Albania (ălbā'nyə) , Albanian Shqipëria or Shqipnija, officially Republic of Albania, republic (2005 est. pop. 3,563,000), 11,101 sq mi (28,752 sq km), SE Europe. Albania is on the Adriatic Sea coast of the Balkan Peninsula, between Montenegro on the northwest, Serbia on the northeast, Macedonia on the east, and Greece on the southeast. Tiranë is the capital and largest city.

Land and People

Albania is rugged and mountainous, except for the fertile Adriatic coast. Mt. Korabit (9,066 ft/2,763 m), on the Macedonian-Albanian border, is the highest point in the country. The coastal climate is typically Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The mountainous interior, especially in the north, has severe winters and mild summers. The chief rivers of Albania are the Drin, Mat, Shkumbin, Vijose, and Seman, but they are mostly unnavigable. More than one third of Albania's land is covered by forests and swamps, about one third is pasture, and only about one fifth is cultivated. In addition to Tiranë, other important cities are Vlorë, Durrës, Shkodër, and Korçë.
The country's rugged and inaccessible terrain has traditionally isolated Albania from its neighbors, thus helping to preserve its ethnic homogeneity. About 90% of the population is ethnic Albanian, less than 10% is Greek, and there are scattered Vlach, Bulgar, Serb, and Gypsy minorities. Many ethnic Albanians also live in the Kosovo region of Serbia, with which there has long been a border dispute and where the drive for Albanian autonomy or independence from Serbia is pronounced. Some 70% of the people are Muslim, about 20% are Greek Orthodox, and 10% Roman Catholic. From 1967 to 1990 all mosques and churches were closed, and Albania was officially considered to be an atheist country. Albanian is an Indo-European language. The Shkumbin River, which virtually bisects the country, separates speakers of the northern dialect (Gheg) from those of the southern dialect (Tosk; the official dialect).

Economy

Albania has one of the lowest standards of living in Europe. Approximately 60% of the workforce is engaged in agriculture; the majority of the balance is involved in some kind of industry. The country's economy contracted in the early 1990s as Albania attempted to move quickly from a tightly controlled state-run system to a market economy. During this period, the unemployment rate was about 40%, but by the end of the decade it was closer to 20%.
Agriculture was formerly socialized in the form of collective and state farms, but by 1992 most agricultural land had been privatized. Grains (especially wheat and corn), cotton, tobacco, potatoes, and sugar beets are grown and livestock is raised. Albania is rich in mineral resources, notably oil, lignite, copper, chromium, limestone, salt, bauxite, and natural gas. Mining, agricultural processing, and the manufacture of textiles, clothing, lumber, and cement are among the leading industries. Engineering, chemical, and iron and steel plants have been developed, and the country has several hydroelectric stations. Because of economic disturbances during the 1990s, Albania remains essentially a developing country.
Foreign trade is carried by sea, Durrës and Vlorë (also the terminus of the oil pipeline) being the major ports. Albania exports mined natural resources and foodstuffs and imports mostly machinery, other industrial products, and consumer goods. Its chief trading partners are Italy, Macedonia, Germany, and Greece. In the early 1990s Albania joined the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Government

Albania is a republic with a unicameral assembly, to which deputies are elected by universal suffrage for four-year terms. The assembly elects the president for a five-year term, and the president appoints a prime minister. The executive branch is completed by a council of ministers, which is nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president. Albania is divided into 36 districts, which are administrated by multiparty executive committees.

History

Historic Albania
The Albanians are reputedly descendants of Illyrian and Thracian tribes that settled the region in ancient times. The area then comprised parts of Illyria and Epirus and was known to the ancient Greeks for its mines. The coastal towns, Epidamnus (Durrës) and Apollonia, were colonies of Corcyra (Kérkira) and Corinth, but the interior formed an independent kingdom that reached its height in the 3d cent. A.D.
After the division (395) of the Roman Empire, Albania passed to Byzantium. While nominally (until 1347) under Byzantine rule, N Albania was invaded (7th cent.) by the Serbs, and S Albania was annexed (9th cent.) by Bulgaria. In 1014, Emperor Basil II retook S Albania, which remained in the Byzantine Empire until it passed to Epirus in 1204. Venice founded coastal colonies at present-day Shkodër and Lezhë in the 11th cent., and in 1081 the Normans began to contest Byzantine control of Albania. Norman efforts were continued by the Neapolitan Angevins; in 1272, Charles I of Naples was proclaimed king of Albania. In the 14th cent., however, the Serbs under Stephen Dušan conquered most of the country.