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Albania-INTRODUCTION

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Albania Index

Figure 1. Administrative Divisions of Albania, 1992

ALBANIA, PROCLAIMED A "PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC" in 1946, was for more than forty years one of the most obscure and reclusive countries in the world. A totalitarian communist regime, led by party founder and first secretary Enver Hoxha from 1944 until his death in 1985, maintained strict control over every facet of the country's internal affairs, while implementing a staunchly idiosyncratic foreign policy. After World War II, Hoxha and his proteges imposed a Stalinist economic system, and turned alternately to Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and China for assistance, before denouncing each of these communist countries as "bourgeois" or "revisionist" and embarking on a course of economic self-reliance. Notwithstanding some notable accomplishments in education, health care, and other areas, Hoxha's policies of centralization, isolation, and repression stifled and demoralized the population, hindered economic development, and relegated Albania to a position of technological backwardness unparalleled in Europe.

Ramiz Alia, Hoxha's handpicked successor, introduced a modicum of pragmatism to policy making, but his ambiguous stance toward reform did little to ameliorate a growing social and economic crisis. Like President Mikhail S. Gorbachev's policy of perestroika in the Soviet Union, Alia's efforts at reform were prompted, and tempered, by a commitment to preserving the system that had facilitated his accession to power. In both countries, however, the departure from traditional hard-line policies sufficed merely to unshackle the forces that would accelerate the collapse of the old system.

In December 1990, swayed by large-scale student demonstrations, strikes, and the exodus of thousands of Albanians to Italy and Greece, and fearing the prospect of a violent overthrow, Alia yielded to the popular demand for political pluralism and a multiparty system. The newly created Albanian Democratic Party (ADP), the country's first opposition party since World War II, quickly became a major political force, capturing nearly one-third of the seats in the People's Assembly in the spring 1991 multiparty election. And several months later, as the economy continued to deteriorate, the ADP participated in a "government of national salvation" with the communist Albanian Party of Labor (APL), subsequently renamed the Socialist Party of Albania (SPA). The fragile coalition government led by Prime Minister Ylli Bufi fell apart when the ADP decided to pull out in December. An interim government of nonparty members and specialists headed by Vilson Ahmeti struggled on until the ADP scored a decisive election victory on March 22, 1992, amidst economic free-fall and social chaos, receiving about 62 percent of the vote to the SPA's 26 percent. Alia resigned as president shortly afterward, paving the way for the ADP to take over the government. On April 9, Sali Berisha, a cardiologist by training and a dynamic ADP leader who had figured prominently in the struggle for political pluralism, became Albania's first democratically elected president in seventy years. The first noncommunist government, headed by ADP founding member Aleksander Meksi, was appointed four days later. This "cabinet of hope," as it was popularly dubbed, consisted mainly of young ADP activists, intellectuals without prior government experience. Unlike their communist predecessors, most of whom were of southern Albanian origin, the ministers hailed from various parts of the country. The new government made remarkable progress in restoring law and order, reforming the economy, and raising the population's standard of living. It privatized small businesses, closed down unprofitable industrial facilities, distributed about 90 percent of the land previously held by collective farms to private farmers, began to privatize housing, improved the supply of food and basic consumer goods, reduced the rate of inflation, stabilized the lek (Albania's currency unit), cut the budget deficit, and increased the volume of exports. However, more than one year after the Democrats came to power, Albania's economic plight was far from over. Its 400,000 newly registered private farmers had yet to assume full ownership rights over their land, there was insufficient investment in private agriculture, and shortages of tractors and other farming equipment continued to impede agricultural production. Approximately forty percent of the nonagricultural labor force was unemployed, corruption pervaded the state bureaucracy, and the country remained dependent on foreign food aid. In addition, partly because of the general political instability in the Balkans, particularly in the former Yugoslavia (see Glossary), direct investment from abroad was not forthcoming. Although President Berisha's "shock therapy" received the imprimatur of the International Monetary Fund (IMF-- see Glossary), it drew sharp criticism from the SPA, which had been resuscitated by significant gains in the July 1992 local elections. The SPA argued that the reforms should have been implemented gradually, that many more jobs had been eliminated than created, and that at least some of the old state-run factories should have been kept open.

In March 1993, SPA chairman Fatos Nano called on the entire cabinet to resign, accusing it of incompetence. On April 6, President Berisha, citing a need to "correct weaknesses and shortcomings" in the government's reform efforts, replaced the ministers of agriculture, internal affairs, education, and tourism (although ADP chairman Eduard Selami denied that these changes had been made in response to the opposition's demands). The new appointees included individuals with greater professional expertise and two political independents. The outgoing ministers of agriculture and internal affairs assumed other government posts. Despite the Socialist challenge, opposition from right- wing extremists, and some manifestations of discord within the ADP, there appeared to be no imminent domestic threat to the Democratic government remained in a strong position in late 1993.

In foreign policy, the unresolved question of the status of Kosovo, a formerly autonomous province of Serbia, predominated. Although in September 1991 Kosovo's underground parliament proclaimed this enclave with its large majority of ethnic Albanians a "sovereign and independent state," Albania was the only country that had officially recognized Kosovo's independence from Serbia. The Serbian government carried out a policy of systematic segregation and repression in Kosovo that some Western observers have compared with South Africa's apartheid system. Concerned that Serbia's ethnic cleansing campaigns would spread from Bosnia and Hercegovina to Kosovo and that Albania could be dragged into the ensuing confrontation (potentially a general Balkan war), President Berisha forged closer relations with other Islamic countries, particularly Turkey. In December 1992, Albania joined the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a move denounced by the SPA as a detriment to the country's reintegration with Europe. But Berisha also sought ties to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and urged repeatedly that NATO forces be deployed in Kosovo. In March 1993, NATO secretary general Manfred Wörner visited Tiranë, and later that month Albanian defense minister Safet Zhulali participated in a meeting of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council in Brussels. Wörner offered various forms of technical assistance to the Albanian armed forces, though membership in NATO itself was withheld.

In April 1993, Albania granted recognition to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Important factors in relations between the two countries were the human rights of the Albanian minority in Macedonia, estimated to amount to between a fifth and a third of the population, and possible Albanian irredentism. Relations benefited from the inclusion of ethnic Albanians in the Macedonian government. Good relations were maintained with Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Bulgaria, and Romania as well, and steps were taken to improve relations with the neighboring Republic of Montenegro, also home to a large minority Albanian community. In September, Montenegro's president, Momir Bulatovic, met with President Berisha in Tiranë for the highest level talks between the two countries in a half-century. Attempts to expand cooperation and exchanges with Montenegro, however, were hampered by a UN embargo against the rump Yugoslavia.

Relations with Greece, Albania's ancient southern neighbor (which, for religious and historical reasons, was expected to side with Serbia in the event of war in Kosovo), deteriorated rapidly in the early 1990s. The tension stemmed primarily from two issues: the influx of hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, mostly economic immigrants, from Albania to Greece, and the treatment of ethnic Greeks in Albania. Greco-Albanian relations worsened markedly when the Albanian parliament voted in February 1992 to prevent OMONIA (Unity), the political party representing Greek Albanians, from fielding candidates in the March 1992 election. A compromise was reached, permitting OMONIA's members to register under the name of the Union for Human Rights and to have their representatives included among the candidates, but mutual recriminations persisted.

Another major setback occured in June 1993 when Albania expelled a Greek Orthodox priest for allegedly fomenting unrest among ethnic Greeks in southern Albania, and Greece retaliated by deporting 25,000 Albanian illegal immigrants. Several weeks later Greece's prime minister, Constantinos Mitsotakis, demanded "the same rights for the Greek community living in Albania as those that the Albanian government demands for the Albanian communities in the former Yugoslavia." A potential problem was posed also by the status of "Northern Epirus," the Greek-populated region in southern Albania on which Greece had made territorial claims in the past. The regional instability created by such ethnic tensions, combined with continued economic deprivation, threatened Albania's transition to democracy.

October 4, 1993
Walter R. Iwaskiw

Data as of April 1992

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)