Micronesia, Federated States of (2001) | Albania (2008) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 4 states; Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap | 12 counties (qarqe, singular - qark); Berat, Diber, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Korce, Kukes, Lezhe, Shkoder, Tirane, Vlore |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
0-14 years: 24.1% (male 454,622/female 413,698)
15-64 years: 66.6% (male 1,228,497/female 1,170,489) 65 years and over: 9.3% (male 154,352/female 178,865) (2007 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 (2007) |
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 (2007) |
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: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
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. | Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. Communist partizans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges of reducing crime and corruption, promoting economic growth, and decreasing the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure. Albania has played a largely helpful role in managing inter-ethnic tensions in southeastern Europe, and is continuing to work toward joining NATO and the EU. Albania, with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been a strong supporter of the global war on terrorism. |
Birth rate | - | 15.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$161 million ($69 million less grants) expenditures: $160 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $2.752 billion
expenditures: $3.129 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Palikir | name: Tirana (Tirane)
geographic coordinates: 41 19 N, 19 49 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
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 | adopted by popular referendum on 22 November 1998; promulgated 28 November 1998 |
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) | - |
Death rate | - | 5.33 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $111 million (1997 est.) | $1.55 billion (2004) |
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 Dr. John L. WITHERS, II
embassy: Rruga e Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana mailing address: US Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Dulles, VA 20189-9510 telephone: [355] (4) 247285 FAX: [355] (4) 232222 |
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 Aleksander SALLABANDA
chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342 |
Disputes - international | none | 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; the mass emigration of unemployed Albanians remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy |
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 | ODA: $318.7 million
note: top donors were Italy, EU, Germany (2005 est.) |
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. | Lagging behind its Balkan neighbors, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime, and recently adopted a fiscal reform package aimed at reducing the large gray economy and attracting foreign investment. The economy is bolstered by annual remittances from abroad of $600-$800 million, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy; this helps offset the towering trade deficit. Agriculture, which accounts for more than one-fifth of GDP, is held back because of lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots of land. Energy shortages and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment, which make it difficult to attract and sustain foreign investment. The completion of a new thermal power plant near Vlore and improved transmission line between Albania and Montenegro will help relieve the energy shortages. Also, the government is moving slowly to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth. On the positive side, macroeconomic growth was strong in 2003-07 and inflation is low and stable. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 3.323 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 300 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 371 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 5.385 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
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) 2,764 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups | Albanian 95%, Greek 3%, other 2% (Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Serb, Macedonian, Bulgarian) (1989 est.)
note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | leke per US dollar - 92.668 (2007), 98.384 (2006), 102.649 (2005), 102.78 (2004), 121.863 (2003) |
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 Bamir TOPI (since 24 July 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Sali BERISHA (since 10 September 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, nominated by the president, and approved by parliament elections: president elected by the People's Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); four election rounds held between 8 and 20 July 2007 (next election to be held in 2012); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Bamir TOPI elected president; People's Assembly vote, fourth round (three-fifths majority (84 votes) required): Bamir TOPI 85 votes, Neritan CEKA 5 votes |
Exports | $73 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.) | 1,240 bbl/day (2004 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 67.7%, Serbia and Montenegro 5.8%, Greece 5.4% (2006) |
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 |
- |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
19% industry: 4% services: 77% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 21.7%
industry: 20.3% services: 58% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (1999 est.) | 5% (2007 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 (2007) |
Highways | total:
240 km paved: 42 km unpaved: 198 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 24.4% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a 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 | $168 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.) | 21,600 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, beverages | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US, Japan, Australia | Italy 32%, Greece 17.7%, Turkey 8.1%, Germany 5.7% (2006) |
Independence | 3 November 1986 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) | 28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2007 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 | - | total: 20.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.46 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (FY98/99) | 3% (2007 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 | BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 3,530 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | 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 | NA | 1.09 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (September 2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | two-thirds are government employees | agriculture: 58%
industry: 15% services: 27% (September 2006 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 720 km
border countries: Greece 282 km, Macedonia 151 km, Montenegro 172 km, Serbia 115 km |
Land use | arable land:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 20.1%
permanent crops: 4.21% other: 75.69% (2005) |
Languages | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean | Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects |
Legal system | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | has a civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; has accepted jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for its citizens |
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 Assembly or Kuvendi (140 seats; 100 members are elected by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PD 56, PS 42, PR 11, PSD 7, LSI 5, other 19 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 77.6 years
male: 74.95 years female: 80.53 years (2007 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: 98.7% male: 99.2% female: 98.3% (2001 census) |
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 in the south and Montenegro and Serbia to the north |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 56,550 GRT/85,521 DWT
by type: cargo 23, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Turkey 1) registered in other countries: 3 (Georgia 2, Panama 1) (2007) |
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 | - | Land Forces Command (Army), Naval Forces Command, Air Defense Command, General Staff Headquarters (includes Logistics Command, Training and Doctrine Command) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.49% (2005 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; floods; drought |
Natural resources | forests, marine products, deep-seabed minerals | petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | -4.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | no formal parties | Agrarian Environmentalist Party or PAA [Lufter XHUVELI]; Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Nard NDOKA]; Communist Party of Albania or PKSH [Hysni MILLOSHI]; Democratic Alliance Party or AD [Neritan CEKA]; Democratic Party or PD [Sali BERISHA]; Legality Movement Party or PLL [Ekrem SPAHIA]; Liberal Union Party or BLD [Arjan STAROVA]; Movement for National Development or LZhK [Dashamir SHEHI]; National Front Party (Balli Kombetar) or PBK [Adriatik ALIMADHI]; New Democratic Party or PDR [Genc POLLO]; Party of National Unity or PUK [Idajet BEQIRI]; Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]; Social Democracy Party of Albania or PDSSh [Paskal MILO]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Skender GJINUSHI]; Socialist Movement for Integration or LSI [Ilir META]; Socialist Party or PS [Edi RAMA]; Union for Human Rights Party or PBDNj [Vangjel DULE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Citizens Advocacy Office [Kreshnik SPAHIU]; Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania or KSSH [Kastriot MUCO]; Front for Albanian National Unification or FBKSH [Gafur ADILI]; Mjaft Movement; Omonia [Jani JANI]; Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania or BSPSH [Gezim KALAJA] |
Population | 134,597 (July 2001 est.) | 3,600,523 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 0.529% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Colonia (Yap), Kolonia (Pohnpei), Lele, Moen | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 13, FM 46, shortwave 1 (2005) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 447 km
standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%, other and none 3% | 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: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.099 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.863 male(s)/female total population: 1.042 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: despite new investment in fixed lines, the density of main lines remains low with roughly 10 lines per 100 people; however, cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density is approximately 60 telephones per 100 persons
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; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005; internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread outside the capital international: country code - 355; submarine cable provides connectivity to Italy, Croatia, and Greece; the Trans-Balkan Line, a combination submarine cable and land fiber optic system, provides additional connectivity to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey; international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and, when necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 11,000 (2001) | 353,600 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 1.53 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 65 (3 national, 62 local); 2 cable networks (2005) |
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 | - | 2.03 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (1999 est.) | 13% official rate, but may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming (2007 est.) |
Waterways | none | 43 km (2007) |