Micronesia, Federated States of (2001) | Albania (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap | 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:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
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 | black pepper, tropical fruits and vegetables, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, chickens | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products |
Airports | 7 (2000 est.) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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:
702 sq km land: 702 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Pohnpei (Ponape), Truk (Chuuk) Islands, Yap Islands, and Kosrae |
total:
28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
Area - comparative | four times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | In 1979 the Federated States of Micronesia, a UN Trust Territory under US administration, adopted a constitution. In 1986 independence was attained under a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Present concerns include large-scale unemployment, overfishing, and overdependence on US aid. | 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 | - | 19.01 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$161 million ($69 million less grants) expenditures: $160 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues:
$393 million expenditures: $676 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | Palikir | Tirana |
Climate | tropical; heavy year-round rainfall, especially in the eastern islands; located on southern edge of the typhoon belt with occasionally severe damage | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter |
Coastline | 6,112 km | 362 km |
Constitution | 10 May 1979 | 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:
Federated States of Micronesia conventional short form: none former: Ponape, Truk, and Yap Districts (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) abbreviation: FSM |
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 | US dollar (USD) | lek (ALL) |
Death rate | - | 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $111 million (1997 est.) | $1 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Diane E. WATSON embassy: address NA, Kolonia mailing address: P. O. Box 1286, Kolonia, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia 96941 telephone: [691] 320-2187 FAX: [691] 320-2186 |
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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jesse Bibiano MAREHALAU chancery: 1725 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4383 FAX: [1] (202) 223-4391 consulate(s) general: Honolulu and Tamuning (Guam) |
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 | none | 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 | under terms of the Compact of Free Association, the US will provide $1.3 billion in grant aid during the period 1986-2001 | $NA; aid for energy from China, Germany, Norway (2000) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral deposits worth exploiting, except for high-grade phosphate. The potential for a tourist industry exists, but the remoteness of the location and a lack of adequate facilities hinder development. In 1996, the country experienced a 20% reduction in revenues from the Compact of Free Association - the agreement between the US and Micronesia in which Micronesia receives $1.3 billion in financial and technical assistance over a 15-year period until 2001 - as a result of the second step-down under the agreement. Since these revenues accounted for 57% of consolidated government revenues, reduced Compact funding resulted in a severe depression. While Micronesia's economy appears to have bottomed out in 1999, the country's medium-term economic outlook remains fragile due to likely further reductions in external grants made under the US Compact funding. Geographical isolation and a poorly developed infrastructure remain major impediments to long-term growth. | 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 | NA kWh | 5.379 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 100 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 600 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 5.332 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel:
3.81% hydro: 96.19% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Totolom 791 m |
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m |
Environment - current issues | overfishing | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups | 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 | the US dollar is used | 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 Leo A. FALCAM (since 21 July 1999); Vice President Redley KILLION (since 21 July 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Leo A. FALCAM (since 21 July 1999); Vice President Redley KILLION (since 21 July 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected by Congress from among the four senators-at-large for four-year terms; election last held NA May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2003) election results: Leo A. FALCAM elected president; percent of Congress vote - NA%; Redley KILLION elected vice president; percent of Congress vote - NA% |
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 | $73 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.) | $310 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish, garments, bananas, black pepper | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco |
Exports - partners | Japan, US, Guam | Italy 67%, Greece 15%, Germany 5%, Austria 2%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | light blue with four white five-pointed stars centered; the stars are arranged in a diamond pattern | red with a black two-headed eagle in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $263 million (1999 est.)
note: GDP is supplemented by grant aid, averaging perhaps $100 million annually |
purchasing power parity - $10.5 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
19% industry: 4% services: 77% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
55% industry: 24% services: 21% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (1999 est.) | 7.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 55 N, 158 15 E | 41 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | four major island groups totaling 607 islands | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total:
240 km paved: 42 km unpaved: 198 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 | - | 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 | $168 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.) | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, beverages | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US, Japan, Australia | Italy 37%, Greece 28%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 3% (2000) |
Independence | 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, fish processing, craft items from shell, wood, and pearls | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
Infant mortality rate | - | 39.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (FY98/99) | 1% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, ESCAP, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IMF, Intelsat, IOC, ITU, OPCW, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO, WMO | 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) | 1 (2000) | 7 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 3,410 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) |
Labor force | NA | 1.692 million (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (1994 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | two-thirds are government employees | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Yugoslavia 287 km |
Land use | arable land:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
arable land:
21% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 38% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek |
Legal system | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Congress (14 seats; members elected by popular vote; four - one elected from each of state - to serve four-year terms and 10 - elected from single-member districts delineated by population - to serve two-year terms)
elections: elections for four-year term seats last held 2 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003); elections for two-year term seats last held 6 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 14 |
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:
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: 89% male: 91% female: 88% (1980 est.) |
definition:
age 9 and over can read and write total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, island group in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to Indonesia | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
Map references | Oceania | 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 (2000 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 | Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is a sovereign, self-governing state in free association with the US; FSM is totally dependent on the US for its defense | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $42 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.5% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
870,768 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | 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 | Constitution Day, 10 May (1979) | Independence Day, 28 November (1912) |
Nationality | noun:
Micronesian(s) adjective: Micronesian; Kosrae(s), Pohnpeian(s), Trukese, Yapese |
noun:
Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian |
Natural hazards | typhoons (June to December) | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; drought |
Natural resources | forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | -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 | no formal parties | 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 |
Population | 134,597 (July 2001 est.) | 3,510,484 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 19.6% (1996 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 0.88% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Colonia (Yap), Kolonia (Pohnpei), Lele, Moen | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | NA | 810,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other and none 3% | 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:
1.08 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:
adequate system domestic: islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Pacific 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 | 11,000 (2001) | 87,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 3,100 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 9 (plus 264 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | islands vary geologically from high mountainous islands to low, coral atolls; volcanic outcroppings on Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Truk | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast |
Total fertility rate | - | 2.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1999 est.) | 16% (2000 est.) officially; may be as high as 25% |
Waterways | none | 43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |