Country
Albania
Leader
Prime minister: Kenny Anthony
President: Bujar Nishani
Population
162,781 3,011,405
Life Expectancy
77.220 years 77.770 years
Capital City
Tirana (Tirane)
Largest city
Bisee (population: 12,980) Tirana (population: 374,801)
Human Development Index
0.821 0.807
GDP per capita
$8,000 US
Literacy Rate
90.1% 98.7%
Corruption Perception Index
7.1 3.4
Percentage of Women in Parliament
17.2% 7.1%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
13.000%
Death Penalty
Legal Abolished
Political System
parliamentary democracy emerging democracy
Independence date
28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)
Religions
Roman Catholic 67.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 8.5%, Pentecostal 5.7%, Rastafarian 2.1%, Anglican 2%, Evangelical 2%, other Christian 5.1%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.5% (2001 census) Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% note: percentages are estimates; there are no available current statistics on religious affiliation; all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice
Languages
English (official), French patois Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects
Exports
textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
External Debt
$5,281,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
leke (ALL) per US dollar - 79.546 (2008 est.), 92.668 (2007), 98.384 (2006), 102.649 (2005), 102.78 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.490%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece in the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north
Area
616 km sq 28,748 km sq
Coastline
158 km 362 km
Climate
tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season January to April, rainy season May to August mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter