##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Albania (2001) - Korea, North (2005)
Compare Albania (2001) z Korea, North (2005)
| Albania (2001) | Korea, North (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 36 districts (rrethe, singular - rreth) and 1 municipality* (bashki); Berat, Bulqize, Delvine, Devoll (Bilisht), Diber (Peshkopi), Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Has (Krume), Kavaje, Kolonje (Erseke), Korce, Kruje, Kucove, Kukes, Kurbin, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Malesi e Madhe (Koplik), Mallakaster (Ballsh), Mat (Burrel), Mirdite (Rreshen), Peqin, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar (Corovode), Tepelene, Tirane (Tirana), Tirane* (Tirana), Tropoje (Bajram Curri), Vlore
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)
provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang) municipalites: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.53% (male 536,495; female 500,026) 15-64 years: 63.48% (male 1,073,351; female 1,155,115) 65 years and over: 6.99% (male 107,476; female 138,021) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.2% (male 2,816,844/female 2,735,478)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 7,668,581/female 7,883,267) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 625,819/female 1,182,188) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs |
| Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 78 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 35
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
8 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 43
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total:
28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Mississippi |
| Background | In 1990 Albania ended 44 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven difficult as corrupt governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, a dilapidated infrastructure, widespread gangsterism, and disruptive political opponents. International observers judged local elections in 2000 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, but serious deficiencies remain to be corrected before the the 2001 parliamentary elections. | An independent kingdom under Chinese suzerainty for most of the past millennium, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War; five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed republic in the southern portion by force, North Korea, under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. It molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as KIM's successor in 1980 and assumed a growing political and managerial role until his father's death in 1994. He assumed full power without opposition. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the North since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of about 1 million. North Korea's long-range missile development and research into nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and massive conventional armed forces are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations it was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the United States to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." From August 2003, North Korea has participated on and off in six-party talks with the China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States to resolve the stalemate over its nuclear programs. |
| Birth rate | 19.01 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.09 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$393 million expenditures: $676 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
| Capital | Tirana | Pyongyang |
| Climate | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer |
| Coastline | 362 km | 2,495 km |
| Constitution | a new constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote | adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998 |
| 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 |
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: none note: the North Koreans generally use the term "Choson" to refer to their country abbreviation: DPRK |
| Currency | lek (ALL) | - |
| Death rate | 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.05 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1 billion (2000) | $12 billion (1996 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph LIMPRECHT embassy: Rruga Elbasanit Labinoti 103, Tirana mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100(A), APO AE 09624 telephone: [355] (42) 32875, 33520 FAX: [355] (42) 32222 |
none (Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Petrit BUSHATI chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342 |
none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York |
| Disputes - international | the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders but has downplayed them to further its primary foreign policy goal of regional cooperation; Albanian majority in Kosovo seeks independence from Yugoslavia; Albanians in The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia claim discrimination in education, access to public-sector jobs, and representation in government | China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens of thousands of North Koreans escaping famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers and a section of boundary around Paektu-san (mountain) is indefinite; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes with South over the Northern Limit Line; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA; aid for energy from China, Germany, Norway (2000) | NA; note - over $117 million in food aid through the World Food Program in 2003 plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations |
| Economy - overview | Poor by European standards, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more open-market economy. The economy rebounded in 1993-95 after a severe depression accompanying the end of the previous centrally planned system in 1990 and 1991. However, a weakening of government resolve to maintain stabilization policies in the election year of 1996 contributed to renewal of inflationary pressures, spurred by the budget deficit which exceeded 12% of GDP. The collapse of financial pyramid schemes in early 1997 - which had attracted deposits from a substantial portion of Albania's population - triggered severe social unrest which led to more than 1,500 deaths, widespread destruction of property, and a 7% drop in GDP. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime and to revive economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by remittances from some 20% of the labor force that works abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP and help offset the large foreign trade deficit. Most agricultural land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes. In 1998, Albania recovered the 7% drop in GDP of 1997 and pushed ahead by 8% in 1999 and by 7.5% in 2000. International aid helped defray the high costs of receiving and returning refugees from the Kosovo conflict. Privatization scored some successes in 2000, but other reforms lagged. | North Korea, one of the world's most centrally planned and isolated economies, faces desperate economic conditions. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and spare parts shortages. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel. The nation has suffered its eleventh year of food shortages because of a lack of arable land, collective farming, weather-related problems, and chronic shortages of fertilizer and fuel. Massive international food aid deliveries have allowed the regime to escape mass starvation since 1995, but the population remains the victim of prolonged malnutrition and deteriorating living conditions. Large-scale military spending eats up resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. In July 2002, the government took limited steps toward a freer market economy. In 2004, heightened political tensions with key donor countries and general donor fatigue threatened the flow of desperately needed food aid and fuel aid. Black market prices have continued to rise following the increase in official prices and wages in the summer of 2002, leaving some vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and unemployed, less able to buy goods. In 2004, the regime allowed private markets to sell a wider range of goods and permitted private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will constrain any further loosening of economic regulations. |
| Electricity - consumption | 5.379 billion kWh (1999) | 31.26 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 100 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 600 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 5.332 billion kWh (1999) | 33.62 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
3.81% hydro: 96.19% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization) |
racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese |
| Exchange rates | leke per US dollar - 146.08 (December 2000),143.71 (2000) 137.69 (1999), 150.63 (1998), 148.93 (1997), 104.50 (1996); note - leke is the plural of lek | official: North Korean won per US dollar - 170 (December 2004), 150 (December 2002), 2.15 (December 2001); market: North Korean won per US dollar - 300-600 (December 2002) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President of the Republic Rexhep MEIDANI (since 24 July 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Ilir META (since 29 October 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Rexhep MEIDANI elected president; People's Assembly vote by number - total votes 122, for 110, against 3, abstained 2, invalid 7 |
chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il Chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam President of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials; SPA appointed PAK Pong Ju Premier
head of government: Premier PAK Pong Ju (since 3 September 2003); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003) cabinet: Cabinet (Naegak), members, except for the Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by the SPA elections: election last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed |
| Exports | $310 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
| Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments); textiles and fishery products |
| Exports - partners | Italy 67%, Greece 15%, Germany 5%, Austria 2%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2% (2000) | China 29.9%, South Korea 24.1%, Japan 13.2% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | red with a black two-headed eagle in the center | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.5 billion (2000 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
55% industry: 24% services: 21% (2000) |
agriculture: 30.2%
industry: 33.8% services: 36% (2002 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 7.5% (2000 est.) | 1% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 20 00 E | 40 00 N, 127 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated |
| Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 19 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | total:
18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.) |
total: 31,200 km
paved: 1,997 km unpaved: 29,203 km (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
| Illicit drugs | increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a far lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe | for years, from the 1970's into the 2000's, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; in recent years, police investigations in Taiwan and Japan have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003; all indications point to North Korea emerging as an important regional source of illicit drugs targeting markets in Japan, Taiwan, the Russian Far East, and China |
| Imports | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 11,500 bbl/day (2003 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment; textiles, grain |
| Imports - partners | Italy 37%, Greece 28%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 3% (2000) | China 32.9%, Thailand 10.7%, Japan 4.8% (2004) |
| Independence | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2000 est.) | NA |
| Industries | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower | military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 39.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 24.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.77 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2000 est.) | NA (2003 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACCT (associate), BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 7 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 3,410 sq km (1993 est.) | 14,600 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) |
| Labor force | 1.692 million (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (1994 est.) | 9.6 million |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% | agricultural 36%, nonagricultural 64% |
| Land boundaries | total:
720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Yugoslavia 287 km |
total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
| Land use | arable land:
21% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 38% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 20.76%
permanent crops: 2.49% other: 76.75% (2001) |
| Languages | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek | Korean |
| Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on German civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (155 seats; most members are elected by direct popular vote and some by proportional vote for four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 1997 (next held 24 June 2001, 2nd round 8 July 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 53.36%, PD 25.33%, PSD 2.5%, PBDNJ 2.78%, PBK 2.36%, PAD 2.85%, PR 2.25%, PLL 3.09%, PDK 1.00%, PBSD 0.84%; seats by party - PS 101, PD 27, PSD 8, PBDNJ 4, PBK 3, PAD 2, PR 2, PLL 2, PDK 1, PBSD 1, PUK 1, independents 3 |
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.83 years male: 69.01 years female: 74.87 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.37 years
male: 68.65 years female: 74.22 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 9 and over can read and write total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% |
| Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea |
| Map references | Europe | Asia |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned |
| Merchant marine | total:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,797 GRT/26,324 DWT ships by type: cargo 9 (2000 est.) |
total: 238 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 985,108 GRT/1,389,389 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 13, cargo 191, container 2, livestock carrier 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 52 (China 1, Denmark 2, France 1, Greece 4, Italy 1, Lebanon 4, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 1, Pakistan 2, Romania 10, Russia 2, Singapore 2, South Korea 2, Syria 9, Turkey 6, Ukraine 1, UAE 3) (2005) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | North Korean People's Army: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force; Civil Security Forces (2005) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $42 million (FY99) | $5,217.4 million (FY02) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY99) | NA |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
870,768 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
712,763 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
35,792 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 28 November (1912) | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) |
| Nationality | noun:
Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
| Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; drought | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower |
| Net migration rate | -3.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991) | oil 154 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | Albanian National Front (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Abaz ERMENJI]; Albanian Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]; Albanian Socialist Party or PS (formerly the Albania Workers Party) [Fatos NANO, chairman]; Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Zef BUSHATI]; Democratic Alliance or PAD [Neritan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Group of Reformist Democrats [Leonard NDOKA]; Liberal Union Party [Teodor LACO]; note - Teodor LACO of the Liberal Union Party was leader of the Social Democratic Union of Albania or PBSD; Movement of Legality Party or PLL [Nderim KUPI]; OMONIA [Vagjelis DULES]; Party of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQUIRI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI]; Unity for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vasil MELO, chairman] | major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il, general secretary]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong, chairwoman] (under KWP control); Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae, chairman] (under KWP control) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
| Population | 3,510,484 (July 2001 est.) | 22,912,177 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 19.6% (1996 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | 0.88% (2001 est.) | 0.9% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore | Ch'ongjin, Haeju, Hungnam (Hamhung), Kimch'aek, Kosong, Najin, Namp'o, Sinuiju, Songnim, Sonbong (formerly Unggi), Ungsang, Wonsan |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2003) |
| Radios | 810,000 (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
total: 5,214 km
standard gauge: 5,214 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2004) |
| Religions | 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 |
traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.53 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 17 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
Albania has the poorest telephone service in Europe with fewer than two telephones per 100 inhabitants; it is doubtful that every village has telephone service domestic: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for every village; in 1992, following the fall of the communist government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used it to build fences international: inadequate; international traffic carried by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 87,000 (1997) | 1.1 million (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,100 (1999) | NA |
| Television broadcast stations | 9 (plus 264 repeaters) (1995) | 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east |
| Total fertility rate | 2.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.15 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) officially; may be as high as 25% | NA (2003) |
| Waterways | 43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |
2,250 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004) |
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