Albania Education

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Related Articles Geography Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro 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 Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland Land boundaries: total: 720 km border countries: Greece 282 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 151 km, Serbia and Montenegro 287 km (114 km with Serbia, 173 km with Montenegro) Coastline: 362 km Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm 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 extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,753 m Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel, hydropower Land use: arable land: 21% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 38% other: 21% (1993 est.) Irrigated land: 3,410 sq km (1993 est.) Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, 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) [back to top] Transportation Railways: total: 670 km standard gauge: 670 km 1.435-m gauge (1996) Highways: total: 18,000 km paved: 5,400 km unpaved: 12,600 km (1998 est.) Waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990) Pipelines: crude oil 145 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1991) Ports and harbors: Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore Merchant marine: total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,907 GRT/16,101 DWT ships by type: cargo 6 (1999 est.) Airports: 10 (1999 est.) Airports - with paved runways: total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (1999 est.) Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 7 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (1999 est.) Heliports: 1 (1999 est.) [back to top]

Background: In 1990 Albania ended 44 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven difficult as corrupt governments have tried to deal with severe unemployment, the collapse of a fraudulent nationwide investment scheme, widespread gangsterism, and massive refugee influxes from neighboring Kosovo. People Population: 3,490,435 (July 2000 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 30% (male 545,329; female 507,589) 15-64 years: 63% (male 1,056,583; female 1,141,664) 65 years and over: 7% (male 104,086; female 135,184) (2000 est.) Population growth rate: 0.26% (2000 est.) Birth rate: 19.47 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) Death rate: 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) Net migration rate: -10.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.) Infant mortality rate: 41.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.57 years male: 68.75 years female: 74.59 years (2000 est.) Total fertility rate: 2.37 children born/woman (2000 est.) Nationality: noun: Albanian(s) adjective: Albanian Ethnic groups: 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: definition: age 9 and over can read and write total population: 93% (1997 est.) male: NA% female: NA% [back to top] Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 42,000 (1995) Telephones - mobile cellular: 3,100 (1999) Telephone system: domestic: obsolete wire system; no longer provides a telephone for every village; in 1992, following the fall of the communist government, peasants cut the wire to about 1,000 villages and used it to build fences international: inadequate; international traffic carried by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 2 (1999) Radios: 810,000 (1997) Television broadcast stations: 13 (1999) Televisions: 405,000 (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (1999)