Albania (2001) | Romania (2005) | |
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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) |
41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti (Bucharest)*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea |
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: 15.9% (male 1,818,488/female 1,727,598)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 7,726,903/female 7,801,441) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 1,342,827/female 1,912,720) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 61 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 25
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (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: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 24 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
total: 237,500 sq km
land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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. | The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained recognition of its independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories following the conflict. In 1940, it allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of centrist parties. In 2000, the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) became Romania's leading party, governing with the support of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR). The opposition center-right alliance formed by the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Party (PD) scored a surprise victory over the ruling PSD in December 2004 presidential elections. The PNL-PD alliance maintains a parliamentary majority with the support of the UDMR, the Humanist Party (PUR), and various ethnic minority groups. Although Romania completed accession talks with the European Union (EU) in December 2004, it must continue to address rampant corruption - while invigorating lagging economic and democratic reforms - before it can achieve its hope of joining the EU, tentatively set for 2007. Romania joined NATO in March of 2004. |
Birth rate | 19.01 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$393 million expenditures: $676 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
revenues: $22.1 billion
expenditures: $23.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Tirana | Bucharest |
Climate | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms |
Coastline | 362 km | 225 km |
Constitution | a new constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote | 8 December 1991; revision effective 29 October 2003 |
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: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania |
Currency | lek (ALL) | - |
Death rate | 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.74 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1 billion (2000) | $24.59 billion (2004 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Jack Dyer CROUCH II
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 210-4042 FAX: [40] (21) 210-0395 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Sorin Dumitru DUCARU
chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and 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 | Romania and Ukraine have taken their dispute over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; Romania also opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea; Hungary amended the status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, to which Romania had objected |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; aid for energy from China, Germany, Norway (2000) | - |
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. | Romania began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. Despite the global slowdown in 2001-02, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption have kept growth above 4%. An IMF standby agreement, signed in 2001, has been accompanied by slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. The IMF Board approved Romania's completion of the standby agreement in October 2003, the first time Romania has successfully concluded an IMF agreement since the 1989 revolution. In July 2004, the executive board of the IMF approved a 24-month standby agreement for $367 million. The Romanian authorities do not intend to draw on this agreement, however, viewing it simply as a precaution. Meanwhile, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address Romania's widespread poverty, while corruption and red tape continue to handicap the business environment. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.379 billion kWh (1999) | 57.5 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 100 million kWh (1999) | 3.046 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 600 million kWh (2000) | 962 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 5.332 billion kWh (1999) | 56.53 billion kWh (2003) |
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: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents | soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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) |
Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002 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 | lei per US dollar - 32,637 (2004), 33,200 (2003), 33,055 (2002), 29,061 (2001), 21,709 (2000) |
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: President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu-TARICEANU (since 29 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 2004, with runoff between the top two candidates held 12 December 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2009 and 12 December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 51.23%, Adrian NASTASE 48.77% |
Exports | $310 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco | textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products |
Exports - partners | Italy 67%, Greece 15%, Germany 5%, Austria 2%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2% (2000) | Italy 21.4%, Germany 15%, France 8.5%, Turkey 7%, UK 6.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a black two-headed eagle in the center | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.5 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
55% industry: 24% services: 21% (2000) |
agriculture: 13.1%
industry: 33.7% services: 53.2% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.5% (2000 est.) | 8.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 41 00 N, 20 00 E | 46 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.) |
total: 198,755 km
paved: 100,173 km (including 113 km of expressways) unpaved: 98,582 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 27.6% (2003) |
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 | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering which occurs via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos |
Imports | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals | machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, basic metals, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | Italy 37%, Greece 28%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 3% (2000) | Italy 17.2%, Germany 14.9%, France 7.1%, Russia 6.8%, Turkey 4.2% (2004) |
Independence | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) | 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2000 est.) | 4% (2004 est.) |
Industries | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower | textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | 39.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 26.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2000 est.) | 9.6% (2004 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 | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 7 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 3,410 sq km (1993 est.) | 28,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) | Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates, a board of eleven judges and six prosecutors elected by parliament) |
Labor force | 1.692 million (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (1994 est.) | 9.66 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% | agriculture 31.6%, industry 30.7%, services 37.7% (2004) |
Land boundaries | total:
720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Yugoslavia 287 km |
total: 2,508 km
border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and Montenegro 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km |
Land use | arable land:
21% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 38% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 40.82%
permanent crops: 2.25% other: 56.93% (2001) |
Languages | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek | Romanian (official), Hungarian, German |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic |
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 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (137 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Adunarea Deputatilor (332 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 46, PNL 28, PD 21, PRM 21, PUR 11, UMDR 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 36.6%, PNL-PD 31.3%%, PRM 12.9%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 113, PNL 64, PD 48, PRM 48, UDMR 22, PUR 19, ethnic minorities 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.83 years male: 69.01 years female: 74.87 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.35 years
male: 67.86 years female: 75.06 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: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 395,350 GRT/510,232 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 20, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 2 (Italy 2) registered in other countries: 39 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards | Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Special Operations, Civil Defense (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $42 million (FY99) | $985 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (FY99) | 2.47% (2002) |
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) | Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) |
Nationality | noun:
Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian |
noun: Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; drought | earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -3.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991) | gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 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] | Conservative Party [Dan VOICULESCU], formerly Humanist Party or PUR; Democratic Party or PD [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Calin Popescu TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Mircea Dan GEOANA], formerly Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | various human rights and professional associations |
Population | 3,510,484 (July 2001 est.) | 22,329,977 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19.6% (1996 est.) | 28.9% (2002) |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2001 est.) | -0.12% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore | Braila, Constanta, Galati, Tulcea |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | 810,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified)
standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (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 |
Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 86.8%, Protestant (various denominations including Reformate and Pentecostal) 7.5%, Roman Catholic 4.7%, other (mostly Muslim) and unspecified 0.9%, none 0.1% (2002 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.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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 |
general assessment: poor domestic service, but improving
domestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; trunk network is mostly microwave radio relay, with some fiber-optic cable; about one-third of exchange capacity is digital; roughly 3,300 villages have no service international: country code - 40; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest; note - Romania is an active participant in several international telecommunication network projects (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 87,000 (1997) | 4.3 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,100 (1999) | 6.9 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 9 (plus 264 repeaters) (1995) | 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast | central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps |
Total fertility rate | 2.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) officially; may be as high as 25% | 6.3% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |
1,731 km (2004) |