Part 6

Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit 2,753 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel

Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 38% other: 22%

Irrigated land: 4,230 sq km (1989)

Environment: current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Geographic note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)

People ------

Population: 3,249,136 (July 1996 est.) note: the IMF, working with Albanian government figures, estimates that the population was 3,120,000 in 1993 and that it has fallen since 1990

Age structure: 0-14 years: 34% (male 570,978; female 529,147) 15-64 years: 60% (male 910,873; female 1,049,662) 65 years and over: 6% (male 77,799; female 110,677) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.34% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 22.21 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female all ages: 0.92 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 49.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 67.92 years male: 64.91 years female: 71.17 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.65 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality: noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian

Ethnic divisions: Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.) note: in 1989, other estimates of the Greek population ranged from 1% (official Albanian statistics) to 12% (from a Greek organization)

Religions: Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice

Languages: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

Literacy: age 9 and over can read and write (1955 est.) total population: 72% male: 80% female: 63%

Government ----------

Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Albania conventional short form: Albania local long form: Republika e Shqiperise local short form: Shqiperia former: People's Socialist Republic of Albania

Data code: AL

Type of government: emerging democracy

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; note - some new administrative units may have been created