Compare Albania (2006) - Tuvalu (2007)

Compare Albania (2006) z Tuvalu (2007)

	Albania (2006)	Tuvalu (2007)

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	none
Age structure	0-14 years: 24.8% (male 464,954/female 423,003) 15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,214,942/female 1,158,562) 65 years and over: 8.9% (male 148,028/female 172,166) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 29.8% (male 1,821/female 1,752) 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 3,808/female 4,006) 65 years and over: 5% (male 227/female 378) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products	coconuts; fish
Airports	11 (2006)	1 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2006)	-
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2006)	total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Area	total: 28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km	total: 26 sq km land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	Between 1990 and 1992 Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges of reducing crime and corruption, promoting economic growth, and decreasing the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure. Albania has played a largely helpful role in managing inter-ethnic tensions in southeastern Europe, and is continuing to work toward joining NATO and the EU. Albania, with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been a strong supporter of the global war on terrorism.	In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over a 12-year period.
Birth rate	15.11 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	22.43 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.96 billion expenditures: $2.377 billion; including capital expenditures of $500 million (2005 est.)	revenues: $22.78 million expenditures: $14.23 million (2002)
Capital	name: Tirana (Tirane) geographic coordinates: 41 20 N, 19 50 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	name: Funafuti geographic coordinates: 8 30 S, 179 12 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet
Climate	mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter	tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March)
Coastline	362 km	24 km
Constitution	adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998	1 October 1978
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: Tuvalu local long form: none local short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands
Death rate	5.22 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	7 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external	$1.55 billion (2004)	$NA
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Marcie B. RIES embassy: Rruga e Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana mailing address: US Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Dulles, VA 20189-9510 telephone: [355] (4) 247285 FAX: [355] (4) 232222	the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Aleksander SALLABANDA chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342	Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, NY 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534
Disputes - international	the Albanian Government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in neighboring countries, and the peaceful resolution of interethnic disputes; some ethnic Albanian groups in neighboring countries advocate for a "greater Albania," but the idea has little appeal among Albanian nationals; thousands of unemployed Albanians emigrate annually to nearby Italy and other developed countries	none
Economic aid - recipient	ODA: $366 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2003 est.)	$13 million; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.)
Economy - overview	Lagging behind its Balkan neighbors, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime and to spur economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by annual remittances from abroad of $600-$800 million, mostly from Greece and Italy; this helps offset the towering trade deficit. Agriculture, which accounts for about one-quarter of GDP, is held back because of frequent drought and the need to modernize equipment, to clarify property rights, and to consolidate small plots of land. Energy shortages and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment, which make it difficult to attract and sustain foreign investment. The planned construction of a new thermal power plant near Vlore and improved transmission and distribution facilities will help relieve the energy shortages. Also, the government is moving slowly to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth. On the positive side: growth was strong in 2003-05 and inflation is not a problem.	Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad. About 1,000 Tuvaluans are being repatriated from Nauru, with the decline of phosphate resources there. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this fund grew from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US Government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. Tuvalu derives around $1.5 million per year from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and income from overseas investments.
Electricity - consumption	6.76 billion kWh (2004)	-
Electricity - exports	200 million kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - imports	1.08 billion kWh (2004 est.)	-
Electricity - production	5.68 billion kWh (2004)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 5 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents	since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb, Macedonian, Bulgarian) (1989 est.) note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)	Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%
Exchange rates	leke per US dollar - 102.649 (2005), 102.78 (2004), 121.863 (2003), 140.155 (2002), 143.485 (2001)	Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)
Executive branch	chief of state: President of the Republic Alfred MOISIU (since 24 July 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Sali BERISHA (since 10 September 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and approved by parliament elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 24 June 2002 (next to be held 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); represented by Governor General Filoimea TELITO (since 15 April 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Apisai IELEMIA (since 14 August 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 14 August 2006 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2010) election results: Apisai IELEMIA elected Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election on 14 August 2006
Exports	0 bbl/day (2005 est.)	$1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities	textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco	copra, fish
Exports - partners	Italy 72.4%, Greece 10.5%, Serbia and Montenegro 5% (2005)	Germany 60.5%, Italy 20.1%, Fiji 6.9% (2006)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	red with a black two-headed eagle in the center	light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 23.2% industry: 18.8% services: 57.9% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 16.6% industry: 27.2% services: 56.2% (2002)
GDP - real growth rate	5.5% (2005 est.)	1.2% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	41 00 N, 20 00 E	8 00 S, 178 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)	one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the 9 coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon
Heliports	1 (2006)	-
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 growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens	-
Imports	21,600 bbl/day (2005 est.)	$9.186 million c.i.f. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals	food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods
Imports - partners	Italy 29.3%, Greece 16.4%, Turkey 7.5%, China 6.6%, Germany 5.4%, Russia 4% (2005)	Fiji 46.1%, Japan 18.9%, China 18.2%, Australia 7.7%, NZ 4.1% (2006)
Independence	28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)	1 October 1978 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	3.1% (2004 est.)	NA%
Industries	food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower	fishing, tourism, copra
Infant mortality rate	total: 20.75 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 18.9 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.64 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.4% (2005 est.)	3.9% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO
Irrigated land	3,530 sq km (2003)	NA
Judicial branch	Constitutional Court, Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term), and multiple appeals and district courts	High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction)
Labor force	1.09 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (2004 est.)	3,615 (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 58% industry: 19% services: 23% (2004 est.)	note: people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)
Land boundaries	total: 720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Montenegro 172 km, Serbia 115 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 20.1% permanent crops: 4.21% other: 75.69% (2005)	arable land: 0% permanent crops: 66.67% other: 33.33% (2005)
Languages	Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Legal system	has a civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; has accepted jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for its citizens	NA
Legislative branch	unicameral Assembly or Kuvendi (140 seats; 100 are elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote for four-year terms) elections: last held 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PD 56, PS 42, PR 11, PSD 7, LSI 5, other 19	unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 3 August 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 15
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.43 years male: 74.78 years female: 80.34 years (2006 est.)	total population: 68.63 years male: 66.38 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population: 86.5% male: 93.3% female: 79.5% (2003 est.)	NA
Location	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro	Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia
Map references	Europe	Oceania
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 52,987 GRT/79,863 DWT by type: cargo 23, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Turkey 1) registered in other countries: 1 (Georgia 1) (2006)	total: 74 ships (1000 GRT or over) 568,759 GRT/928,697 DWT by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 45, chemical tanker 5, container 2, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 13, refrigerated cargo 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 61 (China 25, Hong Kong 10, Kenya 1, Maldives 1, Romania 1, Russia 4, Singapore 13, Thailand 1, Turkey 1, US 1, Vietnam 3) (2007)
Military branches	General Staff Headquarters, Land Forces Command (Army), Naval Forces Command, Air Defense Command, Logistics Command, Training and Doctrine Command	no regular military forces; Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$56.5 million (FY02)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.49% (FY02)	NA
National holiday	Independence Day, 28 November (1912)	Independence Day, 1 October (1978)
Nationality	noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian	noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan
Natural hazards	destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought	severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower	fish
Net migration rate	-4.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines	gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2006)	-
Political parties and leaders	Agrarian Environmentalist Party or PAA [Lufter XHUVELI]; Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Nikolle LESI]; Communist Party of Albania or PKSH [Hysni MILLOSHI]; Democratic Alliance Party or DAP [Neritan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Legality Movement Party or PLL [Ekrem SPAHIU]; Liberal Union Party or PBL [Arjan STAROVA]; National Front Party (Balli Kombetar) or BNK [Adriatik ALIMADHI]; New Democratic Party or PDR [Genc POLLO]; Party of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQIRI]; Renewed Democratic Party or PDRN [Dashamir SHEHI]; Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]; Social Democracy Party or PDS [Paskal MILO]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI]; Socialist Movement for Integration or LSI [Ilir META]; Socialist Party or PS [Edi RAMA]; Union for Human Rights Party or PBDNj [Vangjel DULE]	there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings
Political pressure groups and leaders	Citizens Advocacy Office [Kreshnik SPAHIU]; Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania or KSSH [Kastriot MUCO]; Front for Albanian National Unification or FBKSH [Gafur ADILI]; Mjaft Movement [Erion VELIAJ]; Omonia [Jani JANI]; Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania or BSPSH [Gezim KALAJA]	none
Population	3,581,655 (July 2006 est.)	11,992 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line	25% (2004 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	0.52% (2006 est.)	1.543% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 13, FM 46 (3 national, 62 local), shortwave 1 (2005)	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (2004)
Railways	total: 447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)	-
Religions	Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% note: percentages are estimates; there are no available current statistics on religious affiliation; all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice	Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.039 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.601 male(s)/female total population: 0.954 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: despite new investment in fixed lines, the density of main lines remains the lowest in Europe with roughly seven lines per 100 people; however, cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective domestic: offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile phone service has been available since 1996; by 2003 two companies were providing mobile services at a greater density than some of Albania's Balkan neighbors international: country code - 355; inadequate fixed main lines; adequate cellular connections; international traffic carried by fiber optic cable and, when necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece (2003)	general assessment: serves particular needs for internal communications domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: country code - 688; international calls can be made by satellite
Telephones - main lines in use	255,000 (2003)	700 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	1.259 million (2004)	0 (2004)
Television broadcast stations	65 (3 national, 62 local); note - 2 cable networks (2005)	0 (2004)
Terrain	mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast	very low-lying and narrow coral atolls
Total fertility rate	2.03 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.96 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate	14.3% official rate, but may exceed 30% (2005 est.)	NA%
Waterways	43 km (2006)	-

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