Country Snapshot

Country Name: Albania

Capital: Tirana

Continent: Europe

Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece to the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north.

Population: 3,101,621 (2023 est.)

Background: In the early 1990s, Albania ended decades of isolated communist rule and began to establish a multiparty democracy. A large informal economy and a weak energy and transportation infrastructure remain developmental obstacles. However, Albania is emerging as a popular destination for nomad capitalists and other ex-pats due to its affordable living costs.

Government Type: Parliamentary Republic

Legal System: Civil law system except in the northern rural areas where customary law known as the "Code of Leke" is still present.

Time Zone: UTC+01:00 (DST: UTC+02:00)

Phone Country Code: 355

Internet Country Code: .al

Visa, Travel, Citizenship, & Weather Information

Official Visa & Travel Information: Republic of Albania Immigration Services (Visa Services)

Citizenship: 

• Citizenship By Birth: No

• Citizenship By Descent Only: At least one parent must be a citizen of Albania

• Dual Citizenship Recognized: Yes

• Residency Requirement for Naturalization: 5 years

Economic & Currency Data

Economic Overview: Future hopeful EU member state; oil and gas exporter but investing toward a “blue economy”; COVID-19 and earthquake economic disruptions and declines; experiencing high debt and account balances; strengthening private sector growth and public sector trust.

Currency: Albanian Lek (ALL)

Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: $5.635 billion (31 December 2021 est.)

Real GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $40.822 billion (2021 est.)

Real GDP Growth Rate: 8.52% (2021 est.)

Real GDP per Capita: $14,500 (2021 est.)

Exports:

• $5.612 billion (2021 est.); note: data is in current year U.S. dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.

• Comparison Ranking: 124

Export Commodities: Leather footwear and parts, electricity, crude petroleum, iron alloys, clothing, insulated wiring, and Albanian cannabis (production remains a significant illicit trade export) (2021)

Export Partners: Italy 45%, Spain 8%, Germany 6%, Greece 5%, France 4%, China 4% (2019)

Imports:

• $8.004 billion (2021 est.) note: data is in current year U.S. dollars

• Comparison Ranking: 122

Import Commodities: Refined petroleum, cars, tanned hides, packaged medical supplies, and footwear parts (2019)

Import Partners: Italy 28%, Greece 12%, China 11%, Turkey 9%, Germany 5% (2019)

Natural Resources: Petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower, and arable land.

Agricultural Products: Milk, maize, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, wheat, grapes, cucumbers, onions, and apples.

Industries: Food; footwear, apparel and clothing; lumber, oil, cement, chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower.

Industrial Production Growth Rate: 

• 16% (2021 est.)

• Comparison Ranking: 12

Labor Force: 1.378 million (2021 est.)

Labor Force By Occupation: 

• Agriculture: 41.4%

• Industry: 18.3%

• Services: 40.3% (2017 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 11.82% (2021 est.)

Demographics

Ethnic Groups: Albanian 82.6%, Greek 0.9%, other 1% (including Vlach, Romani, 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, Romani, 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% (2011 est.)

Internet Users:

• Total: 2.291 million (2021 est.)

• Percentage of Population: 79% (2021 est.)

Geography & Interactive Maps

Geographic Coordinates: 41 00 N, 20 00 E

Geography:

• Total: 28,748 sq km

• Land: 27,398 sq km

• Water: 1,350 sq km

Natural Hazards: Destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought.

(Country Summary, The World Factbook, CIA.gov)

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