As World War II drew to a close, Albania's provisional
government, run by the Albanian Communist Party,
predecessor of
the APL and a communist-dominated front organization,
wasted
little time taking full control of the economy. In
December 1944,
shortly after coming to power, the regime adopted new laws
providing for strict state regulation of all industrial
and
commercial companies as well as foreign and domestic
commercial
relations. A "war-profits tax" and laws allowing the
seizure of
property belonging to anyone labeled an "enemy of the
people"
weakened the country's minuscule middle class. In early
1945, the
Albanian authorities confiscated Italian- and German-owned
assets, revoked all foreign economic concessions,
nationalized
all public utilities and means of transportation, and
created a
network of government-sponsored consumer cooperatives.
Heedless
of Albania's needs and comparative advantages, the party
leaders
followed Stalinism's dictates and pushed the development
of heavy
industry over agriculture and light industry.
The regime wooed the peasantry by curbing the power of
the
large landowners and granting concessions to peasants and
sharecroppers. In January 1945, the new leaders canceled
outstanding agricultural debts, slashed land-use charges
by 75
percent, nationalized water resources, and offered
peasants an
opportunity to purchase irrigation water from the state at
nominal fees. The Agrarian Reform Law of August 1945
destroyed
what remained of the economic might of central and
southern
Albania's large landowners, replacing their sprawling
estates
with about 70,000 small farms. In effect, the government
nationalized all forests and pasture lands and
expropriated
without compensation land belonging to individuals who had
nonfarm sources of income. The land law allowed farmers to
keep
up to forty hectares if they earned their income
exclusively from
farming and worked the land with machinery. The
landholdings of
religious institutions and farmers without machinery were
limited
to twenty hectares. Landless peasants and people who owned
less
than five hectares of property received up to five
hectares per
family and additional hectarage for married sons who were
household members. In some cases, the law required the new
landowners to make nominal compensation to the former
owners.
Another agricultural reform law enacted in 1946 limited
rural
property holdings to five hectares of arable land. In
April of
that year, military tribunals began giving prison
sentences to
peasants caught hoarding grain. The state also
nationalized farm
tools and draft animals, banned land sales and transfers,
and
required peasants to obtain government permission to
slaughter
animals. In June the authorities ordered peasants to
deliver
relatively high quotas of grain crops to state procurement
centers at low, officially set prices. Using
carrot-and-stick
techniques, the government attempted to persuade peasants
to join
collective farms. Despite the fact that collective-farm
members
paid lower taxes and had smaller production quotas, the
campaign
succeeded in convincing only 2,428 peasant families to
join
collective farms by 1948. The government admitted that the
campaign had failed. Poor yields, purges, and coercion
characterized the agricultural sector for the next three
years,
and grain shortages became a chronic problem.
By early 1947, the government had in place much of the
institutional framework required for a Stalinist economic
system,
nationalizing industries and seizing control of foreign
trade and
most domestic commerce. A currency reform delivered
another blow
to the embattled middle class. In April 1947, the Economic
Planning Commission drew up the country's first economic
plan, a
nine-month set of selected production targets for the
mining,
manufacturing, and agricultural sectors denominated in
terms of
physical output rather than money. Albanian enterprises
also
began introducing the Soviet accounting system, and party
zealots
and teachers set about indoctrinating the population with
the
economic catechism of Marxism-Leninism.
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.
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Location | | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece in the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north
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Area(sq km) | | total: 28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 41 00 N, 20 00 E
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Land boundaries(km) | | total: 717 km border countries: Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Montenegro 172 km, Kosovo 112 km
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Coastline(km) | | 362 km
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Climate | | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m
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Natural resources | | petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 20.1% permanent crops: 4.21% other: 75.69% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 3,530 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 41.7 cu km (2001)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 1.71 cu km/yr (27%/11%/62%) per capita: 546 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought
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Environment - current issues | | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
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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
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Geography - note | | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
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Population | | 3,639,453 (July 2009 est.)
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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.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 29.9 years male: 29.3 years female: 30.6 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 0.546% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 15.29 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -4.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 47% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 1.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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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.)
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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.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 77.96 years male: 75.28 years female: 80.89 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 2.01 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian
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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)
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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
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Languages(%) | | Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects
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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
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Government type | | emerging democracy
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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
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Administrative divisions | | 12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Berat, Diber, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Korce, Kukes, Lezhe, Shkoder, Tirane, Vlore
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Constitution | | approved by parliament on 21 October 1998; adopted by popular referendum on 22 November 1998; promulgated 28 November 1998
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Legal system | | has a civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; has accepted jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for its citizens
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
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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
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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
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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
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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]
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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
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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)
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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.
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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
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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
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 20.5% industry: 19.8% services: 59.7% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 1.103 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (2007 est.)
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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
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 25% (2004 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 25.9% (2005)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 26.7 (2005)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 23.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $3.458 billion expenditures: $4.175 billion (2008 est.)
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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)
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Stock of quasi money | | $6.251 billion (31 December 2008) $6.433 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $8.176 billion (31 December 2008) $7.247 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA
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Economic aid - recipient | | ODA: $318.7 million note: top donors were Italy, EU, Germany (2005 est.)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 51.9% of GDP (2008 est.) 51.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products
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Industries | | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 3% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | -$1.906 billion (2008 est.) -$1.202 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $1.345 billion (2008 est.) $1.076 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
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Exports - partners(%) | | Italy 55.9%, Greece 11.6%, China 7.2% (2008)
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Imports | | $4.898 billion (2008 est.) $3.999 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals
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Imports - partners(%) | | Italy 32.2%, Greece 13.1%, Turkey 7.2%, Germany 6.6%, China 4.5%, Russia 4.4% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $2.364 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $2.162 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $1.55 billion (2004)
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Exchange rates | | leke (ALL) per US dollar - 79.546 (2008 est.), 92.668 (2007), 98.384 (2006), 102.649 (2005), 102.78 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | lek (ALL) note: the plural of lek is leke
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 316,400 (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 3.141 million (2008)
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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)
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Internet country code | | .al
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Internet users | | 471,000 (2008)
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Airports | | 5 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 18,000 km paved: 7,020 km unpaved: 10,980 km (2002)
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Ports and terminals | | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
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Military branches | | Joint Force Command (includes Land, Naval, and Aviation Brigade Commands), Joint Support Command (includes Logistic Command), Training and Doctrine Command (2009)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 19 years of age (2004)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 944,592 females age 16-49: 908,527 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 800,665 females age 16-49: 768,536 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 34,778 female: 31,673 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.49% of GDP (2005 est.)
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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
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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)
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 2.888 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 2.9% hydro: 97.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 3.603 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 2.475 billion kWh (2008 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 5,985 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 34,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 748.9 bbl/day (2005 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 24,080 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 199.1 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 30 million cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 30 million cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 849.5 million cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | NA
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | NA
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths | | NA
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population: 98.7% male: 99.2% female: 98.3% (2001 census)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 11 years male: 11 years female: 11 years (2004)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 2.9% of GDP (2002)
|