Albania

From Philippines
Revision as of 21:35, 30 April 2015 by Maletsky (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
→ → Go back HOME to Zamboanga: the Portal to the Philippines.
Major Cities of Albania in the continent of Europe

TiranaDurrësElbasanVlorëShkodërFier-ÇifçiKorçëFierBeratLushnjëKavajëLaçGjirokastërPatos FshatKrujëLezhëKuçovëKukësBurrelSarandëPeshkopiCërrikShijakÇorovodëLibrazhd-QendërTepelenëGramshBulqizëKamëzPërmetPoliçanFushë-KrujëBallshRrëshenMamurrasErsekëPeqinBilishtSelenicëRoskovecPukëRrogozhinëVorëMemaliajUra VajguroreHimarëKoplikPërrenjas-FshatDelvinëMaliqLibohovëShëngjinLeskovikOrikumKëlcyrëFushë-ArrëzRubikMilotKurbneshKonispolKrrabëVukatanëFierzëKlosKurteKutreqMariceKamerëMal PjeçKokliShugyrkMetajLivadhetShejleretDallashiGurra e VogëlÇelikuÇollakBallajKubësMelçizëKurtajStojkaBallajOkshtuni i VogëlLagjja e TërmetitLlangëFunarVërriDranovicëMëxixëDuricajKoxherajLenëLenëBudanëVërriCenëBallgjinBerberajBizëBricajPeshkKotajRuçajShëngjunBlishtëBalajt e PoshtëmPanjetRuçRinasGjorkajBiçTejlumajVarrosVakumona i SipërmeXhyrëMaricePanecSelita e VogëlBabruShkozëUlëzKryeziNovoselë

Albania Photo Gallery
Albania Realty

Climate Diagram Albania.gif
Climate Diagram Albania
Albania map locator.gif
Location of Albania within the continent of Europe
Albania map.jpg
Map of Albania
Albania flag.gif
Flag Description of Albania:red with a black two-headed eagle in the center; the design is claimed to be that of 15th-century hero George Kastrioti SKANDERBEG, who led a successful uprising against the Turks that resulted in a short-lived independence for some Albanian regions (1443-78); an unsubstantiated explanation for the eagle symbol is the tradition that Albanians see themselves as descendants of the eagle; they refer to themselves as "Shqipetare," which translates as "sons of the eagle"

Moringa Oleifera contains more than 92 nutrients and 46 types of antioxidants. Moringa is said to cure about three hundred diseases and almost have all the vitamins found in fruits and vegetables. Even in a larger proportions. With all the health benefits of this miracle herb, it can easily be termed as the most nutritious herb on Earth.

Moringa Oleifera has no side-effects which also has tried, tested, documented and proved evidence to support the same. It can be consumed by small children and adults. Today, millions world over have started using Moringa based products in porridge, pastas, bread and to reap the everlasting health benefits of the extraordinary ‘Moringa’ herb.

Official name Republika e Shqipërisë (Republic of Albania)
Form of government unitary multiparty republic with one legislative house (Assembly [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)
Population (2014 est.) 2,746,000COLLAPSE
Total area (sq mi) 11,082
Total area (sq km) 28,703
Urban-rural population

Urban: (2011) 53.7%
Rural: (2011) 46.3%

Life expectancy at birth

Male: (2012) 75 years
Female: (2012) 80.5 years

Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate

Male: (2006) 99.2%
Female: (2006) 98.3%

GNI per capita (U.S.$) (2013) 4,700

Background of Albania

Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939, and occupied by Germany in 1943. Communist partisans 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, dilapidated 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; however, each of Albania's post-communist elections have been marred by claims of electoral fraud. The 2009 general elections resulted in a coalition government, the first such in the country's history. In 2013, general elections achieved a peaceful transition of power and a second successive coalition government. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and is a potential candidate for EU accession. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, it has slowed, and the country is still one of the poorest in Europe. A large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure remain obstacles.


Geography of Albania

  • Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece in the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north
  • Land area
  • Land area (sq. km)

The value for Land area (sq. km) in Albania was 27,400 as of 2011. As the graph below shows, over the past 50 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 27,400 in 2011 and a minimum value of 27,400 in 1961.

  • Major cities - population: TIRANA (capital) 419,000 (2011)
  • Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
  • Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
  • Land use: arable land: 21.63% -permanent crops: 2.57% -other: 75.79% (2011)
  • Land boundaries: total: 691 km-border countries: Greece 212 km, Kosovo 112 km, Macedonia 181 km, Montenegro 186 km

Geographic coordinates: 41 00 N, 20 00 E: This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the Gazetteer of Conventional Names, Third Edition, August 1988, US Board on Geographic Names and on other sources.

Land of Albania Albania is bounded by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east, Greece to the southeast and south, and the Adriatic and Ionian seas to the west and southwest, respectively. Albania’s immediate western neighbour, Italy, lies some 50 miles (80 km) across the Adriatic Sea. Albania has a length of about 210 miles (340 km) and a width of about 95 miles (150 km)...>>>>read more<<<<

Demographics Profile as of Albania 2014

Population *3,020,209 (July 2014 est.)

Age structure

  • 0-14 years: 19.3% (male 307,275/female 274,634)
  • 15-24 years: 19.2% (male 297,851/female 282,498)
  • 25-54 years: 40% (male 574,820/female 633,729)
  • 55-64 years: 10.5% (male 157,014/female 158,602)
  • 65 years and over: 11.1% (male 157,143/female 176,643) (2014 est.)

Dependency ratios

  • total dependency ratio: 44.9 %
  • youth dependency ratio: 29 %
  • elderly dependency ratio: 15.9 %
  • potential support ratio: 6.3 (2014 est.)

Median age

  • total: 31.6 years
  • male: 30.3 years
  • female: 32.9 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate *0.3% (2014 est.) 'Birth rate *12.73 births/1,000 population (2014 est.) Death rate *6.47 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.) Net migration rate *3.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Urbanization

  • urban population: 53.4% of total population (2011)
  • rate of urbanization: 2.27% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major cities - population*TIRANA (capital) 419,000 (2011)

Sex ratio

  • at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female
  • 0-14 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
  • 15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  • 25-54 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
  • 55-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
  • total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

  • 23.4 (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate

  • total: 13.19 deaths/1,000 live births
  • male: 14.68 deaths/1,000 live births
  • female: 11.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

  • total population: 77.96 years
  • male: 75.33 years
  • female: 80.86 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate *1.5 children born/woman (2014 est.) Contraceptive prevalence rate *69.3% (2008/09) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate *NA HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS *NA HIV/AIDS - deaths *NA

Drinking water source improved:

  • urban: 97.3% of population
  • rural: 93.8% of population
  • total: 95.7% of population

unimproved:

  • urban: 2.7% of population
  • rural: 6.2% of population
  • total: 4.3% of population (2012 est.)
  • Sanitation facility access

improved:

  • urban: 95.3% of population
  • rural: 86.3% of population
  • total: 91.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 4.7% of population rural: 13.7% of population total: 8.8% of population (2012 est.)

Nationality

  • noun: Albanian(s)
  • adjective: Albanian

Ethnic groups *Albanian 82.6%, Greek 0.9%, other 1% (including Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Macedonian, Montenegrin, and Egyptian), unspecified 15.5% (2011 est.) Religions*Muslim 56.7%, Roman Catholic 10%, Orthodox 6.8%, atheist 2.5%, Bektashi (a Sufi order) 2.1%, other 5.7%, unspecified 16.2% note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice (2011 est.) Languages*Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Roma, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)

Literacy

  • definition: age 9 and over can read and write
  • total population: 96.8%
  • male: 98%
  • female: 95.7% (2011 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

  • total: 10 years
  • male: 10 years
  • female: 10 years (2001)

Child labor - children ages 5-14

  • total number: 72,818
  • percentage: 12 % (2005 est.)

Education expenditures *3.3% of GDP (2007) Maternal mortality rate *27 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) Children under the age of 5 years underweight*6.3% (2009) Health expenditures *6.3% of GDP (2011) Physicians density *1.11 physicians/1,000 population (2011) Hospital bed density *2.4 beds/1,000 population (2011) Obesity - adult prevalence rate *21.3% (2008)

People of Albania

Over 90% of Albania's people are ethnic Albanian, and Albanian is the official language. Religions include Muslim (Sunni and Bektashi), Albanian Orthodox, and Roman Catholic. Scholars believe the Albanian people are descended from a non-Slavic, non-Turkic group of tribes known as Illyrians, who arrived in the Balkans around 2000 BC. After falling under Roman authority in 165 BC, Albania was controlled nearly continuously by a succession of foreign powers until the mid-20th century, with only brief periods of self-rule...>>>>read more<<<<

Economy of Albania

Economy - overview Albania, a formerly closed, centrally-planned state, is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. Albania managed to weather the first waves of the global financial crisis but, more recently, its negative effects have put some pressure on the Albanian economy. While the government is focused on establishing a favorable business climate through the simplification of licensing requirements and tax codes, it entered into a new arrangement with the IMF for additional financial and technical support. Remittances, a significant catalyst for economic growth declined from 12-15% of GDP before the 2008 financial crisis to 7% of GDP in 2012, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy. The agricultural sector, which accounts for almost half of employment but only about one-fifth of GDP, is limited primarily to small family operations and subsistence farming, because of a lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots of land. Complex tax codes and licensing requirements, a weak judicial system, poor enforcement of contracts and property issues, and antiquated infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment and makes attracting foreign investment more difficult. Inward FDI is among the lowest in the region, but the government has embarked on an ambitious program to improve the business climate through fiscal and legislative reforms. Albania’s energy supply has improved in recent years mostly due to upgraded transmission capacities that Albania has developed with its neighboring countries. However, technical and non-technical losses - including energy theft and non-payment - continue to be a threat to the financial viability of the entire system. Also, with help from international donors, the government is taking steps to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth. The country will continue to face challenges from increasing public debt, having exceeded its former statutory limit of 60% of GDP in 2013. Strong trade, remittance, and banking sector ties with Greece and Italy make Albania vulnerable to spillover effects of debt crises and weak growth in the euro zone...>>>read more<<<

GDP (purchasing power parity)

  • $28.34 billion (2013 est.)
  • $28.14 billion (2012 est.)
  • $27.78 billion (2011 est.)

note: data are in 2013 US dollars Albania has an informal, and unreported, sector that may be as large as 50% of official GDP

GDP (official exchange rate)*$12.8 billion (2013 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

  • 0.7% (2013 est.)
  • 1.3% (2012 est.)
  • 3.1% (2011 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

  • $10,700 (2013 est.)
  • $10,400 (2012 est.)
  • $9,900 (2011 est.)

note: data are in 2013 US dollars

Gross national saving

  • 14.1% of GDP (2013 est.)
  • 13.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
  • 13.6% of GDP (2011 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

  • household consumption: 87.6%
  • government consumption: 8.4%
  • investment in fixed capital: 25%
  • investment in inventories: -2.6%
  • exports of goods and services: 36%
  • imports of goods and services: -54.4%

(2013 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

  • agriculture: 19.5%
  • industry: 12%
  • services: 68.5%

(2011 est.)

Population below poverty line *14.3% (2012 est.) Labor force *1.098 million (2013 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

  • agriculture: 54.6%
  • industry: 12.8%
  • services: 32.6%
  • (December 2012 est)

Unemployment rate

  • 16.9% (2013 est.)
  • 14.4% (2012 est.)

note: these are official rates that may not include those working at near-subsistence farming

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

  • total: 22.5%
  • male: 23.8%
  • female: 20.7% (2011)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

  • lowest 10%: 3.5%
  • highest 10%: 29% (2008)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

  • 34.5 (2008)
  • 26.7 (2005)

Budget

  • revenues: $3.074 billion
  • expenditures: $3.858 billion (2013 est.)

Taxes and other revenues *24% of GDP (2013 est.) Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) *-6.1% of GDP (2013 est.)

Public debt

  • 70.5% of GDP (2013 est.)
  • 62.5% of GDP (2012 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

  • 1.7% (2013 est.)
  • 2.1% (2012 est.)

Central bank discount rate

  • $NA (31 December 2013 est.)
  • 4% (31 December 2012 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

  • 9.52% (31 December 2013 est.)
  • 10.28% (31 December 2012 est.)

Stock of narrow money

  • $2.791 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
  • $2.652 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

Stock of broad money

  • $6.539 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
  • $6.316 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

  • $5.17 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
  • $5.233 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares *$NA Agriculture - products *wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products; sheep Industries *food and tobacco products; textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower Industrial production growth rate *3.1% (2013 est.) Current Account Balance -$1.28 billion (2013 est.) *-$1.316 billion (2012 est.) Exports $2.323 billion (2013 est.) *$2.1 billion (2012 est.) Exports - commodities *textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco Exports - partners *Italy 51.1%, Spain 9.2%, Turkey 6.3%, Greece 4.4% (2012) Imports $4.835 billion (2013 est.) *$4.985 billion (2012 est.) Imports - commodities *machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals Imports - partners *Italy 31.9%, Greece 9.5%, China 6.4%, Germany 6%, Turkey 5.7% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

  • $2.827 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
  • $2.784 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

Debt - external

  • $3.213 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
  • $2.957 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

  • $4.226 billion (31 December 2011)
  • $3.534 billion (31 December 2010)

Exchange rates leke (ALL) per US dollar -

  • 109.2 (2013 est.)
  • 108.19 (2012 est.)
  • 103.94 (2010 est.)
  • 94.98 (2009)
  • 79.546 (2008)

Fiscal year calendar year

2015 UNHCR subregional operations profile - Northern, Western, Central and Southern Europe-Albania

The number of asylum applications received in 2014 in European Union (EU) Member States has risen by 25 per cent compared to the same period in 2013. A quarter of the applicants are of Afghan, Eritrean or Syrian origin, and a similar proportion are under 18 years of age.--->>>>Read More.<<<

Disclaimer

This is not the official site of this country. Most of the information in this site were taken from the U.S. Department of State, The Central Intelligence Agency, The United Nations, [1],[2], [3], [4], [5],[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14],[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24],[25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30],[31], [32], [33], [34], and the [35].

Other sources of information will be mentioned as they are posted.