Summery of Albania
Location:
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece to the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north
Geographic coordinates:
41 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 28,748 sq km
land: 27,398 sq km
water: 1,350 sq km
country comparison to the world: 145
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 691 km
border countries (4): Greece 212 km, Kosovo 112 km, Macedonia 181 km, Montenegro 186 km
Coastline:
362 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter
Terrain:
mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
Elevation:
mean elevation: 708 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower, arable land
Land use:
agricultural land: 43.8%
arable land 22.7%; permanent crops 2.7%; permanent pasture 18.4%
forest: 28.3%
other: 27.9% (2011 est.)
Irrigated land:
3,310 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources:
41.7 cu km (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 1.31 cu km/yr (43%/18%/39%)
per capita: 413.6 cu m/yr (2006)
Natural hazards:
destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
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People and Society :: ALBANIA
Panel - Expanded
Nationality:
noun: Albanian(s)
adjective: Albanian
Ethnic groups:
Albanian 82.6%, Greek 0.9%, other 1% (including Vlach, Roma (Gypsy), Macedonian, Montenegrin, and Egyptian), unspecified 15.5% (2011 est.)
Languages:
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:
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: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice (2011 est.)
Population:
3,029,278 (July 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 137
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.78% (male 300,661/female 268,369)
15-24 years: 18.67% (male 291,479/female 274,019)
25-54 years: 40.39% (male 582,207/female 641,361)
55-64 years: 10.85% (male 163,003/female 165,805)
65 years and over: 11.3% (male 160,913/female 181,461) (2015 est.)
population pyramid:
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 44.8%
youth dependency ratio: 26.9%
elderly dependency ratio: 18%
potential support ratio: 5.6% (2015 est.)
Median age:
total: 32 years
male: 30.8 years
female: 33.3 years (2015 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.3% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 175
Birth rate:
12.92 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
Death rate:
6.58 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 145
Net migration rate:
-3.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 184
Urbanization:
urban population: 57.4% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 2.21% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Major urban areas - population:
TIRANA (capital) 454,000 (2015)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2015 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth:
23.4 (2010 est.)
Maternal mortality rate:
29 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 128
Infant mortality rate:
total: 12.75 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.19 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.13 years
male: 75.49 years
female: 81.04 years (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 60
Total fertility rate:
1.5 children born/woman (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 196
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
69.3% (2008/09)
Health expenditures:
5.9% of GDP (2013)
country comparison to the world: 111
Physicians density:
1.15 physicians/1,000 population (2013)
Hospital bed density:
2.6 beds/1,000 population (2012)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 84.3% of population
rural: 81.8% of population
total: 83.6% of population
unimproved:
urban: 15.7% of population
rural: 18.2% of population
total: 16.4% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 95.5% of population
rural: 90.2% of population
total: 93.2% of population
unimproved:
urban: 4.5% of population
rural: 9.8% of population
total: 6.8% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.04% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
18.1% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 88
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
6.3% (2009)
country comparison to the world: 80
Education expenditures:
3.3% of GDP (2007)
country comparison to the world: 130
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.6%
male: 98.4%
female: 96.9% (2015 est.)
Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 72,818
percentage: 12% (2005 est.)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total: 30.2%
male: 32.5%
female: 26.1% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
