
Dependence on the Soviet Union, 1948-60, ch.3).
Although far behind Western practice, health care and
education improved dramatically for Albania's 1.2 million
people
in the early 1950s. The number of Albanian doctors
increased by a
third to about 150 early in the decade (although the
doctorpatient ratio remained unacceptable by most standards),
and the
state opened new medical training facilities. The number
of
hospital beds rose from 1,765 in 1945 to about 5,500 in
1953.
Better health care and living conditions produced an
improvement
in Albania's dismal infant mortality rate, lowering it
from 112.2
deaths per 1,000 live births in 1945 to 99.5 deaths per
1,000
births in 1953 (see
Medical Care and Nutrition, ch. 2).
The
education system, considered a tool for propagating
communism and
creating the academic and technical cadres necessary for
construction of a socialist state and society, also
improved
dramatically. The number of schools, teachers, and
students
doubled between 1945 and 1950. Illiteracy declined from
perhaps
85 percent in 1946 to 31 percent in 1950. The Soviet Union
provided scholarships for Albanian students and supplied
specialists and study materials to improve instruction in
Albania. The Enver Hoxha University at Tiranë was founded
in 1957
and the Albanian Academy of Sciences opened fifteen years
later.
Despite these advances, however, education in Albania
suffered as
a result of restrictions on freedom of thought. For
example,
education institutions had scant influence on their own
curricula, methods of teaching, or administration (see
Education Under Communist Rule, ch. 2).
Stalin died in March 1953, and apparently fearing that
the
Soviet ruler's demise might encourage rivals within the
Albanian
party's ranks, neither Hoxha nor Shehu risked traveling to
Moscow
to attend his funeral. The Soviet Union's subsequent
movement
toward rapprochement with the hated Yugoslavs rankled the
two
Albanian leaders. Tiranë soon came under pressure from
Moscow to
copy, at least formally, the new Soviet model for a
collective
leadership. In July 1953, Hoxha handed over the foreign
affairs
and defense portfolios to loyal followers, but he kept
both the
top party post and the premiership until 1954, when Shehu
became
Albania's prime minister. The Soviet Union, responding
with an
effort to raise the Albanian leaders' morale, elevated
diplomatic
relations between the two countries to the ambassadorial
level.
Despite some initial expressions of enthusiasm, Hoxha
and
Shehu mistrusted Nikita Khrushchev's programs of "peaceful
coexistence" and "different roads to socialism" because
they
appeared to pose the threat that Yugoslavia might again
try to
take control of Albania. Hoxha and Shehu were also alarmed
at the
prospect that Moscow might prefer less dogmatic rulers in
Albania. Tiranë and Belgrade renewed diplomatic relations
in
December 1953, but Hoxha refused Khrushchev's repeated
appeals to
rehabilitate posthumously the pro-Yugoslav Xoxe as a
gesture to
Tito. The Albanian duo instead tightened their grip on
their
country's domestic life and let the propaganda war with
the
Yugoslavs grind on. In 1955 Albania became a founding
member of
the
Warsaw Treaty
Organization (see Glossary), better
known as
the Warsaw Pact, the only military alliance the nation
ever
joined. Although the pact represented the first promise
Albania
had obtained from any of the communist countries to defend
its
borders, the treaty did nothing to assuage the Albanian
leaders'
deep mistrust of Yugoslavia.
Hoxha and Shehu tapped the Albanians' deep-seated fear
of
Yugoslav domination to remain in power during the thaw
following
the Twentieth Party Congress of the Communist party of the
Soviet
Union's in 1956, when Khrushchev denounced Stalin's crimes
in his
"secret speech." Hoxha defended Stalin and blamed the
Titoist
heresy for the troubles vexing world communism, including
the
disturbances in Poland and the rebellion in Hungary in
1956.
Hoxha mercilessly purged party moderates with pro-Soviet
and
pro-Yugoslav leanings, but he toned down his anti-Yugoslav
rhetoric after an April 1957 trip to Moscow, where he won
cancellation of about US$105 million in outstanding loans
and
about US$7.8 million in additional food assistance. By
1958,
however, Hoxha was again complaining about Tito's
"fascism" and
"genocide" against Albanians in Kosovo. He also grumbled
about a
Comecon plan for integrating the East European economies,
which
called for Albania to produce agricultural goods and
minerals
instead of emphasizing development of heavy industry. On a
twelve-day visit to Albania in 1959, Khrushchev reportedly
tried
to convince Hoxha and Shehu that their country should
aspire to
become socialism's "orchard."
Background | | Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, there have been claims of electoral fraud in every one of Albania's post-communist elections. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges to reduce crime and corruption, promote economic growth, and decrease the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and is a potential candidate for EU accession. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure.
|
Location | | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece in the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km
|
Geographic coordinates | | 41 00 N, 20 00 E
|
Land boundaries(km) | | total: 717 km border countries: Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Montenegro 172 km, Kosovo 112 km
|
Coastline(km) | | 362 km
|
Climate | | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m
|
Natural resources | | petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower
|
Land use(%) | | arable land: 20.1% permanent crops: 4.21% other: 75.69% (2005)
|
Irrigated land(sq km) | | 3,530 sq km (2003)
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 41.7 cu km (2001)
|
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 1.71 cu km/yr (27%/11%/62%) per capita: 546 cu m/yr (2000)
|
Natural hazards | | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought
|
Environment - current issues | | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
|
Environment - international agreements | | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
|
Geography - note | | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
|
Population | | 3,639,453 (July 2009 est.)
|
Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 23.1% (male 440,528/female 400,816) 15-64 years: 67.1% (male 1,251,001/female 1,190,841) 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 165,557/female 190,710) (2009 est.)
|
Median age(years) | | total: 29.9 years male: 29.3 years female: 30.6 years (2009 est.)
|
Population growth rate(%) | | 0.546% (2009 est.)
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 15.29 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
|
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -4.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 47% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 1.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
|
Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
|
Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 18.62 deaths/1,000 live births male: 19.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
|
Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 77.96 years male: 75.28 years female: 80.89 years (2009 est.)
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 2.01 children born/woman (2009 est.)
|
Nationality | | noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian
|
Ethnic groups(%) | | Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb, Macedonian, Bulgarian) (1989 est.) note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)
|
Religions(%) | | Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% note: percentages are estimates; there are no available current statistics on religious affiliation; all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice
|
Languages(%) | | Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects
|
Country name | | 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
|
Government type | | emerging democracy
|
Capital | | 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
|
Administrative divisions | | 12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Berat, Diber, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Korce, Kukes, Lezhe, Shkoder, Tirane, Vlore
|
Constitution | | approved by parliament on 21 October 1998; adopted by popular referendum on 22 November 1998; promulgated 28 November 1998
|
Legal system | | has a civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; has accepted jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for its citizens
|
Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
|
Executive branch | | chief of state: President of the Republic Bamir TOPI (since 24 July 2007) head of government: Prime Minister Sali BERISHA (since 10 September 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and approved by parliament elections: president elected by the Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); four election rounds held between 8 and 20 July 2007 (next election to be held in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Bamir TOPI elected president; Assembly vote, fourth round (three-fifths majority (84 votes) required): Bamir TOPI 85 votes, Neritan CEKA 5 votes
|
Legislative branch | | unicameral Assembly or Kuvendi (140 seats; 100 members elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 28 June 2009 (next to be held in 2013) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PD 68, PS 64, LSI 4, other 4 note: Parliament in November 2008 approved an electoral reform package that transformed the electoral system from a majority system to a regional proportional system; the code also established an electoral threshold limiting smaller party representation
|
Judicial branch | | Constitutional Court, Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) and multiple appeals and district courts
|
Political pressure groups and leaders | | Citizens Advocacy Office [Kreshnik SPAHIU]; Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania or KSSH [Kastriot MUCO]; Front for Albanian National Unification or FBKSH [Gafur ADILI]; Mjaft Movement; Omonia [Jani JANI]; Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania or BSPSH [Gezim KALAJA]
|
International organization participation | | BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NATO, OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|
Flag description | | red with a black two-headed eagle in the center; the design is claimed to be that of 15th-century hero George Castriota SKANDERBERG, who led a successful uprising against the Turks that resulted in a short-lived independence for some Albanian regions (1443-1478)
|
Economy - overview | | Lagging behind its Balkan neighbors, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. Macroeconomic growth has averaged around 5% over the last five years and inflation is low and stable. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime, and recently adopted a fiscal reform package aimed at reducing the large gray economy and attracting foreign investment. The economy is bolstered by annual remittances from abroad representing about 15% of GDP, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy; this helps offset the towering trade deficit. The agricultural sector, which accounts for over half of employment but only about one-fifth of GDP, is limited primarily to small family operations and subsistence farming because of lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots of land. Energy shortages because of a reliance on hydropower, and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment and lack of success in attracting new foreign investment. The completion of a new thermal power plant near Vlore has helped diversify generation capacity, and plans to upgrade transmission lines between Albania and Montenegro and Kosovo would help relieve the energy shortages. Also, with help from EU funds, the government is taking steps to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth.
|
GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $21.86 billion (2008 est.) $20.61 billion (2007 est.) $19.44 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars Albania has an informal, and unreported, sector that may be as large as 50% of official GDP
|
GDP (official exchange rate) | | $12.96 billion (2008 est.)
|
GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 6.1% (2008 est.) 6% (2007 est.) 5.5% (2006 est.)
|
GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $6,000 (2008 est.) $5,700 (2007 est.) $5,400 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 20.5% industry: 19.8% services: 59.7% (2008 est.)
|
Labor force | | 1.103 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (2007 est.)
|
Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 58% industry: 15% services: 27% (September 2006 est.)
|
Unemployment rate(%) | | 12.5% (2008 est.) 13.2% (2007 est.) note: these are official rates, but actual rates may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming
|
Population below poverty line(%) | | 25% (2004 est.)
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 25.9% (2005)
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 26.7 (2005)
|
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 23.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
Budget | | revenues: $3.458 billion expenditures: $4.175 billion (2008 est.)
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 3.4% (2008 est.) 2.9% (2007 est.)
|
Stock of money | | $3.028 billion (31 December 2008) $2.707 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of quasi money | | $6.251 billion (31 December 2008) $6.433 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of domestic credit | | $8.176 billion (31 December 2008) $7.247 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA
|
Economic aid - recipient | | ODA: $318.7 million note: top donors were Italy, EU, Germany (2005 est.)
|
Public debt(% of GDP) | | 51.9% of GDP (2008 est.) 51.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
|
Agriculture - products | | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products
|
Industries | | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
|
Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 3% (2008 est.)
|
Current account balance | | -$1.906 billion (2008 est.) -$1.202 billion (2007 est.)
|
Exports | | $1.345 billion (2008 est.) $1.076 billion (2007 est.)
|
Exports - commodities(%) | | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
|
Exports - partners(%) | | Italy 55.9%, Greece 11.6%, China 7.2% (2008)
|
Imports | | $4.898 billion (2008 est.) $3.999 billion (2007 est.)
|
Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals
|
Imports - partners(%) | | Italy 32.2%, Greece 13.1%, Turkey 7.2%, Germany 6.6%, China 4.5%, Russia 4.4% (2008)
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $2.364 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $2.162 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
Debt - external | | $1.55 billion (2004)
|
Exchange rates | | leke (ALL) per US dollar - 79.546 (2008 est.), 92.668 (2007), 98.384 (2006), 102.649 (2005), 102.78 (2004)
|
Currency (code) | | lek (ALL) note: the plural of lek is leke
|
Telephones - main lines in use | | 316,400 (2008)
|
Telephones - mobile cellular | | 3.141 million (2008)
|
Telephone system | | general assessment: despite new investment in fixed lines, the density of main lines remains low with roughly 10 lines per 100 people; cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density is approaching 100 telephones per 100 persons domestic: offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile phone service has been available since 1996; by 2003, two companies were providing mobile services at a greater density than some of Albania's neighbors; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005; Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread outside the capital international: country code - 355; submarine cable provides connectivity to Italy, Croatia, and Greece; the Trans-Balkan Line, a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system, provides additional connectivity to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey; international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and, when necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece (2008)
|
Internet country code | | .al
|
Internet users | | 471,000 (2008)
|
Airports | | 5 (2009)
|
Pipelines(km) | | gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2008)
|
Roadways(km) | | total: 18,000 km paved: 7,020 km unpaved: 10,980 km (2002)
|
Ports and terminals | | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
|
Military branches | | Joint Force Command (includes Land, Naval, and Aviation Brigade Commands), Joint Support Command (includes Logistic Command), Training and Doctrine Command (2009)
|
Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 19 years of age (2004)
|
Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 944,592 females age 16-49: 908,527 (2008 est.)
|
Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 800,665 females age 16-49: 768,536 (2009 est.)
|
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 34,778 female: 31,673 (2009 est.)
|
Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.49% of GDP (2005 est.)
|
Disputes - international | | the Albanian Government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in neighboring countries, and the peaceful resolution of interethnic disputes; some ethnic Albanian groups in neighboring countries advocate for a "greater Albania," but the idea has little appeal among Albanian nationals; the mass emigration of unemployed Albanians remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy
|
Trafficking in persons | | current situation: Albania is a source country for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; it is no longer considered a major country of transit; Albanian victims are trafficked to Greece, Italy, Macedonia, and Kosovo, with many trafficked onward to Western European countries; children were also trafficked to Greece for begging and other forms of child labor; approximately half of all Albanian trafficking victims are under age 18; internal sex trafficking of women and children is on the rise tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Albania is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007, particularly in the area of victim protection; the government did not appropriately identify trafficking victims during 2007, and has not demonstrated that it is vigorously investigating or prosecuting complicit officials (2008)
|
Electricity - production(kWh) | | 2.888 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 2.9% hydro: 97.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
|
Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 3.603 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 2.475 billion kWh (2008 est.)
|
Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 5,985 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 34,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 748.9 bbl/day (2005 est.)
|
Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 24,080 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 199.1 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
|
Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 30 million cu m (2008 est.)
|
Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 30 million cu m (2008 est.)
|
Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
|
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 849.5 million cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | NA
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | NA
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths | | NA
|
Literacy(%) | | definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population: 98.7% male: 99.2% female: 98.3% (2001 census)
|
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 11 years male: 11 years female: 11 years (2004)
|
Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 2.9% of GDP (2002)
|