Country Facts

The People - Albania

NationalityAlbanian(s)

Ethnic Composition

Albanian	95%
Greek	3%
Other (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians)	2%

Note: In 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization).

Religious Composition

Muslim	70%
Albanian 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 Spoken

Albanian (official dialect: Tosk), Greek

Education and Literacy

Ninety-three percent (1997) of the population over the age of nine is considered to be literate.

Labor Force

Total: 1.283 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (2000)
By occupation:

Agriculture	50%
Industry	25%
Services	25%

Geography

Land Mass Total

28,748 sq km

Land

27,398 sq km

Water

1,350 sq km

Land Boundaries

Total: 720 km

Border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro)

Coastline

362 km

Maritime claim

Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Mild and temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter.

Terrain

Mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Adriatic Sea 0 m
Highest: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m

Natural Resources

Petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower.

Land use

Arable land	21%
Permanent crops	4%
Other	75%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast.

Environment - current issues

Deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents.

Geography Note

Strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)

Demographics

Population

3,544,841 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	28.8%	male: 528,678	female: 493,531
15-64 years:	64%	male: 1,094,034	female: 1,175,024
65 years and over:	7.2%	male: 111,524	female: 142,050

Growth Rate

1.06% (2002)

Life Expectancy

72.1 years (2002)

Female: 75.14 years
Male: 69.27 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$3,800 (2001)

Infant Mortality

38.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.07 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.79 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.96 male(s)/female

Net migration rate

-1.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Poor and backward by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime and to revive economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by remittances from abroad of US$400-$600 million annually, mostly from Greece and Italy. Agriculture, which accounts for 52 percent of GDP, is held back because of frequent drought and the need to modernize equipment and consolidate small plots of land. Severe energy shortages are forcing small firms out of business, increasing unemployment, scaring off foreign investors, and spurring inflation. Analysts from the World Bank to the Economist Intelligence Unit hold out scant hopes in the near-term for the Albania economy. The country is plagued by a massive amount of criminal enterprise as well as a significant "gray" economy, both of which help to keep tax coffers empty. Until politicians can rise above this situation, Albania will continue to have a "plunder" economy..

Unemployment

17% officially (2001); may be as high as 30%

Inflation Rate

3% (2001)

Industries

Food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower.

Exports

US$$306 million (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

GDP US$13.2 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Italy 70%, Greece 12%, Germany 6%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2%, Austria 1% (2001)

Top Import Partners

Italy 32%, Greece 26%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 2% (2001)

Top Exports

Textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals

Debt - external

US$1 billion (2000)

Economic aid

US$315 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2000)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year.

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	7a.m. to 6p.m.	Closed
Retail	7a.m. to 7p.m., with a four-hour break at noon.	Closed
Banks	7a.m. to 6p.m. (may include a midday break in rural areas)	Closed
Government	8a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Republic Day¹	January 11	January 11	January 11
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Easter (Orthodox)²	April 27	April 11	March 1
Start of Ramadan³	October 27	October 15	October 4
Independence Day/Flag Day*¹	November 28	November 28	November 28
Liberation Day*²	November 29	November 29	November 29
End of Ramadan*³	December 26	November 14	November 3
Christmas**¹	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Proclamation of the Communist Republic, 1946
²	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21). In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
³	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*¹	Independence from Turkey, 1912
*²	Liberation from the Nazi's
*³	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.

Note: National Assembly elections are designated as holidays.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press