Albania (2001) | Niue (2006) | |
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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) |
none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 1 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
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.) |
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Area | total:
28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,166 in 2006), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 19.01 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues:
$393 million expenditures: $676 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $15.07 million
expenditures: $16.33 million; including capital expenditures of $123,700 |
Capital | Tirana | name: Alofi
geographic coordinates: 19 01 S, 169 55 W time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 362 km | 64 km |
Constitution | a new constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | lek (ALL) | - |
Death rate | 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $1 billion (2000) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
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 (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; aid for energy from China, Germany, Norway (2000) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
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. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of emigration to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although the International Banking Repeal Act of 2002 resulted in the termination of all offshore banking licenses. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about US$2 million. Niue suffered a devastating typhoon in January 2004, which decimated nascent economic programs. While in the process of rebuilding, Niue has been dependent on foreign aid. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.379 billion kWh (1999) | 2.79 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 100 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 600 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 5.332 billion kWh (1999) | 3 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
3.81% hydro: 96.19% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
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) |
Niuen 78.2%, Pacific islander 10.2%, European 4.5%, mixed 3.9%, Asian 0.2%, unspecified 3% (2001 census) |
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 | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 12 May 2005 (next to be held May 2008) election results: Young VIVIAN reelected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 85%, O'Love JACOBSEN (independent) 15% |
Exports | $310 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Italy 67%, Greece 15%, Germany 5%, Austria 2%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2% (2000) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a black two-headed eagle in the center | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.5 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
55% industry: 24% services: 21% (2000) |
agriculture: 23.5%
industry: 26.9% services: 49.5% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.5% (2000 est.) | 6.2% |
Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 20 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) | one of world's largest coral islands |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.) |
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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 | - |
Imports | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | Italy 37%, Greece 28%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 3% (2000) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2004) |
Independence | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 39.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2000 est.) | 4% (2005) |
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 | ACP, FAO, IFAD, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 7 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 3,410 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 1.692 million (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (1994 est.) | NA 663 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% | note: most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
Land boundaries | total:
720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Yugoslavia 287 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
21% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 38% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 11.54%
permanent crops: 15.38% other: 73.08% (2005) |
Languages | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law; note - Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
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 Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; 6 elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 30 April 2005 (next to be held April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.83 years male: 69.01 years female: 74.87 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition:
age 9 and over can read and write total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
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 |
Merchant marine | total:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,797 GRT/26,324 DWT ships by type: cargo 9 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $42 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
870,768 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
712,763 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
35,792 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 28 November (1912) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun:
Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; drought | typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | -3.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Pipelines | crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991) | - |
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] | Alliance of Independents or AI; Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 3,510,484 (July 2001 est.) | 2,166 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19.6% (1996 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2001 est.) | 0.01% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 810,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
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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 |
Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 61.1%, Latter-Day Saints 8.8%, Roman Catholic 7.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, other 8.4%, unspecified 8.7%, none 1.9% (2001 census) |
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.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 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 |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 87,000 (1997) | 1,100 est (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,100 (1999) | 400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 9 (plus 264 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 2.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) officially; may be as high as 25% | 12% NA% |
Waterways | 43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |
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