and pastures 15%; forest and woodland 38%; other 22%; includes irrigated 1%
_#_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: 3,335,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.8% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 50 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 79 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Albanian(s); adjective—Albanian
_#_Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
_#_Religion: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990 Albania began allowing private religious practice and was considering the repeal of the constitutional amendment banning religious activities; estimates of religious affiliation—Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
_#_Language: Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek
_#_Literacy: 72% (male 80%, female 63%) age 9 and over can read and write (1955)
_#_Labor force: 1,500,000 (1987); agriculture about 60%, industry and commerce 40% (1986)
_#_Organized labor: Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000 members
_*Government #_Long-form name: Republic of Albania
_#_Type: nascent democracy with strong Communist party influence; basic law has dropped all references to socialism
_#_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 Ottoman Empire); People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946
_#_Constitution: an interim basic law was approved by the People's Assembly on 29 April 1991; a new constitution is to be drafted for adoption in four to six months
_#_Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)
_#_Executive branch: president, prime minister of the Council of Ministers, one deputy prime minister of the Council of Ministers
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi Popullor)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State—President of the Republic Ramiz ALIA (since 22
November 1982);
Head of Government—Prime Minister of the interim Council of
Ministers Ylli BUFI (since 5 June 1991);
_#_Political parties and leaders: Albanian Workers Party (AWP),
Ramiz ALIA, first secretary;
Democratic Party (DP), Sali BERISHA, chairman and cofounder with
Gramoz PASHKO;
Albanian Republican Party, Sabri GODO;
Ecology Party, Namik HOTI;
Omonia (Greek minority party), leader NA;
Agrarian Party, leader NA;
note—in December 1990 President ALIA allowed new political parties to be formed in addition to the AWP for the first time since 1944
_#_Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
_#_Elections:
President—last held 30 April 1991 (next to be held spring 1992); results—President Ramiz ALIA was reelected with token opposition;
People's Assembly—last held 31 March 1991 (next to be held spring 1992); results—AWP 68%, DP 25%; seats—(250 total) preliminary results AWP 168, DP 75, Omonia 5, Veterans Association 1, other 1;
note—the AWP's votes came mostly from the countryside while the DP won majorities in the six-largest cities;
_#_Communists: 147,000 party members (November 1986); note—in March 1991 the Albanian Workers' Party announced that it considered itself no longer Communist but socialist
_#_Member of: ECE, FAO, IAEA, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: the Governments of the United States and Albania agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations to be effective from 15 March 1991 and to exchange diplomatic missions at the level of ambassador
_#_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. For over 40 years, the Stalinist-type economy has operated 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, provide incentives, and decentralize decisionmaking. In an effort to expand international ties, Tirane has reestablished diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and the US. The Albanians have also passed legislation allowing foreign investment. Albania possesses considerable mineral resources and, until 1990, was largely self-sufficient in food; several years of drought have hindered agricultural development. Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are subject to an especially wide margin of error because the government until recently did not release economic information.
_#_GNP: $4.1 billion, per capita $1,250; real growth rate NA% (1990 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,
