Italy (2002) | Albania (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto | 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: 14.1% (male 4,198,569; female 3,954,159)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 19,334,208; female 19,492,048) 65 years and over: 18.6% (male 4,436,073; female 6,300,568) (2002 est.) |
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 | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products |
Airports | 135 (2001) | 11 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 96
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 12 (2002) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (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 (2002) |
Area | total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
total: 28,748 sq km
land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arizona | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north. | 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. |
Birth rate | 8.93 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $504 billion
expenditures: $517 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $697 million
expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $368 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Rome | Tirana |
Climate | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter |
Coastline | 7,600 km | 362 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1948 | a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote |
Country name | conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy |
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); Italian lira (ITL)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
lek (ALL) |
Death rate | 10.13 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $784 million (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Melvin SEMBLER
embassy: Via Vittorio Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672, 4674-2356 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ferdinando SALLEO
chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2151 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
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 | Croatia and Italy are still trying to resolve bilateral property and ethnic minority rights dating from World War II | 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 |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | ODA: $315 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Rome has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 283.74 billion kWh (2000) | 5.378 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 484 million kWh (2000) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 44.831 billion kWh (2000) | 1.072 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 257.41 billion kWh (2000) | 4.738 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 80%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 0% other: 3% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc) |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) | 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 | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,688.7 (January 1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997) | 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 Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (since 13 May 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Silvio BERLUSCONI (since 10 June 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term; election last held 13 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2006); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by Parliament election results: Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 70% note: a five-party government coalition includes Forza Italia, National Alliance, Northern League, Democratic Christian Center, United Christian Democrats |
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 |
Exports | $259.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $340 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco |
Exports - partners | EU 53.8% (Germany 14.5%, France 12.2%, UK 6.7%, Spain 6.1%), US 9.7% (2001) | Italy 71%, Greece 12%, Germany 7%, Yugoslavia 3% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green
note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797 |
red with a black two-headed eagle in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.438 trillion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 27% services: 24% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.4% (2002 est.) | 5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 50 N, 12 50 E | 41 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) |
Heliports | 4 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 668,669 km
paved: 668,669 km (including 6,460 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
total: 18,000 km
paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 27% (2000) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; money laundering by organized crime and from smuggling | 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 | $238.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | $1.5 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU 56.5% (Germany 17.7%, France 11.1%, Netherlands 6.2%, UK 5.1%), US 4.9% (2001) | Italy 32%, Greece 26%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 2% (2001) |
Independence | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2.8% (2002) | 9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
Infant mortality rate | 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 38.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2002) | 6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | 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) | 93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000) | 10 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 26,980 sq km (1998 est.) | 3,400 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts) | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) |
Labor force | 23.6 million (2001 est.) | 1.283 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 63%, industry 32%, agriculture 5% (2001) | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% |
Land boundaries | total: 1,932.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km |
total: 720 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km |
Land use | arable land: 28.07%
permanent crops: 9.25% other: 62.68% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 21.09%
permanent crops: 4.45% other: 74.46% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek |
Legal system | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats elected by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation; in addition, there are a small number of senators-for-life including former presidents of the republic; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 177 (Forza Italia 82, National Alliance 46, CCD-CDU 29, Northern League 17, others 3), Olive Tree 128 (Democrats of the Left 62, Daisy Alliance 42, Sunflower Alliance 16, Italian Communist Party 3, independents 5), non-affiliated with either coalition 10, senators for life 9; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 367 (Forza Italia 189, National Alliance 96, CCD-CDU 40, Northern League 30, others 12), Olive Tree 248 (Democrats of the Left 138, Daisy Alliance 76, Sunflower Alliance 18, Italian Communist Party 9, independents 7), non-affiliated with either coalition 15 |
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: 79.25 years
male: 76.08 years female: 82.63 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 72.1 years
male: 69.27 years female: 75.14 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% (1998) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 467 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,499,248 GRT/10,383,988 DWT
ships by type: bulk 45, cargo 41, chemical tanker 91, combination ore/oil 4, container 24, liquefied gas 37, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 15, petroleum tanker 80, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 70, short-sea passenger 27, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 16 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Denmark 4, France 1, Greece 3, Man, Isle of 1, Monaco 7, Netherlands 6, Norway 1, Panama 2, Spain 1, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 15, Turkey 1, United Kingdom 6, United States 12 (2002 est.) |
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 branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20.2 billion (2002) | $56.5 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.64% (2002) | 1.49% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 14,184,307 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 888,086 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 12,157,753 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 727,406 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 304,369 (2002 est.) | males: 35,792 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) | Independence Day, 28 November (1912) |
Nationality | noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian |
Natural hazards | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought |
Natural resources | mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km | crude oil 196 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1996) |
Political parties and leaders | Center-Left Olive Tree Coalition [Francesco RUTELLI] - Democrats of the Left, Daisy Alliance (including Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats), Sunflower Alliance (including Green Federation, Italian Democratic Socialists), Italian Communist Party; Center-Right Freedom House Coalition [Silvio BERLUSCONI] (formerly House of Liberties and Freedom Alliance) - Forza Italia, National Alliance, The Whiteflower Alliance (includes Christian Democratic Center, United Christian Democrats), Northern League; Christian Democratic Center or CCD [Marco FOLLINI]; Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Alfonso Pecoraro SCANIO]; Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Italian Popular Party or PPI [Pierluigi CASTAGNETTI]; Italian Renewal or RI [Lamberto DINI]; Italian Social Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI]; Socialist Movement-Tricolor Flame or MS-Fiamma [Pino RAUTI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Siegfried BRUGGER]; Sunflower Alliance (includes Green Federation, Italian Social Democrats); The Daisy Alliance (includes Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats); The Democrats [Arturo PARISI]; The Radicals (formerly Pannella Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA]; The Whiteflower Alliance (includes Christian Democratic Center, United Christian Democrats); Union of Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA]; United Christian Democrats or CDU [Rocco BUTTIGLIONE] | 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 | Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Sergio COFFERATI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Savino PEZZOTTA] which is Roman Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist) | NA |
Population | 57,715,625 (July 2002 est.) | 3,544,841 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 30% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.05% (2002 est.) | 1.06% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo, Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice (2001) | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore |
Radio broadcast stations | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 50.5 million (1997) | 1 million (2001) |
Railways | total: 19,786 km
standard gauge: 18,761 km 1.435-m gauge (11,251 km electrified) narrow gauge: 113 km 1.000-m gauge (113 km electrified); 912 km 0.950-m gauge (192 km electrified) (2001) |
total: 447 km
standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001 est.) |
Religions | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community | 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: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
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 (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern, well developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services
domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables |
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 | 25 million (1999) | 120,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20.5 million (1999) | 250,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) | 3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast |
Total fertility rate | 1.19 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.27 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.1% (2002 est.) | 17% officially (2001 est.); may be as high as 30% (2001) |
Waterways | 2,400 km
note: serves various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value (2002) |
43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |