West Bank (2007) | Albania (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | - | 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: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (2007 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 | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | 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: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
total:
28,748 sq km land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Delaware | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington in September 1993, provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and, in additional areas of the West Bank, pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a year later. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community has refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it does not recognize Israel, will not renounce violence, and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. Since March 2006, President ABBAS has had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. | 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 | 30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 19.01 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.23 billion
expenditures: $1.64 billion (2005) |
revenues:
$393 million expenditures: $676 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.) |
Capital | - | Tirana |
Climate | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 362 km |
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: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
conventional long form:
Republic of Albania conventional short form: Albania local long form: Republika e Shqiperise local short form: Shqiperia former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania |
Currency | - | lek (ALL) |
Death rate | 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | 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 Petrit BUSHATI chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342 |
Disputes - international | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region | 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 | $1.102 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $NA; aid for energy from China, Germany, Norway (2000) |
Economy - overview | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA since HAMAS took office in March 2006 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. | 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 | NA kWh | 600 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants | 5.332 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
3.81% hydro: 96.19% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m |
Environment - current issues | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment | 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 | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% | 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 | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002) | 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 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 | $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $310 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco |
Exports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | Italy 67%, Greece 15%, Germany 5%, Austria 2%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | - | red with a black two-headed eagle in the center |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $10.5 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 18.2% services: 73.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.) |
agriculture:
55% industry: 24% services: 21% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.) | 7.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 35 15 E | 41 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.) | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | 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 | $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, consumer goods, construction materials | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) | Italy 37%, Greece 28%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 3% (2000) |
Independence | - | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
Infant mortality rate | total: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
39.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 1% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | - | 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) | - | 7 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) | 3,410 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) |
Labor force | 568,000 (2005) | 1.692 million (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (1994 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 16%
industry: 29% services: 55% (2005) |
agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% |
Land boundaries | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
total:
720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Yugoslavia 287 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
arable land:
21% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 38% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek |
Legal system | - | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | 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: 73.46 years
male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 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: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.) |
definition:
age 9 and over can read and write total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, west of Jordan | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,797 GRT/26,324 DWT ships by type: cargo 9 (2000 est.) |
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 | NA | 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 | - | Independence Day, 28 November (1912) |
Nationality | noun: NA
adjective: NA |
noun:
Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian |
Natural hazards | droughts | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; drought |
Natural resources | arable land | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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 | - | 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 | 2,535,927
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
3,510,484 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45.7% (2005) | 19.6% (1996 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.985% (2007 est.) | 0.88% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 2 (1999) |
Radios | - | 810,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% | 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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.736 male(s)/female total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 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 and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004) |
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 | 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 87,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 3,100 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 8 (2005) | 9 (plus 264 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast |
Total fertility rate | 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20.3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) | 16% (2000 est.) officially; may be as high as 25% |
Waterways | - | 43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |