The coalition led by Albanian Prime Minister EdiRama’s Socialist Party triumphed in local electionsin June 2015, winning 46 of 61 mayoral races. The

event signaled a welcome turning point in the country’spost-communist history, as it was largely free of the irreg-ularities and violence that had marked previous elections.The polling was closely watched in Brussels, as Albaniahad been granted EU candidate status in 2014. Althoughfair and peaceful elections were a cause for optimism, thecountry’s path toward full accession still included signifi-cant obstacles, including a rancorouspolitical climate, rampant corruption, andthe need for significant political and eco-nomic reforms.

DemographyPopulation (2015): 2,811,000.Density (2015): persons per sq mi 253.6,persons per sq km 97.9.

Sex distribution (2015): male 50.54%;female 49.46%.

Population projection: (2020) 2,689,000;(2030) 2,460,000.

Major cities (2011): Tirana(Tiranë) 418,495; Durrës113,249; Vlorë 79,513;Elbasan 78,703; Shkodër76,000.

Urban-rural (20151):

Vital statisticsBirth rate per 1,000 population(2014): 12.7 (world avg. 19.5).

Death rate per 1,000 population(2014): 6.5 (world avg. 8.1).

Natural increase rate per 1,000population (2014): 6.2 (worldavg. 11.4).

Life expectancy at birth (2014):male 75.3 years; female 80.9years.

Age breakdown (20151):

Ethnic composition (2000): Traditional religious groups (2005)2:

Albania

Official name: Republika e Shqipërisë (Republicof Albania).

Form of government: unitary multiparty republicwith one legislative house (Kuvendi, orParliament [140]).

Head of state: President Bujar Nishani.Head of government: Prime Minister Edi Rama.Capital: Tirana (Tiranë).Official language: Albanian.Official religion: none.Monetary unit: lek (L); valuation (Sept. 1, 2015) 1 U.S.$ = 124.23 leks; 1 £ = 190.39 leks.

Area and population area population

20151

Counties Capitals sq mi sq km estimate

Berat Berat 696 1,802 142,679Dibër Peshkopi 968 2,507 136,476Durrës Durrës 319 827 276,191Elbasan Elbasan 1,266 3,278 301,397Fier Fier 729 1,887 315,012Gjirokastër Gjirokastër 1,113 2,883 72,201Korçë Korçë 1,433 3,711 224,165Kukës Kukës 916 2,373 85,461Lezhë Lezhë 610 1,581 136,814Shkodër Shkodër 1,375 3,562 218,523Tiranë Tirana (Tiranë) 612 1,586 800,986Vlorë Vlorë 1,045 2,706 183,100TOTAL 11,082 28,703 2,893,005

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National economyBudget (20113). Revenue: 295,677,000,000 leks (tax revenue 92.1%, non-tax revenue 7.0%, grants 0.9%). Expenditures:333,951,000,000 leks (current expenditure 82.4%,capital expenditure 17.6%).

Public debt (external, outstanding; 2013):U.S.$3,760,000,000.

Gross national income (GNI; 2014):U.S.$12,920,000,000 (U.S.$4,460 per capita); pur-chasing power parity GNI (U.S.$10,260 per capita).

Production (metric tons except as noted).Agriculture, forestry, fishing (2012): corn (maize)360,000, wheat 300,000, watermelons 237,300, pota-toes 233,000, tomatoes 205,000, grapes 197,000,onions 105,600, cucumbers 74,000; livestock (num-ber of live animals; 2013) 1,808,000 sheep, 810,000 goats, 498,000 cattle;roundwood (2013) 1,180,010 cu m, of which fuelwood 93%; fisheriesproduction 7,340 (from aquaculture 28%). Mining and quarrying(2012): chromite (gross weight) 330,000. Manufacturing (value addedin U.S.$’000,000; 2008): glass and glass products 98; iron and steel 98;textiles 70; basic chemicals 59; leather (all forms) 45; grain mill prod-ucts 32. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 2013)6,959,000,000 ([2011] 5,032,000,000) by source (2012): fossil fuels,0.02%; renewable energy 99.98%, of which hydroelectric 99.98%; lig-nite (metric tons; 2010) 14,000 (248,000); crude petroleum (barrels;2011) 5,900,000 (2,340,000); petroleum products (metric tons; 2011)104,000 (957,000); natural gas (cu m; 2011) 16,000,000 (16,000,000).

Population economically active (2013): total 1,175,919; participationrates: ages 15–64, male 61.8%; female 44.3%; unemployed (December2013) 15.6%, of which youth (ages 15–24) 30.2%.

Average household size (2011): 3.8.Land use as % of total land area (2011): in temporary crops or left fal-low 15.3%, in permanent crops 2.7%, in pasture 18.4%, forest area28.3%.

Foreign trade7

Imports (2013): 517,312,000,000 leks (machineryequipment and spare parts 19.0%, food, beverages,and tobacco 18.1%, mineral fuels and electricity17.9%, chemicals and plastic products 13.2%, con-struction materials and metals 12.2%).Major import sources:

Exports (2013): 246,391,000,000 leks (mineral fuelsand electricity 40.3%, textiles and footwear 28.2%,construction materials and metals 14.7%, food, bev-erages, and tobacco 5.9%, machinery equipmentand spare parts 3.3%, wood manufactures 3.2%).Major export destinations:

Transport and communicationsTransport. Railroads (2009): route length 264 mi,425 km; passenger-km 31,524,000; metric ton-kmcargo 45,500,000. Roads (2002):total length 11,184 mi, 18,000 km(paved 39%); passenger-km (2001)197,000,0009; metric ton-km cargo(2001) 2,200,000,000. Vehicles(2010): passenger cars 294,729;trucks and buses 91,346.

Education and healthLiteracy (2008): total population age 15 and over liter-ate 99.0%.

Health: physicians (2008–09) 3,626 (1 per 832 persons);hospital beds (2009) 8,805 (1 per 339 persons); infantmortality rate per 1,000 live births (2014) 13.2; under-nourished population (2005–07) less than 5% of totalpopulation based on the consumption of a minimumdaily requirement of 1,910 calories.

MilitaryTotal active duty personnel (November 2014):8,00010. Military expenditure as percentage ofGDP (2013): 1.4%; per capita expenditureU.S.$60.

1January 1. 2In actuality, a majority of citizens are secular after decades of rigidly enforced atheism.3Excludes December. 4Net taxes less subsidies and less imputed bank service charges. 5Excludes legalbut unauthorized gray economy that may be as large as 50% of official GDP. 6Detail does not add tototal given because of rounding. 7Imports c.i.f.; exports f.o.b. 8Subscribers. 9Buses only. 10Primarily aland-oriented force supported by naval and air units.

Internet resources for further information:• Bank of Albania www.bankofalbania.org• Institute of Statistics www.instat.gov.al

Structure of gross domestic product and labour force2009 2006

in value % of total labour % of labour’000,000 leks value force force

Agriculture, forestry, fishing 193,730 16.8 542,000 50.0Mining and quarrying 9,729 0.8 5,000 0.5Manufacturing 92,860 8.1 58,000 5.4Public utilities … … 10,900 1.0Construction 146,015 12.7 53,200 4.9Transp. and commun. 97,453 8.5 19,000 1.8Trade, restaurants 215,505 18.7 83,900 7.7Finance, real estatePub. admin., defense 276,165 24.0 162,700 15.0ServicesOther 119,5634 10.44 150,000 13.8TOTAL 1,151,0205 100.0 1,084,0006 100.06

}

Communications units unitsnumber per 1,000 number per 1,000

Medium date in ’000s persons Medium date in ’000s persons

TelephonesCellular 2014 3,3598 1,0558

Landline 2014 247 77.6

Internet users 2010 1,442 450Broadband 2014 2098 668

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