French Guiana (2003) | Albania (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 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) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.9% (male 28,565; female 27,280)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 64,836; female 55,498) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 5,455; female 5,283) (2003 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products |
Airports | 11 (2002) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
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.) |
Area | total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
total:
28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. | 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. |
Birth rate | 21.33 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 19.01 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
revenues:
$393 million expenditures: $676 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Cayenne | Tirana |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter |
Coastline | 378 km | 362 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | a new constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
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 | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | lek (ALL) |
Death rate | 4.8 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (1988) | $1 billion (2000) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Petrit BUSHATI chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342 |
Disputes - international | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $NA; aid for energy from China, Germany, Norway (2000) |
Economy - overview | The economy is tied closely to the larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 423.2 million kWh (2001) | 5.379 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 100 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 600 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 455 million kWh (2001) | 5.332 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
3.81% hydro: 96.19% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents |
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 | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% | 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) |
Exchange rates | Euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999) | 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 |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
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 |
Exports | NA (2001) | $310 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco |
Exports - partners | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) | Italy 67%, Greece 15%, Germany 5%, Austria 2%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | red with a black two-headed eagle in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.26 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10.5 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
55% industry: 24% services: 21% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 7.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 53 00 W | 41 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 722 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1996) |
total:
18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe | increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a far lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and rapidly expanding in Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002) | Italy 37%, Greece 28%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 3% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.84 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
39.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2002 est.) | 1% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 7 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | 3,410 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) |
Labor force | 58,800 (1997) | 1.692 million (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (1994 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services, government, and commerce 60.6%, industry 21.2%, agriculture 18.2% (1980) | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
total:
720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Yugoslavia 287 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.11% NEGL
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 99.86% (90% forest, 10% other) (1998 est.) |
arable land:
21% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 38% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek |
Legal system | French legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.69 years
male: 73.36 years female: 80.18 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
71.83 years male: 69.01 years female: 74.87 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
definition:
age 9 and over can read and write total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
Map references | South America | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,797 GRT/26,324 DWT ships by type: cargo 9 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French Forces, Gendarmerie | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $42 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.5% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 51,444 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
870,768 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 33,345 (2003 est.) | 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 | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 28 November (1912) |
Nationality | noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
noun:
Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian |
Natural hazards | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; drought |
Natural resources | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), cinnabar, kaolin, fish | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 7.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -3.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991) |
Political parties and leaders | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Roland HO-WEN-SZE]; Socialist Party or PS [Pierre RIBARDIERE]; Walwari Committee [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 186,917 (July 2003 est.) | 3,510,484 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 19.6% (1996 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.4% (2003 est.) | 0.88% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | - | 810,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 47,000 (1997) | 87,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 3,100 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) | 9 (plus 264 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast |
Total fertility rate | 3.09 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (2001) | 16% (2000 est.) officially; may be as high as 25% |
Waterways | 3,300 km navigable by native craft
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers |
43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |