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Albania Country Guide
Explore Albania in Europe
The landscape offers mostly mountains and hills with small plains along coast. The average density of population is approximately 126 per km². The notable climate conditions in Albania can be described as mild temperate with cool, cloudy, wet winters, hot, clear, dry summers and interior is cooler and wetter. Potential threats by nature are destructive earthquakes or tsunamis occur along southwestern coast, floods or drought.
To reach someone in Albania dial +355 prior to a number. There are 363,000 installed telephones. And there are 4,162,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900/1800 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".al". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.
About the flag and history of Albania
Red with a black two-headed eagle in the center; the design is claimed to be that of 15th-century hero George Castriota SKANDERBEG, who led a successful uprising against the Turks that resulted in a short-lived independence for some Albanian regions (1443-78); an unsubstantiated explanation for the eagle symbol is the tradition that Albanians see themselves as descendants of the eagle; they refer to themselves as "Shkypetars," which translates as "sons of the eagle".
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, dilapidated 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, each of Albania's post-Communist elections have been marred by claims of electoral fraud. The 2009 general elections resulted in a coalition government, the first such in the country''s history. 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.
Geography Quick-Facts
| Summary | Continent: Europe Neighbours: Macedonia, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia Capital: Tirana |
| Size | 28,748 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 11,099 square miles (mi² or sqmi) slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Population | 3,619,000 |
| Currency | Name Lek, Currency Code:ALL |
| Country Top Level Domain (cTLD) | .al |
| Telephone Country Prefix | +355 |
| Mobile Phone Connections | 4,162,000 |
| Landline Phone Connections | 363,000 |
Country Position in World Rankings
Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).
Geography
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 28,748 (sq km) | 145 |
People and Society
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 3,011,405 | 137 |
| Population growth rate | 0.29 (%) | 168 |
| Birth rate | 12.57 (births/1,000 population) | 158 |
| Death rate | 6.36 (deaths/1,000 population) | 154 |
| Net migration rate | -3.32 (migrant(s)/1,000 population) | 179 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 27.00 (deaths/100,000 live births) | 127 |
| Infant mortality rate | 13.65 (deaths/1,000 live births) | 123 |
| Life expectancy at birth | 77.77 (years) | 60 |
| Total fertility rate | 1.49 (children born/woman) | 190 |
| Health expenditures | 6.60 (% of GDP) | 96 |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 21.30 (%) | 88 |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 6.30 (%) | 79 |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | 27.20 (%) | 33 |
Economy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | 26,540,000,000 | 120 |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.30 (%) | 154 |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | 8,200 | 131 |
| Labor force | 1,071,000 | 141 |
| Unemployment rate | 13.00 (%) | 133 |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 34.50 | 89 |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 25.80 (% of GDP) | 44 |
| Taxes and other revenues | 25.70 (% of GDP) | 117 |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -3.20 (% of GDP) | 118 |
| Public debt | 60.60 (% of GDP) | 47 |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.00 (%) | 33 |
| Central bank discount rate | 5.25 (%) | 67 |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 12.43 (%) | 66 |
| Stock of narrow money | 2,677,000,000 | 119 |
| Stock of broad money | 9,951,000,000 | 107 |
| Stock of domestic credit | 8,587,000,000 | 107 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 3.00 (%) | 96 |
| Current account balance | -1,450,000,000 | 125 |
| Exports | 2,121,000,000 | 142 |
| Imports | 5,219,000,000 | 126 |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 2,350,000,000 | 119 |
| Debt - external | 5,281,000,000 | 113 |
Energy
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity - production | 5,209,000,000 (kWh) | 117 |
| Electricity - consumption | 4,521,000,000 (kWh) | 119 |
| Electricity - exports | 1,906,000,000 (kWh) | 42 |
| Electricity - imports | 1,005,000,000 (kWh) | 65 |
| Electricity - installed generating capacity | 1,610,000 (kW) | 111 |
| Electricity - from fossil fuels | 9.90 (% of total installed capacity) | 195 |
| Electricity - from hydroelectric plants | 90.10 (% of total installed capacity) | 13 |
| Crude oil - production | 15,520 (bbl/day) | 77 |
| Crude oil - exports | 6,920 (bbl/day) | 60 |
| Crude oil - proved reserves | 199,100,000 (bbl) | 62 |
| Refined petroleum products - production | 6,377 (bbl/day) | 109 |
| Refined petroleum products - consumption | 38,390 (bbl/day) | 111 |
| Refined petroleum products - exports | 915 (bbl/day) | 112 |
| Refined petroleum products - imports | 24,610 (bbl/day) | 95 |
| Natural gas - production | 30,000,000 (cu m) | 87 |
| Natural gas - consumption | 30,000,000 (cu m) | 111 |
| Natural gas - proved reserves | 849,500,000 (cu m) | 102 |
| Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy | 4,893,000 (Mt) | 124 |
Communications
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | 338,800 | 111 |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,100,000 | 127 |
| Internet hosts | 15,528 | 124 |
| Internet users | 1,300,000 | 91 |
Transportation
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Airports | 5 | 178 |
| Railways | 339 (km) | 117 |
| Roadways | 18,000 (km) | 115 |
| Waterways | 41 (km) | 104 |
| Merchant marine | 17 | 99 |
Military
| Value name | Value | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Military expenditures | 1.49 (% of GDP) | 104 |
Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases
List of current world heritage sites
| Name | Since |
|---|---|
| Butrint Inhabited since prehistoric times, Butrint has been the site of a Greek colony, a Roman city and a bishopric. Following a period of prosperity under Byzantine administration, then a brief occupation by the Venetians, the city was abandoned in the lat ... | 1992 |
| Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra Berat and Gjirokastra are inscribed as rare examples of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period. Located in central Albania, Berat bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries. It ... | 2005 |