The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO
(correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OIC, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Aleksander SALLABANDA chancery: 2100 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 223-4942 FAX: [1] (202) 628-7342

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. John L. WITHERS, II embassy: Rruga e Elbasanit, Labinoti #103, Tirana mailing address: US Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Dulles, VA 20189-9510 telephone: [355] (4) 2247285 FAX: [355] (4) 2232222

Flag description:

red with a black two-headed eagle in the center

Economy
Albania

Economy - overview:

Lagging behind its Balkan neighbors, Albania is making the difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to curb violent crime, and recently adopted a fiscal reform package aimed at reducing the large gray economy and attracting foreign investment. The economy is bolstered by annual remittances from abroad of $600-$800 million, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy; this helps offset the towering trade deficit. Agriculture, which accounts for more than one-fifth of GDP, is held back because of lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots of land. Energy shortages and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment, which make it difficult to attract and sustain foreign investment. The completion of a new thermal power plant near Vlore and improved transmission line between Albania and Montenegro will help relieve the energy shortages. Also, the government is moving slowly to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth. On the positive side, macroeconomic growth was strong in 2003-07 and inflation is low and stable.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$20.87 billion note: Albania has a large gray economy that may be as large as 50% of official GDP (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$10.62 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

6% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$5,800 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 21.2% industry: 20.5% services: 58.3% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

1.09 million (not including 352,000 emigrant workers) (September 2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 58% industry: 15% services: 27% (September 2006 est.)

Unemployment rate:

13.2% official rate, but may exceed 30% due to preponderance of near-subsistence farming (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

25% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 24.4% (2004)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

26.7 (2005)

Investment (gross fixed):

23.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $2.782 billion expenditures: $3.155 billion (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Public debt:

51.4% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

2.9% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate:

6.25% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

14.1% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$2.707 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$6.433 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$7.341 billion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets, grapes; meat, dairy products

Industries:

food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower

Industrial production growth rate:

4% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

2.892 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

3.607 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

2.8 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 2.9% hydro: 97.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

6,425 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

30,900 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

748.9 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - imports:

24,860 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - proved reserves:

199.1 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:

30 million cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

30 million cu m (2006 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

849.5 million cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:

-$1.202 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:

$1.076 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco

Exports - partners:

Italy 72%, Greece 8.8%, China 2.7% (2007)

Imports:

$3.999 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals

Imports - partners:

Italy 27.6%, Greece 14.8%, Turkey 7.4%, China 6.8%, Germany 5.6%,
Switzerland 5%, Russia 4.2% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

ODA: $318.7 million note: top donors were Italy, EU, Germany (2005 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$2.162 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$1.55 billion (2004)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

lek (ALL) note: the plural of lek is leke

Currency code:

ALL

Exchange rates:

leke (ALL) per US dollar - 92.668 (2007), 98.384 (2006), 102.649 (2005), 102.78 (2004), 121.863 (2003)

Communications
Albania

Telephones - main lines in use:

353,600 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

2.3 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: despite new investment in fixed lines, the density of main lines remains low with roughly 10 lines per 100 people; cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density is approximately 75 telephones per 100 persons domestic: offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile phone service has been available since 1996; by 2003, two companies were providing mobile services at a greater density than some of Albania's neighbors; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005; Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread outside the capital international: country code - 355; submarine cable provides connectivity to Italy, Croatia, and Greece; the Trans-Balkan Line, a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system, provides additional connectivity to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey; international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and, when necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 13, FM 46, shortwave 1 (2005)

Radios:

1 million (2001)

Television broadcast stations:

65 (3 national, 62 local); 2 cable networks (2005)

Televisions:

700,000 (2001)

Internet country code:

.al

Internet hosts:

10,162 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

10 (2001)

Internet users:

471,200 (2006)

Transportation
Albania

Airports:

11 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2007)

Heliports:

1 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 18,000 km paved: 7,020 km unpaved: 10,980 km (2002)

Waterways:

43 km (2007)

Merchant marine:

total: 24 by type: cargo 22, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Turkey 1) registered in other countries: 2 (Panama 2) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore

Military
Albania

Military branches:

Land Forces Command (Army), Naval Forces Command, Air Defense
Command, General Staff Headquarters (includes Logistics Command,
Training and Doctrine Command) (2007)

Military service age and obligation:

19 years of age (2004)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 944,592 females age 16-49: 908,527 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 798,454 females age 16-49: 767,143 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 36,340 female: 33,077 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1.49% of GDP (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues
Albania

Disputes - international:

the Albanian Government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in neighboring countries, and the peaceful resolution of interethnic disputes; some ethnic Albanian groups in neighboring countries advocate for a "greater Albania," but the idea has little appeal among Albanian nationals; the mass emigration of unemployed Albanians remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Albania is a source country for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; it is no longer considered a major country of transit; Albanian victims are trafficked to Greece, Italy, Macedonia, and Kosovo, with many trafficked onward to Western European countries; children were also trafficked to Greece for begging and other forms of child labor; approximately half of all Albanian trafficking victims are under age 18; internal sex trafficking of women and children is on the rise tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Albania is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007, particularly in the area of victim protection; the government did not appropriately identify trafficking victims during 2007, and has not demonstrated that it is vigorously investigating or prosecuting complicit officials (2008)

Illicit drugs:

increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Algeria

Introduction
Algeria

Background:

After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992-98 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing activities of extremist militants. The 2006 merger of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) with al-Qaida (followed by a name change to al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb) signaled an increase in bombings, including high-profile, mass-casualty suicide attacks targeted against the Algerian government and Western interests. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems.

Geography
Algeria

Location:

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia

Geographic coordinates:

28 00 N, 3 00 E

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 2,381,740 sq km land: 2,381,740 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Texas

Land boundaries:

total: 6,343 km border countries: Libya 982 km, Mali 1,376 km, Mauritania