President: Bamir Topi Prime minister: Sali Berisha
Population
313,847,465
3,002,859
Life Expectancy
78.490 years
77.590 years
Capital City
Washington, DC
Tirana (Tirane)
Largest city
New York City (population: 8,008,280)
Tirana (population: 374,801)
Human Development Index
0.95
0.807
GDP per capita
$49,000 US
$7,800 US
Literacy Rate
99%
98.7%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
3.4
Percentage of Women in Parliament
16.6%
7.1%
Wealthiest Citizens
William Gates III ($40.0bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.000%
13.300%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
emerging democracy
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
28 November 1912 (from the Ottoman Empire)
Religions
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
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 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$5,700,000,000 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
4.060%
1.490%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
0
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece in the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north
Area
9,826,675 km sq
28,748 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
362 km
Climate
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
