The 1990 CIA World Factbook | Page 9

area: 28,750 km2; land area: 27,400 km2 Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland Land boundaries: 768 km total; Greece 282 km, Yugoslavia 486 km Coastline: 362 km Maritime claims: Continental shelf: not specified; Territorial sea: 15 nm Disputes: Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question with Greece Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel Land use: 21% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 15% meadows and pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes 1% irrigated Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast; deforestation seems to be slowing Note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea) - People Population: 3,273,131 (July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990) Birth rate: 25 births/1,000 population (1990) Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990) Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990) Infant mortality rate: 52 deaths/1,000 live births (1990) Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990) Total fertility rate: 3.0 children born/woman (1990) Nationality: noun--Albanian(s); adjective--Albanian Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.) Religion: Albania claims to be the world's first atheist state; all churches and mosques were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; pre-1967 estimates of religious affiliation--70% Muslim, 20% Albanian Orthodox, 10% Roman Catholic Language: Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek Literacy: 75% Labor force: 1,500,000 (1987); about 60% agriculture, 40% industry and commerce (1986) Organized labor: Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000 members - Government Long-form name: People's Socialist Republic of Albania Type: Communist state (Stalinist) Capital: Tirane Administrative divisions: 26 districts (rrethe, singular--rreth); Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh, Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje, Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder, Skrapar, Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Turkey); People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946 Constitution: 27 December 1976 Legal system: judicial review of legislative acts only in the Presidium of the People's Assembly, which is not a true court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 November (1944) Executive branch: president of the Presidium of the People's Assembly, three vice presidents, Presidium of the People's Assembly; chairman of the Council of Ministers, three deputy chairmen, Council of Ministers Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor) Judicial branch: Supreme Court Leaders: Chief of State--President of the Presidium of the People's Assembly Ramiz ALIA (since 22 November 1982); Head of Government--Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adil CARCANI (since 14 January 1982) Political parties and leaders: only party--Albanian Workers Party, Ramiz Alia, first secretary Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 Elections: President--last held 19 February 1987 (next to be held February 1991); results--President Ramiz Alia was reelected without opposition; People's Assembly--last held 1 February 1987 (next to be held February 1991); results--Albanian Workers Party is the only party; seats--(250 total) Albanian Workers Party 250 Communists: 147,000 party members (November 1986) Member of: CCC, CEMA (has not participated since rift with USSR in 1961), FAO, IAEA, IPU, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO Diplomatic representation: none--the US does not recognize the Albanian Government and has no diplomatic or consular relations with Albania; there is no third-power representation of Albanian interests in the US or of US interests in Albania Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center below a red five-pointed star outlined in yellow - Economy Overview: As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy. The Stalinist-type economy operates on the principles of central planning and state ownership of the means of production. In recent years Albania has implemented limited economic reforms to stimulate its lagging economy, although they do not go nearly so far as current reforms in the USSR and Eastern Europe. Attempts at self-reliance and a policy of not borrowing from international lenders--sometimes overlooked in recent years--have greatly hindered the development of a broad economic infrastructure. Albania, however, possesses considerable mineral resources and is largely self-sufficient in food. Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are subject to an especially wide margin of error because the government is isolated and closemouthed. GNP: $3.8 billion, per capita $1,200; real growth rate NA% (1989 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA% Unemployment rate: NA% Budget: revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989) Exports: $378 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--asphalt, bitumen, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco; partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary Imports: $255 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.); commodities--machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; partners--Italy,