"text":"Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939 and occupied by Germany in 1943. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, dilapidated infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. ++ Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, most of Albania's post-communist elections have been marred by claims of electoral fraud. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and in June 2014 became a candidate for EU accession. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, it has slowed, and the country is still one of the poorest in Europe. A large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure remain obstacles."
"text":"Albanian 82.6%, Greek 0.9%, other 1% (including Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Macedonian, Montenegrin, and Egyptian), unspecified 15.5% (2011 est.)"
},
"Languages":{
"text":"Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Roma, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)"
},
"Religions":{
"text":"Muslim 56.7%, Roman Catholic 10%, Orthodox 6.8%, atheist 2.5%, Bektashi (a Sufi order) 2.1%, other 5.7%, unspecified 16.2%",
"note":{
"text":"all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice (2011 est.)"
"text":"the English-language country name seems to be derived from the ancient Illyrian tribe of the Albani; the native name \"Shqiperia\" is popularly interpreted to mean \"Land of the eagles\""
"text":"several previous; latest approved by the Assembly 21 October 1998, adopted by popular referendum 22 November 1998, promulgated 28 November 1998; amended several times, last in 2015 (2016)"
"text":"president indirectly elected by the Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); a candidate needs three-fifths majority vote of the Assembly in 1 of 3 rounds or a simple majority in 2 additional rounds to become president; election last held in 4 rounds during the period 30 May-11 June 2012 (next election to be held in 2017); prime minister appointed by the president on the proposal of the majority party or coalition of parties in the Assembly"
"text":"unicameral Assembly or Kuvendi (140 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - PS 41.36%, PD 30.63%, LSI 10.46%, PR 3.02%, PDIU 2.61%, other 11.92%; seats by party - PS 65, PD 50, LSI 16, PDIU 4, PR 3, other 2; seats by parliamentary group as of April 2015 - ASHE 88, APMI 50, 2 - outside of the majority and opposition groups"
"text":"highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of 150 judges organized into 4 divisions: civil and commercial; social security and labor; criminal; and administrative; Constitutional Council (consists of 9 members including the court president); note - Algeria's judicial system does not include sharia courts"
"text":"Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president with the consent of the Assembly to serve single 9-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years; chairman elected by the People's Assembly for a single 3-year term; Court of Cassation judges, including the chairman, appointed by the president with the consent of the Assembly to serve single 9-year terms)"
"text":" ++ Christian Democratic Party or PDK [Nard NDOKA] ++ Democratic Party or PD [Lulzim BASHA] ++ Movement for National Development of LZHK [Dashamir SHEHI] ++ Republican Party or PR [Fatmir MEDIU]"
"text":" ++ Christian Democratic Party of PKD [Mark FRROKU] ++ Party for Justice, Integration and Unity or PDIU [Shpetim IDRIZI] (formerly part of APMI) ++ Socialist Movement for Integration or LSI [Ilir META] ++ Socialist Party or PS [Edi RAMA] ++ Union for Human Rights Party or PBDNJ [Vangjel DULE]"
"text":" ++ New Democratic Spirit or FRD [Bamir TOPI]"
},
"note":{
"text":"only the major parties of each coalition are listed"
}
},
"Political pressure groups and leaders":{
"text":"Confederation of Trade Unions of Albania or KSSH [Kol NIKOLLAJ] ++ Omonia [Vasil BOLLANO] ++ Union of Independent Trade Unions of Albania or BSPSH [Gezim KALAJA]"
"text":"Ambassador Floreta FABER (since 18 May 2015)"
},
"chancery":{
"text":"1312 18th Street NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20036"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[1] (202) 223-4942"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (202) 628-7342"
},
"consulate(s) general":{
"text":"New York"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US":{
"chief of mission":{
"text":"Ambassador Donald LU (since 13 January 2015)"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"Rruga e Elbasanit, 103, Tirana"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"US Department of State, 9510 Tirana Place, Dulles, VA 20189-9510"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[355] (4) 2247-285"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[355] (4) 2232-222"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"red with a black two-headed eagle in the center; the design is claimed to be that of 15th-century hero George Kastrioti SKANDERBEG, who led a successful uprising against the Ottoman Turks that resulted in a short-lived independence for some Albanian regions (1443-78); an unsubstantiated explanation for the eagle symbol is the tradition that Albanians see themselves as descendants of the eagle; they refer to themselves as \"Shqiptare,\" which translates as \"sons of the eagle\""
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"double-headed eagle; national colors: red, black"
"text":"Albania, a formerly closed, centrally-planned state, is a developing country with a modern open-market economy. Albania managed to weather the first waves of the global financial crisis but, more recently, the negative effects of the crisis have caused a significant economic slowdown. Close trade, remittance, and banking sector ties with Greece and Italy make Albania vulnerable to spillover effects of debt crises and weak growth in the euro zone. ++ ++ Remittances, a significant catalyst for economic growth, declined from 12-15% of GDP before the 2008 financial crisis to 5.7% of GDP in 2014, mostly from Albanians residing in Greece and Italy. The agricultural sector, which accounts for almost half of employment but only about one-fifth of GDP, is limited primarily to small family operations and subsistence farming, because of a lack of modern equipment, unclear property rights, and the prevalence of small, inefficient plots of land. Complex tax codes and licensing requirements, a weak judicial system, endemic corruption, poor enforcement of contracts and property issues, and antiquated infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment making attracting foreign investment difficult. ++ ++ Albania’s electricity supply is uneven despite upgraded transmission capacities with neighboring countries. Technical and non-technical losses in electricity - including theft and non-payment - continue to undermine the financial viability of the entire system, although the government has taken steps to stem non-technical losses and has begun to upgrade the distribution grid. Also, with help from international donors, the government is taking steps to improve the poor national road and rail network, a long standing barrier to sustained economic growth. ++ ++ Inward FDI has increased significantly in recent years as the government has embarked on an ambitious program to improve the business climate through fiscal and legislative reforms. The government is focused on the simplification of licensing requirements and tax codes, and it entered into a new arrangement with the IMF for additional financial and technical support. Albania’s IMF program may be at risk, however, because the government has not collected sufficient tax revenue needed to reduce the budget deficit. The country continues to face increasing public debt, exceeding its former statutory limit of 60% of GDP in 2013 and reaching 73% in 2015."
"text":"despite new investment in fixed lines, teledensity remains low with roughly 10 fixed lines per 100 people; mobile-cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective"
},
"domestic":{
"text":"offsetting the shortage of fixed-line capacity, mobile-cellular phone service has been available since 1996; by 2011, multiple companies were providing mobile services, and mobile teledensity had reached 100 per 100 persons; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005, but growth has been slow; Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread outside the capital"
"text":"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 (2015)"
"text":"3 public TV networks, one of which transmits by satellite to Albanian-language communities in neighboring countries; more than 60 private TV stations; many viewers can pick up Italian and Greek TV broadcasts via terrestrial reception; cable TV service is available; 2 public radio networks and roughly 25 private radio stations; several international broadcasters are available (2010)"
"text":"Land Forces Command, Navy Force Command, Air Forces Command (2013)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"19 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; 18 is the legal minimum age in case of general/partial compulsory mobilization (2012)"
},
"Military expenditures":{
"text":"0.85% of GDP (2015) ++ 1.04% of GDP (2014) ++ 1.5% of GDP (2013) ++ 1.47% of GDP (2012) ++ 1.52% of GDP (2011)"
"text":"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 expanding 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"
