Country Fast Facts: Albania

Between 1990 and 1992 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.

In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges of reducing crime and corruption, promoting economic growth, and decreasing the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. 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.

Albania has played a largely helpful role in managing inter-ethnic tensions in southeastern Europe, and is continuing to work toward joining NATO and the EU. Albania, with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been a strong supporter of the global war on terrorism.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population:
3,600,523 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure:
0-14 years: 24.1% (male 454,622/female 413,698)
15-64 years: 66.6% (male 1,228,497/female 1,170,489)
65 years and over: 9.3% (male 154,352/female 178,865) (2007 est.)

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Median age:
total: 29.2 years
male: 28.6 years
female: 29.8 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate:
0.529% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate:
15.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate:
5.33 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate:
-4.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.099 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.863 male(s)/female
total population: 1.042 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate:
total: 20.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.46 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 19.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.6 years
male: 74.95 years
female: 80.53 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate:
2.03 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

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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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Literacy:
definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 98.7%
male: 99.2%
female: 98.3% (2001 census)

Lagging behind its Balkan neighbors, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime and reduce the large gray economy. The economy is bolstered by annual remittances from abroad of $600-$800 million, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy; this helps offset the towering trade deficit. Agriculture, which accounts for about one-quarter of GDP, is held back because of lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots of land. Energy shortages and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment, which make it difficult to attract and sustain foreign investment. The planned construction of a new thermal power plant near Vlore and improved transmission and distribution facilities eventually will help relieve the energy shortages. Also, the government is moving slowly to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth. On the positive side, growth was strong in 2003-06 and inflation is low and stable.

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GDP (purchasing power parity):
$20.46 billion
note: Albania has a large gray economy that may be as large as 50% of official GDP (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate):
$9.306 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate:
5% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP):
$5,700 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 23.3%
industry: 18.8%
services: 57.9% (2006 est.)

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Labor force:
1.09 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (September 2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 58%
industry: 15%
services: 27% (September 2006 est.)

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Unemployment rate:
13.8% official rate, but may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming (September 2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line:
25% (2004 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
26.7 (2005)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.5% (2006)

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Investment (gross fixed):
24.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget:
revenues: $2.608 billion
expenditures: $3.1 billion; including capital expenditures of $710 million (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:
3.4% (2005 est.)

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Electricity - production:
5.451 billion kWh (2005)

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Electricity - consumption:
3.53 billion kWh (2005)

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Electricity - exports:
729 million kWh (2005)

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Electricity - imports:
385 million kWh (2005)

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Oil - production:
3,600 bbl/day (2005 est.)

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Oil - consumption:
25,200 bbl/day (2005 est.)

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Oil - exports:
1,240 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - imports:
21,600 bbl/day (2005 est.)

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Oil - proved reserves:
165 million bbl (1 January 2005)

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Natural gas - production:
30 million cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption:
30 million cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves:
2.832 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance:
-$679.9 million (2006 est.)

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Exports:
$763.2 million f.o.b. (2006 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 67.8%, Serbia and Montenegro 5.8%, Greece 5.4% (2006)

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Imports:
$2.901 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals

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Imports - partners:
Italy 32%, Greece 17.7%, Turkey 8%, Germany 5.6% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.621 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external:
$1.55 billion (2004)

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Economic aid - recipient:
ODA: $366 million
note: top donors were Italy, EU, Germany (2003 est.)

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Currency (code):
lek (ALL)
note: the plural of lek is leke

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Exchange rates:
leke per US dollar - 98.384 (2006), 102.649 (2005), 102.78 (2004), 121.863 (2003), 140.155 (2002)

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Fiscal year:
calendar year