Compare Albania (2002) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)

Compare Albania (2002) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)

	Albania (2002)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2002)

Administrative divisions	12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Qarku i Beratit, Qarku i Dibres, Qarku i Durresit, Qarku i Elbasanit, Qarku i Fierit, Qarku i Gjirokastres, Qarku i Korces, Qarku i Kukesit, Qarku i Lezhes, Qarku i Shkodres, Qarku i Tiranes, Qarku i Vlores	-
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) (2002 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products	-
Airports	11 (2001)	1 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
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 (2002)	-
Area	total: 28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	about 0.3 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 2001 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, but identified serious deficiencies which should be addressed through reforms in the Albanian electoral code.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	18.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $697 million expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $368 million (2002 est.)	-
Capital	Tirana	-
Climate	mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	362 km	698 km
Constitution	a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote	-
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: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Currency	lek (ALL)	-
Death rate	6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-
Debt - external	$784 million (2000)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador James F. JEFFREY embassy: Rruga Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana mailing address: U. S. Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Washington, DC 20521-9510 telephone: [355] (4) 247285 FAX: [355] (4) 232222	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Fatos TARIFA chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	the Albanian Government supports protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside of its borders in the Kosovo region of Serbia and Montenegro and in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia while continuing to seek regional cooperation; many Albanians illegally transit neighboring states to emigrate to western Europe	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain
Economic aid - recipient	ODA: $315 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2000 est.)	-
Economy - overview	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 $400-$600 million annually, mostly from Greece and Italy. Agriculture, which accounts for half 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. The government plans to boost energy imports to relieve the shortages.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing.
Electricity - consumption	5.378 billion kWh (2000)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	100 million kWh (2000)	-
Electricity - imports	1.072 billion kWh (2000)	-
Electricity - production	4.738 billion kWh (2000)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 3% hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents	NA
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	-
Ethnic groups	Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Gypsy, Serb, and Bulgarian) (1989 est.) note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)	-
Exchange rates	leke per US dollar - 140.16 (November 2001), 143.71 (2000) 137.69 (1999), 150.63 (1998), 148.93 (1997); note - leke is the plural of lek	-
Executive branch	chief of state: President of the Republic Alfred MOISIU (since 24 July 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Fatos NANO (since 31 July 2002) 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 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Alfred MOISIU elected president; People's Assembly vote by number - total votes 116, for 97, against 19	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	$340 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)	-
Exports - commodities	textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco	-
Exports - partners	Italy 71%, Greece 12%, Germany 7%, Yugoslavia 3% (2001)	-
Fiscal year	calendar year	-
Flag description	red with a black two-headed eagle in the center	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP	purchasing power parity - $14 billion (2002 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 49% industry: 27% services: 24% (2002 est.)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2002 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	5% (2002 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	41 00 N, 20 00 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E
Geography - note	strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)	archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Heliports	1 (2002)	-
Highways	total: 18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.)	total: NA km paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share	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 growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens	-
Imports	$1.5 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)	-
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals	-
Imports - partners	Italy 32%, Greece 26%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 2% (2001)	-
Independence	28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)	-
Industrial production growth rate	9% (2000 est.)	-
Industries	food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower	-
Infant mortality rate	38.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6% (2002 est.)	-
International organization participation	ACCT, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO	-
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	10 (2001)	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	3,400 sq km (1998 est.)	0 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term)	-
Labor force	1.283 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (2000 est.)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 50%, industry and services 50%	-
Land boundaries	total: 720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 21.09% permanent crops: 4.45% other: 74.46% (1998 est.)	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Languages	Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek	-
Legal system	has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
Legislative branch	unicameral People's Assembly or Kuvendi Popullor (140 seats; 100 are elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote for four-year terms) elections: last held 24 June with subsequent rounds on 8 July, 22 July, 29 July, 19 August 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 41.5%, PD and coalition allies 36.8%, NDP 5.2%, PSD 3.6%, PBDNJ 2.6%, PASH 2.6%, PAD 2.5%; seats by party - PS 73, PD and coalition allies 46, NDP 6, PSD 4, PBDNJ 3, PASH 3, PAD 3, independents 2	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 72.1 years male: 69.27 years female: 75.14 years (2002 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA%	-
Location	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro	Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Europe	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Merchant marine	total: 7 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,423 GRT/20,837 DWT ships by type: cargo 7, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Honduras 1 (2002 est.)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$56.5 million (FY02)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.49% (FY02)	-
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 888,086 (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 727,406 (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - military age	19 years of age (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 35,792 (2002 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 28 November (1912)	-
Nationality	noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian	-
Natural hazards	destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought	NA
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	-1.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-
Pipelines	crude oil 196 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1996)	-
Political parties and leaders	Agrarian Party or PASH [Lufter XHUVELI]; Albanian National Front (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Shptim ROQI]; 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 [Nerltan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Group of Reformist Democrats [Leonard NDOKA]; Legality Movement Party or PLL [Ekrem SPAHIA]; Liberal Union Party or PBL [Teodor LACO]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Genc POLLO]; 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]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	-
Population	3,544,841 (July 2002 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line	30% (2001 est.)	-
Population growth rate	1.06% (2002 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore	Diego Garcia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios	1 million (2001)	NA
Railways	total: 447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001 est.)	-
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	-
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 (2002 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	-
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: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	120,000 (2001)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	250,000 (2001)	-
Television broadcast stations	3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001)	1 (1997)
Terrain	mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	2.27 children born/woman (2002 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	17% officially (2001 est.); may be as high as 30% (2001)	-
Waterways	43 km note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)	none

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