Compare Australia (2006) - Albania (2004)

Compare Australia (2006) z Albania (2004)

	Australia (2006)	Albania (2004)

Administrative divisions	6 states and 2 territories; Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia*	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: 19.6% (male 2,031,313/female 1,936,802) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 6,881,863/female 6,764,709) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 1,170,589/female 1,478,806) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 26.4% (male 489,363; female 446,586) 15-64 years: 65.3% (male 1,184,670; female 1,130,065) 65 years and over: 8.3% (male 135,177; female 158,947) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry	wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products
Airports	455 (2006)	11 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 311 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 133 914 to 1,523 m: 143 under 914 m: 13 (2006)	total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 144 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 111 under 914 m: 15 (2006)	total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 7,686,850 sq km land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island	total: 28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states	slightly smaller than Maryland
Background	Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.	Between 1990 and 1992 Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven difficult as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks with links to high government officials, and disruptive political opponents. International observers judged parliamentary elections in 2001 and local elections in 2003 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, but identified serious deficiencies. Many of these deficiencies have been addressed through bi-partisan changes to the electoral code in 2003 and 2005, but implementation of these changes will not be demonstrated until parliamentary elections in July 2005.
Birth rate	12.14 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	15.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $249.8 billion expenditures: $240.2 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $1.36 billion expenditures: $1.627 billion, including capital expenditures of $406 million (2003 est.)
Capital	name: Canberra geographic coordinates: 35 17 S, 149 08 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in March (ended first Sunday in April 2006) note: Australia is divided into three time zones	Tirana
Climate	generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north	mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
Coastline	25,760 km	362 km
Constitution	9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901	a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998
Country name	conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia	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
Currency	-	lek (ALL)
Death rate	7.51 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$323.4 billion (2005 est.)	$1.41 billion (2003)
Dependent areas	Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert D. McCALLUM, Jr. embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney	chief of mission: Ambassador Marcie B. RIES embassy: Rruga Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana mailing address: U. S. Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Dulles, VA 20189-9510 telephone: [355] (4) 247285 FAX: [355] (4) 374957 and [355] (4) 232222
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis J. RICHARDSON chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco	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
Disputes - international	East Timor and Australia agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for fifty years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty; East Timor dispute hampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia (see also Ashmore and Cartier Islands dispute); regional states express concern over Australia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica (see Antarctica); in 2004 Australia submitted its claims to UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental margin from both its mainland and Antarctic claims	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
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	ODA: $315 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2000 est.)
Economy - overview	Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Rising output in the domestic economy, robust business and consumer confidence, and rising exports of raw materials and agricultural products are fueling the economy. Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, and growing ties with China are other key factors behind the economy's strength. The impact of drought, weak foreign demand, and strong import demand pushed the trade deficit up from $8 billion in 2002, to $18 billion in 2003, $13 billion in 2004, and nearly $17 billion in 2005. Housing prices probably peaked in 2005, diminishing the prospect that interest rates would be raised to prevent a speculative bubble. Conservative fiscal policies have kept Australia's budget in surplus from 2002 to 2005.	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 spur economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered by remittances from abroad of $400-$600 million annually, mostly from Greece and Italy; this helps offset the sizable trade deficit. Agriculture, which accounts for one-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 and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure make it difficult to attract and sustain foreign investment. The government plans to boost energy imports to relieve the shortages and is moving slowly to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth.
Electricity - consumption	221 billion kWh (2004)	5.898 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	221 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	1.2 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	237 billion kWh (2004)	5.289 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m	lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m
Environment - current issues	soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources	deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol	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
Ethnic groups	Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%	Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb, and Macedonian or 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	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)	leke per US dollar - 121.863 (2003), 140.155 (2002), 143.485 (2001), 143.709 (2000), 137.691 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003) head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister Mark VAILE (since 6 July 2005) cabinet: prime minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the governor general to serve as government ministers elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party	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 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; 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
Exports	523,400 bbl/day (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment	textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
Exports - partners	Japan 20.3%, China 11.5%, South Korea 7.9%, US 6.7%, NZ 6.5%, India 5% (2005)	Italy 74.9%, Greece 12.8%, Germany 3.4% (2003)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	calendar year
Flag description	blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant known as the Commonwealth or Federation Star, representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars	red with a black two-headed eagle in the center
GDP	-	purchasing power parity - $16.13 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3.8% industry: 26.2% services: 70% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 47.5% industry: 24.6% services: 27.8% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.7% (2005 est.)	7% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	27 00 S, 133 00 E	41 00 N, 20 00 E
Geography - note	world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating tropical sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world	strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
Heliports	1 (2006)	1 (2003 est.)
Highways	-	total: 18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate	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	530,800 bbl/day (2001)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products	machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals
Imports - partners	US 13.9%, China 13.7%, Japan 11%, Singapore 5.6%, Germany 5.6% (2005)	Italy 33.6%, Greece 20.2%, Turkey 6.6%, Germany 5.7% (2003)
Independence	1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)	28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire)
Industrial production growth rate	1.1% (2005 est.)	2.7% (2003 est.)
Industries	mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel	food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 22.31 deaths/1,000 live births male: 23.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.7% (2005 est.)	2.4% (2003)
International organization participation	ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC	ACCT, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	25,450 sq km (2003)	3,400 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general)	Constitutional Court, Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term), and multiple appeals and district courts
Labor force	10.42 million (2005 est.)	1.35 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 3.6% industry: 21.2% services: 75.2% (2004 est.)	agriculture 57%, non-agricultural private sector 20%, public sector 23% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km
Land use	arable land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland) permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.81% (2005)	arable land: 21.09% permanent crops: 4.42% other: 74.49% (2001)
Languages	English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)	Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects
Legal system	based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	has a civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; has accepted jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for its citizens
Legislative branch	bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and 2 from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential voting to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives) elections: Senate - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held no later than June 2008); House of Representatives - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be called no later than November 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 39, Australian Labor Party 28, Democrats 4, Australian Greens 4, Family First Party 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 87, Australian Labor Party 60, independents 3	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 2001 with subsequent rounds on 8 July, 22 July, 29 July, 19 August 2001 (next to be held July 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PS 41.5%, PD and coalition allies 36.8%, PDR 5.2%, PSD 3.6%, PBDNJ 2.6%, PASH (now PAA) 2.6%, PAD 2.5%; seats by party - PS 73, PD and coalition allies 46, PDR 6, PSD 4, PBDNJ 3, PASH (now PAA) 3, PAD 3, independents 2; note - seats by party as of January 2005: PS 65, PD and coalition allies 46, LSI 9, PDR 6, PSD 3, PBDNJ 3, PASH (now PAA) 3, PAD 3, PDS 1, independents 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 80.5 years male: 77.64 years female: 83.52 years (2006 est.)	total population: 77.06 years male: 74.37 years female: 80.02 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)	definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population: 86.5% male: 93.3% female: 79.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro
Map references	Oceania	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin	territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine	total: 53 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,361,000 GRT/1,532,874 DWT by type: bulk carrier 17, cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 17 (Canada 1, France 3, Germany 3, Japan 1, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Philippines 1, UK 2, US 3) registered in other countries: 34 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 2, Bermuda 3, Fiji 1, Hong Kong 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 1, NZ 2, Panama 3, Portugal 1, Singapore 7, Tonga 1, UK 3, US 2, Vanuatu 2) (2006)	total: 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 40,878 GRT/62,676 DWT by type: bulk 1, cargo 19, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Denmark 1, Honduras 1, Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 7 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command	General Staff Headquarters, Land Forces Command (Army), Naval Forces Command, Air Forces Command, Doctrine and Exercises Command, Logistics Support Command
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$17.84 billion (2005 est.)	$56.5 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.7% (2005 est.)	1.49% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 956,107 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 775,422 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 36,584 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)	Independence Day, 28 November (1912)
Nationality	noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian	noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian
Natural hazards	cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires	destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought
Natural resources	bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum	petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower
Net migration rate	3.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-4.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	condensate/gas 546 km; gas 31,323 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,808 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2006)	gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Australian Democrats [Lyn ALLISON]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Australian Labor Party [Kevin RUDD]; Country Liberal Party [Jodeen CARNEY]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [Mark VAILE]	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 PAD [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 PBK [Adriatik ALIMADHI]; New Democratic Party or PDR [Genc POLLO]; Party of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQIRI]; Renewed Democratic Party or PDR [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 (formerly the Albanian Party of Labor) [Fatos NANO]; Union for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vangjel DULE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	-	Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania or KSSH [Kastriot MUCO]; Front for Albanian National Unification or FBKSH [Gafur ADILI]; Omonia [Jani JANI]; Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania or BSPSH [Gezim KALAJA]
Population	20,264,082 (July 2006 est.)	3,544,808 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	30% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	0.85% (2006 est.)	0.51% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore
Radio broadcast stations	AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001)
Railways	total: 47,738 km broad gauge: 4,015 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 28,662 km 1.435-m gauge (1,397 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,831 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified) dual gauge: 230 km dual gauge (2005)	total: 447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)
Religions	Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census)	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
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	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: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: excellent domestic and international service domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 61; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 19 (10 Intelsat - 4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean, 2 Inmarsat - Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, 2 Globalstar, 5 other) (2005)	general assessment: Despite new investment in fixed lines, the density of main lines remains the lowest in Europe with roughly 8 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 microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece (2003)
Telephones - main lines in use	11.46 million (2005)	255,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	18.42 million (2005)	1.1 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	104 (1997)	3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001)
Terrain	mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast	mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Total fertility rate	1.76 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.05 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.1% (2005 est.)	15.8% officially; may be as high as 30% (2003 est.)
Waterways	2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2002)	43 km (2004)

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