Yemen (2001) | Albania (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 17 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Ataq, Dhamar, Hadhramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Ta'izz
note: there may be three more governorates: Al Daleh, Shabwah, and the capital city of Sana'a |
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:
47.21% (male 4,340,436; female 4,195,076) 15-64 years: 49.79% (male 4,598,301; female 4,402,402) 65 years and over: 3% (male 274,202; female 267,618) (2001 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 | grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish | wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products |
Airports | 50 (2000 est.) | 11 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
13 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
37 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 5 (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 (2002) |
Area | total:
527,970 sq km land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen) |
total: 28,748 sq km
land: 27,398 sq km water: 1,350 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. | 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 | 43.36 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3 billion expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $697 million
expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $368 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Sanaa | Tirana |
Climate | mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east | mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter |
Coastline | 1,906 km | 362 km |
Constitution | 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 | a constitution was adopted by popular referendum on 28 November 1998; note - the opposition Democratic Party boycotted the vote |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman |
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 | Yemeni rial (YER) | lek (ALL) |
Death rate | 9.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.4 billion (2000) | $784 million (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Barbara K. BODINE embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 303-161 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182 |
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 Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017 |
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 | a June 2000 treaty delimited the boundary with Saudi Arabia, but final demarcation requires adjustments based on tribal considerations | 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 - recipient | $176.1 million (1995) | ODA: $315 million (top donors were Italy, EU, Germany) (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but was harmed by low oil prices in 1998. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to foreign debt relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999-2000, Yemen worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. A high population growth rate of nearly 3.4% and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. | 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 | 2.232 billion kWh (1999) | 5.378 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.072 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 2.4 billion kWh (1999) | 4.738 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m |
Environment - current issues | very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans | 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 | Yemeni rials per US dollar - 164.590 (October 2000), 160.683 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997), 94.157 (1996) | 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 Field Marshall Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term (a new constitution amendment extends the term by two years to a seven-year term); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote: Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najeeb Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7% |
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 | $4.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $340 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish | textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco |
Exports - partners | Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Japan 3% (1999) | Italy 71%, Greece 12%, Germany 7%, Yugoslavia 3% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band | red with a black two-headed eagle in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $14.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
20% industry: 42% services: 38% (1998) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 27% services: 24% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $820 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 48 00 E | 41 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes | strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total:
69,263 km paved: 9,963 km unpaved: 59,300 km (1999) |
total: 18,000 km
paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 30.8% (1992) |
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 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 | $2.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1.5 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and equipment | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, US 7%, France 7%, Italy 6% (1999) | Italy 32%, Greece 26%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%, Bulgaria 2% (2001) |
Independence | 22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) | 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 9% (2000 est.) |
Industries | crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement | food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower |
Infant mortality rate | 68.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 38.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2000 est.) | 6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | 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) | 1 (2000) | 10 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 5,674 sq km (1999) | 3,400 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court (chairman is elected by the People's Assembly for a four-year term) |
Labor force | NA | 1.283 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000 domestically unemployed) (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force | agriculture 50%, industry and services 50% |
Land boundaries | total:
1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 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:
3% permanent crops: 13% permanent pastures: 33.5% forests and woodland: 4% other: 46.5% (1999) |
arable land: 21.09%
permanent crops: 4.45% other: 74.46% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek |
Legal system | based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held 27 April 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1; latest seats by party: GPC 223, Islah 64, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7 |
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:
60.21 years male: 58.45 years female: 62.05 years (2001 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: 38% male: 53% female: 26% (1990 est.) |
definition: age 9 and over can read and write
total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin 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 | total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,075 GRT/23,562 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3 (2000 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, Coast Guard, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Presidential Guards, paramilitary (includes Police) | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $414 million (FY99) | $56.5 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 7.6% (FY99) | 1.49% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
4,103,093 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 888,086 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,303,257 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 727,406 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 14 years of age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
238,690 (2001 est.) |
males: 35,792 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Unification Day, 22 May (1990) | Independence Day, 28 November (1912) |
Nationality | noun:
Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni |
noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian |
Natural hazards | sandstorms and dust storms in summer | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km | crude oil 196 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1996) |
Political parties and leaders | there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Baath Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]
note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election, but announced that it would participate in Yemen's first local elections to be held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program |
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 | NA | NA |
Population | 18,078,035 (July 2001 est.) | 3,544,841 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19% (1992 est.) | 30% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.38% (2001 est.) | 1.06% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Mocha, Nishtun | Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 13, FM 4, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 1.05 million (1997) | 1 million (2001) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 447 km
standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2001 est.) |
Religions | Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu | Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 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 | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti |
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 | 291,359 (1999) | 120,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 32,042 (2000) | 250,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) | 3 (plus 58 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula | mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast |
Total fertility rate | 6.97 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.27 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (1995 est.) | 17% officially (2001 est.); may be as high as 30% (2001) |
Waterways | none | 43 km
note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) |