Albania (
Albanian:
Shqipëri/Shqipëria,
Gheg Albanian:
Shqipnia or
Shqypnia), officially the
Republic of
Albania (Albanian:
Republika e Shqipërisë, ), is
a Mediterranean country in
South Eastern
Europe.
It is bordered by Montenegro
to the north, Kosovo
to the
northeast, Macedonia
to the east and Greece
to the
southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea
to the west, and on the Ionian Sea
to the southwest. It is less than from
Italy
, across the Strait of Otranto
which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian
Sea.
Albania is
a member of the United Nations,
NATO
, the Organization
for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, World Trade Organisation, Organisation of the
Islamic Conference and one of the founding members of the
Union for the
Mediterranean. Albania has been a
potential candidate
for accession to the European Union since January 2003, and it
formally applied for
EU membership
on 28 April 2009.
Albania is a
parliamentary
democracy and a
transition
economy.
The Albanian capital, Tirana
, is home to
approximately 895,000 of the country's 3.6 million people, and it
is also the financial capital of the country. Free-market reforms have opened the country to
foreign investment, especially in the development of
energy and transportation infrastructure.
Etymology
Albania is the
Medieval
Latin name of the country which is called
Shqipëri by
its inhabitants. In
Medieval Greek,
the country's name is
Albania besides variants
Albaētia,
Arbanētia.The ultimate origin of the
root
Alb- has been traced to an
Illyrian word (
alb "white"). In
the
2nd century BC,
Polybius's
History of the World mentions a
tribe named
Arbon in present-day central Albania. The
people who lived there were called
Albanoí and
Arbanitai..
Another
suggestion is derivation from the Illyrian
tribe of the Albani recorded by Ptolemy, the geographer
and astronomer from Alexandria
who drafted a map at 150 AD
of remarkable significance for the history of Illyria. This map shows the city of
Albanopolis (located Northeast of Durrës) which
was later called Albanon and Arbanon though it is not certain this
is the same city.
In his
History written in 1079–1080, Byzantine historian
Michael Attaliates was the first
to refer to Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt
against Constantinople
in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects
of the duke of Dyrrachium. During
the
Middle Ages, the Albanians called
their country
Arbër or
Arbën and referred to
themselves as
Arbëresh or
Arbnesh. As early as the 16th century, a new name for
their home evolved among Albanian people:
Shqipëria,
popularly interpreted as "Land of the Eagles" or "Land of the
Mountain Eagle" hence the two-headed bird on the national flag,
though most likely the origin lies in
Skanderbeg's use of the
Byzantine double-headed eagle on his seals. The
national flag of Albania with white cross on red backed shield was
believed by many to be derived from original surviving flags
carried by the foot soldiers of the Byzantine army that defended
Constantinople, what some call the "Byzantine Infantry" flag. The
Byzantine army flags were said to have been created in red and blue
backgrounds representative of both Holy Empires, Rome and
Byzantium. These versions of the double eagle flag are different
from the Byzantine flag which is still used by the
Greek Orthodox Church and by the
Patriarch of
Constantinople. The Byzantine or "Eastern" Orthodox Church and
the Patriarchy which was re-established in what is now Istanbul
still use a yellow background variation of the flag.
History
Prehistory
The question regarding the origin of the Albanians is still a
matter of controversy among ethnologists.The fact that history and
legend afford no record of the arrival of the Albanians in the
Balkan Peninsula has rendered the question of their origin a
particularly difficult one to answer.
300
The area of today's Albania has been populated since
prehistoric times. In antiquity, much of it was
settled by
Illyrian tribes, possible of
today's Albanians.
The
rediscovered Greek city of Bothrota
(modern Butrint) is probably more significant today
than it was when Julius Caesar used it
as a provisions depot for his troops during his campaigns in the
1st century BC. At that time, it was
considered to be an unimportant outpost, overshadowed by the Greek
colonies, Apollonia
and Dyrrachion (modern-day Durrës
).
Formal investigation and recording of Albania's archaeological
monuments began with
François
Pouqueville, who was
Napoleon's consul-general to Ali
Pasha's
court, and Martin Leake, who was the
British agent there. A French mission, led by Len Rey, worked
throughout Albania from 1924 to 1938 and published its results in
Cahiers d'Archéologie, d'art et d'Histoire en Albanie et dans
les Balkans (Notes of
Archaeology,
Art, and History in Albania and in the Balkans).
Archaeologists today are finding
remains from all periods, from the
Stone
Age to the early
Christian era.
Antiquity
The territory of Albania in antiquity was mainly inhabited by
Illyrian tribes,
who, like other ancient people, were subdivided into tribes and
clans. The region was also inhabited by
Bryges, a
Phrygian people and
the
Chaones, an
ancient Greek people.
Roughly parallel with the rise of
Greek
colonies, Illyrian tribes began to evolve politically from
relatively small and simple entities into larger and more complex
ones. At first they formed temporary alliances with one another for
defensive or offensive purposes, a few times
kingdoms under powerful warlords
like
Bardyllis.
Illyrian tribes that resided in the region of modern Albania were
the
Taulantii the
Parthini,
the
Abri, the
Caviii, the
Enchelei,
and several others.
A Illyrian King
Bardyllis in
4th century BC, after uniting some Illyrian
tribes engaged in conflict with
Macedonia, but he was defeated. Bardyllis
was succeeded by
Grabos then
Bardyllis II and
Cleitus the Illyrian that was defeated
by
Alexander the Great. Later on
in 229 BC Queen
Teuta of the
Ardiaei clashed with Romans initiating this way the
Illyrian Wars which brought the whole
of Illyria to an end in 168 B.C. when King
Gentius was defeated by a Roman army.
The lands comprising modern-day Albania were occupied by the Romans
in
168 BC and incorporated into the empire as
part of the province of
Illyricum above the river
Drin and Roman
Macedonia (specifically as
Epirus Nova) below it. The western part
of
Via Egnatia, was inside modern
Albania.
Illyricum was
later divided into the provinces of
Dalmatia and
Pannonia.
When the
Roman Empire divided into east
and west in 395, the territories of modern Albania became part of
the
Byzantine Empire. Starting in
the first decades under Byzantine rule (until 461), the region
suffered the devastation of raids by
Visigoths,
Huns, and
Ostrogoths. Not long after these barbarian
invaders swept through the Balkans, the Slavs appeared.
The territory of what is now Albania would remain under Byzantine
and Bulgarian Kingdom rule until the fourteenth century AD, when
the Ottoman Turks began to make incursions into the Empire. The
Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453 and by 1460 most former
Byzantine territories were in the hands of the Turks.
Medieval era
The new administrative system of the themes, or military provinces
created by the
Byzantine Empire,
contributed to the eventual rise of feudalism in Albania, as
peasant soldiers who served military lords became serfs on their
landed estates. Among the leading families of the Albanian feudal
nobility were the
Thopia,
Shpata,
Muzaka,
Dukagjini, and
Kastrioti.
The first three of these rose to become rulers of principalities
that were practically independent of
Byzantium.
Ottoman era
In the
Middle Ages, the name
Arberia (see
Origin and history of the
name Albania) began to be increasingly applied to the
region now comprising the nation of Albania.
Beginning with late
14th century the Ottoman Turks expanded their empire from Anatolia
to the Balkans. By the 15th century, the
Turks had brought under subjection nearly all of the Balkan
Peninsula except for a small coastal strip which is included in
present-day Albania. The Albanians' resistance to the Turks in the
mid-15th century won them acclaim all over Christian Europe.
Albania became a symbol of resistance to the Ottoman Turks but
suffered an almost continuous state of warfare.Library of Congress
Country Study /lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/altoc.html> of
Albania
One of the most successful resistances against the invading
Ottomans, was led by
Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg from 1443 to 1468.
Under a red flag bearing Skanderbeg's heraldic emblem, an Albanian
force of about 30,000 men held off Ottoman campaigns against their
lands for twenty-four years.
The leadership of Skanderbeg was invincible,
and even Mehmet II, the Conqueror, was
ambushed by an Albanian guriella party at Kruja
in
1466. Skanderbeg then re-embraced Roman
Catholicism and declared a holy war against the
Turks.Library of Congress Country Study
/lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/altoc.html> of Albania Thrice the
Albanians overcame sieges of Krujë (see
Siege of Krujë). Skanderbeg was unable
to receive any help from the new crusade promised by the popes. He
abandoned Christianity and died in 1468 leaving no worthy
successor. After the death of Skanderbeg, resistance continued
until 1478, although with only moderate success.
The loyalties and
alliances created and nurtured by Skanderbeg faltered and fell
apart, and the Ottomans conquered the territory of Albania shortly
after the fall of Kruje
's
castle. Albania then became part of the
Ottoman Empire.
Engraving of an Albanian assault on a
Turkish camp.
During
the era of Ottoman rule many Albanians fled to neighboring Italy, mostly to
Calabria and Sicily,
giving rise to the modern Arbëreshë communities. The
majority of the remaining Albanian population converted to
Islam during this time. The main reason for such a
large Muslim impact in Albania, exchanging the Christian religion
for Islam was in order to gain considerable advantages in the
Ottoman bureaucracy and army. Many Turkish historical figures were
in fact of Albanian origin, and one of them rose to become the
first Pasha of Egypt;
Mehmet Ali
Pasha. On the other hand there were numerous uprisings
beginning with the son and nephew of Skanderbeg in 1500 AD, during
the
Ottoman–Venetian
Wars,
Ottoman–Habsburg
wars, against
Tanzimat reforms and
during
National
Renaissance of Albania (1831–1912). This period also saw the
rising of semi-autonomous
Albanian
ruled Pashaliks and Albanians were also an important part of
the Ottoman army and Ottoman administration like the case of
Köprülü family.
Albania
would remain a part of the Ottoman Empire as the provinces of
Shkodra,
Manastir and
Yanya
until 1912.
20th century
After five hundred years of Ottoman domination, an independent
Albania was proclaimed on the 28 November 1912.
1913 to 1928
The initial sparks of the first
Balkan War
in 1912 were ignited by the Albanian uprising between 1908 and
1910 which were directed at opposing the
Young Turk policies of consolidation of the
Ottoman Empire.
Following the eventual weakening of the
Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, Serbia
, Greece, and
Bulgaria
declared war and sought to aggrandize their
respective boundaries on the remaining territories of the
Empire. Albania was thus invaded by Serbia in the North and
Greece in the south, restricting the country to only a patch of
land around the southern coastal city of Vlora. In 1912 Albania,
still under foreign occupation declared its independence and with
the aid of Austria-Hungary, the Great Powers drew its present
borders leaving more than half of the Albanian population outside
the new country.
The border between Albania and its neighbors was delineated in 1913
following the dissolution of most of the Ottoman Empire's
territories in the Balkans. The delineation of the new state's
borders left a significant number of Albanian communities outside
Albania. This population was largely divided between Montenegro and
Serbia (which then included what is now the Republic of Macedonia).
A substantial number of Albanians thus found themselves under
Serbian rule.
On the other hand an uprising in the
country's south by local Greeks, led to the formation of an
autonomous region
inside its borders (1914). After a period of
political instability caused during the
World War I, the country adopted a republican
form of government in 1920.
1928 to 1946
Starting in 1928, but especially during the
Great Depression, the government of
King Zog, which
brought law and order to the country, began to cede Albania's
sovereignty to Italy.
Despite some strong resistance, especially
at Durrës, Italy
invaded Albania on 7 April 1939 and took control of the country,
with the Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini proclaiming Italy's
figurehead King Victor
Emmanuel III of Italy as King of Albania. The nation
thus became one of the first to be occupied by the
Axis Powers in
World War
II. As
Hitler began his
aggressions, the Mussolini decided to occupy Albania as a means to
compete with Hitler's territorial gains. Mussolini and the Italian
Fascists saw Albania as a historical part of the
Roman Empire, and the occupation was intended
to fulfill Mussolini's dream of creating an
Italian Empire. During the Italian
occupation, Albania's population was subject to a policy of forced
Italianization by the Kingdom's
Italian governors, in which the use of the Albanian language was
discouraged in schools while the Italian language was promoted. At
the same time, the colonization of Albania by Italians was
encouraged.
Mussolini, in October 1940, used his Albanian base to launch an
attack on Greece, which led to the defeat of the Italian forces and
the Greek occupation of Southern Albania in what was seen by the
Greeks as the liberation of
Northern
Epirus. While preparing for the
Invasion of Russia, Hitler decided to
attack Greece in December 1940 to prevent a British attack on his
southern flank.
Albanian bunkers built during Hoxha
regime to prevent possible external invasions
During
World War II, the
Party of Labour was created on 8
November 1941. With the intention of organizing an
partisan resistance, they
called a general conference in Pezë on 16 September 1942 where the
Albanian National Liberation Front was set up. The Front included
nationalist groups, but it was dominated by communist
partisans.
In December 1942, more Albanian nationalist groups were organized
under
Visar Kola. Albanians fought
against the Italians while, during Nazi German occupation, Balli
Kombëtar allied itself with the Germans and clashed with Albanian
communists, which continued their fight against Germans and Balli
Kombëtar at the same time.
With the collapse of the Mussolini government in line with the
Allied invasion of Italy, Germany occupied Albania in September
1943, dropping paratroopers into Tirana before the Albanian
guerrillas could take the capital. The German army soon drove the
guerrillas into the hills and to the south. The Nazi German
government subsequently announced it would recognize the
independence of a neutral Albania and set about organizing a new
government, police, and military. Many Balli Kombëtar units
cooperated with the Germans against the communists, and several
Balli Kombëtar leaders held positions in the German-sponsored
regime.The partisans entirely liberated Albania from German
occupation on November 28, 1944. The Albanian partisans also
liberated Kosovo, part of Montenegro, and southern Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
By November
1944, they had thrown out the Nazi Germans, one of the few East
European nations to do so without any assistance from Soviet
troops. Enver Hoxha became the
leader of the country by virtue of his position as Secretary
General of the
Albanian
Communist Party.
Albania was one of the European countries occupied by the Axis
powers that ended World War II with a larger Jewish population than
before the War. Some 1,200 Jewish residents and refugees from other
Balkan countries were hidden by Albanian
families during World War II, according to official records.
Communist state
The former Enver Hoxha Museum in
Tirana
Tirana's Skanderbeg Square in
1988
Albania became an ally of the Soviet Union, but this came to an end
in 1960 over the advent of
de-Stalinization. A strong political
alliance with China followed, leading to several billion dollars in
aid, which was curtailed after 1974. China cut off aid in 1978 when
Albania attacked its policies after the death of the Chinese ruler
Mao Zedong. Large-scale purges of
officials occurred during the 1970s.
Enver Hoxha, a dictator who ruled
Albania for four decades with an iron fist, died on 11 April 1985.
Eventually the new regime introduced some liberalization, and
granting the freedom to travel abroad in 1990. The new government
made efforts to improve ties with the outside world. The elections
of March 1991 left the former Communists in power, but a general
strike and urban opposition led to the formation of a coalition
cabinet that included non-Communists.
Recent history (1992 to present)
Albania's former Communists were routed in elections March 1992,
causing economic collapse and social unrest. The
blood feud has returned in rural areas after more
than 40 years of being abolished by Albanian communists, with
nearly 10,000 Albanians being killed due to blood feuds since 1991.
Sali Berisha was elected as the first non-Communist president since
World War II. The next crisis occurred in 1997, during his
presidency, as
riots ravaged
the country.
The State Institutions collapsed and an
EU military mission led by Italy was sent to
stabilize the country. In summer 1997, Berisha was defeated
in elections, winning just 25 seats out of a total of 155.His
return to power in the elections of 3 July 2005 ended eight years
of Socialist Party rule.
In 2009, Albania – along with Croatia
– joined NATO.
Government, politics and military
The Albanian republic is a parliamentary democracy established
under a constitution renewed in 1998. Elections are now held every
four years to a unicameral 140-seat chamber, the People's Assembly.
In June 2002, a compromise candidate,
Alfred Moisiu, former
Army General, was elected to succeed President
Rexhep Meidani. Parliamentary
elections in July 2005 brought
Sali
Berisha, as leader of the Democratic Party, back to power. The
Euro-Atlantic integration of Albania has been the ultimate goal of
the post-communist governments. Albania's
EU membership bid has been set as a priority
by the European Commission.
Albania,
along with Croatia, received in 3 April 2008 an invitation to join
NATO. Albania and Croatia joined NATO on 1 April
2009 becoming the 27th and 28th members of the alliance.
The workforce of Albania has continued to migrate to Greece, Italy,
Germany, other parts of Europe, and North America. However, the
migration flux is slowly decreasing, as more and more opportunities
are emerging in Albania itself as its economy steadily
develops.
Executive branch
The head of state in Albania is the
President of the Republic.
The
President is elected to a 5-year term by the Assembly of
the Republic of Albania
by secret ballot, requiring a 50%+1 majority of the
votes of all deputies. The next election will run in the
year 2012. The current President of the Republic is
Bamir Topi.
The
President has the power to guarantee observation of the
constitution and all laws, act as commander in chief of the armed
forces, exercise the duties of the Assembly of the Republic of
Albania when the Assembly is not in session, and appoint
the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister).
Executive power rests with the Council of Ministers (cabinet). The
Chairman of the Council (Prime Minister) is appointed by the
President; ministers are nominated by the President on the basis of
the Prime Minister's recommendation. The People's Assembly must
give final approval of the composition of the Council. The Council
is responsible for carrying out both foreign and domestic policies.
It directs and controls the activities of the ministries and other
state organs.
Legislative branch
The
Assembly of
the Republic of Albania (Kuvendi i Republikës së Shqipërisë) is
the lawmaking body in Albania. There are 140 deputies in the
Assembly, which are elected though a
party-list proportional
representation system. The President of the Assembly (or
Speaker) has two deputies and chairs the Assembly. There are 15
permanent commissions, or committees. Parliamentary elections are
held at least every four years.
The Assembly has the power to decide the direction of domestic and
foreign policy; approve or amend the constitution; declare war on
another state; ratify or annul international treaties; elect the
President of the Republic, the Supreme Court, and the Attorney
General and his or her deputies; and control the activity of state
radio and television, state news agency, and other official
information media.
Armed forces
Albanian Navy Ship
Iliria
The
Albanian Armed Forces
(
Forcat e Armatosura të Shqipërisë) first formed after
independence in 1912. Albania reduced the number of active troops
from a 1988 number of 65,000 to a 2009 number of 14,500 with a
small fleet of aircraft and sea vessels. In the 1990s, the country
scrapped enormous amount of obsolete hardware, such as tanks and
SAM systems of Chinese
manufacture.
Today it is made up of the
General
Staff Headquarters, the
Albanian Joint Forces Command,
the
Albanian Support
Command and the
Albanian Training and
Doctrine Command.
One of the most important conditions to
fulfill due to NATO integration,
was the increasing of the military budget. Military spending
accounted for about 2.7% of GDP in 2008.
Since February 2008,
Albania participates officially in NATO's Operation Active Endeavor in the
Mediterranean Sea
and received a NATO membership invitation on 3
April 2008. Albania became a full member of NATO on 1 April
2009.
Geography
Satellite image of Albania.
Albania has a total area of 28,748 square
kilometers.
Its coastline is 362 kilometers long and
extends along the Adriatic and Ionian
Seas. The lowlands of the west face the Adriatic
Sea. The 70% of the country that is mountainous is rugged and often
inaccessible from the outside.
The highest mountain is Korab
situated in the district of Dibra, reaching up to
. The country has a
continental climate at its high altitude
regions with cold winters and hot summers.
Besides the capital
city of Tirana, which has
800,000 inhabitants, the principal cities are Durrës, Korçë
, Elbasan
, Shkodër
, Gjirokastër
, Vlorë
and Kukës
. In Albanian grammar, a word can have
indefinite and definite forms, and this also applies to city names:
both
Tiranë and
Tirana,
Shkodër and
Shkodra are used.
The three largest and deepest tectonic lakes of the
Balkan Peninsula are partly located in
Albania.
Lake Shkodër
in the country's northwest has a surface which can
vary between and 530 km2, out of which one third
belongs to Albania and rest to Montenegro. The Albanian
shoreline of the lake is .
Ohrid
Lake
is situated in the country's southeast and is
shared between Albania and Republic of Macedonia. It has a
maximal depth of 289 meters and a variety of unique flora and fauna
can be found there, including “living fossils” and many endemic
species.
Because of its natural and historical value,
Ohrid Lake is under the protection of UNESCO
.
Over a third of the territory of Albania—about 10,000 square
kilometers (2.5 million acres)—is forested and the country was very
rich in flora. About 3.000 different species of plants grow in
Albania, many of which are used for medicinal purposes.
Phytogeographically, Albania belongs to the
Boreal Kingdom and is shared between
the Adriatic and East Mediterranean provinces of the
Mediterranean Region and the Illyrian
province of the
Circumboreal
Region. According to the
World Wide Fund for Nature and
Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the
European Environment Agency, the
territory of Albania can be subdivided into three
ecoregions: the
Illyrian deciduous forests,
Pindus Mountains mixed
forests and Dinaric Mountains mixed forests. The forests are
home to a wide range of mammals, including
wolves,
bears,
wild boars, and
chamois.
Lynx,
wildcats,
pine martens and
polecats
are rare, but survive in some parts of the country.
Climate
Albanian landscape
Korab chains.
With its coastline facing the Adriatic and Ionian seas, its
highlands backed upon the elevated Balkan landmass, and the entire
country lying at a latitude subject to a variety of weather
patterns during the winter and summer seasons, Albania has a high
number of climatic regions for so small an area. The coastal
lowlands have typically Mediterranean weather; the highlands have a
Mediterranean continental climate. In both the lowlands and the
interior, the weather varies markedly from north to south.
The lowlands have mild winters, averaging about 7 °C. Summer
temperatures average 24 °C. In the southern lowlands, temperatures
average about 5 °C higher throughout the year. The difference is
greater than 5°C during the summer and somewhat less during the
winter.
Inland temperatures are affected more by differences in elevation
than by latitude or any other factor. Low winter temperatures in
the mountains are caused by the continental air mass that dominates
the weather in
Eastern Europe and the
Balkans. Northerly and northeasterly winds
blow much of the time. Average summer temperatures are lower than
in the coastal areas and much lower at higher elevations, but daily
fluctuations are greater. Daytime maximum temperatures in the
interior basins and
river valleys are
very high, but the nights are almost always cool.
Average
precipitation is heavy,
a result of the convergence of the prevailing airflow from the
Mediterranean Sea and the continental air mass. Because they
usually meet at the point where the terrain rises, the heaviest
rain falls in the central uplands. Vertical currents initiated when
the Mediterranean air is uplifted also cause frequent
thunderstorms. Many of these storms are accompanied by high local
winds and torrential downpours.
When the continental air mass is weak, Mediterranean winds drop
their moisture farther inland. When there is a dominant continental
air mass, cold air spills onto the lowland areas, which occurs most
frequently in the winter. Because the season's lower temperatures
damage olive trees and citrus fruits, groves and orchards are
restricted to sheltered places with southern and western exposures,
even in areas with high average winter temperatures.
Lowland rainfall averages from 1,000 millimeters to more than 1,500
millimeters annually, with the higher levels in the north. Nearly
95% of the rain falls in the winter.
Rainfall in the upland mountain ranges is heavier. Adequate records
are not available, and estimates vary widely, but annual averages
are probably about 1,800 millimeters and are as high as 2,550
millimeters in some northern areas. The seasonal variation is not
quite as great in the coastal area.
The higher inland mountains receive less precipitation than the
intermediate uplands. Terrain differences cause wide local
variations, but the seasonal distribution is the most consistent of
any area.
Economy
Albania remains a poor country by Western European standards. Its
GDP per capita (expressed in PPS—
Purchasing Power Standards) stood at
25 percent of the EU average in 2008. Still, Albania has shown
potential for economic growth, as more and more businesses relocate
there and consumer goods are becoming available from emerging
market traders as part of the current massive global cost-cutting
exercise. Albania and Cyprus are the only countries in Europe that
recorded economic growth in the first quarter of 2009.
In its latest report,
the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) said Albania and Cyprus recorded increases of
0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. However, the country is still
of low interest for major foreign investors due to frequent power
shortages, occasional lack of water supplies and ubiquitous illegal
activities.
Albania
and Croatia have discussed the possibility of jointly building a
nuclear power plant at Lake Shkoder
, close to the border with Montenegro, a plan that
has gathered criticism from the latter due to seismicity in the
area. In addition, there is some doubt whether Albania would
be able to finance a project of such a scale with a total national
budget of less than $ 5 billion. However, in February 2009 Italian
company
Enel announced plans to build an 800 MW
coal-fired power plant in Albania, in order to
diversify electricity sources. Nearly 100% of the electricity is
generated by ageing hydroelectric power plants, which are becoming
more ineffective due to increasing droughts.
The country has some deposits of
petroleum
and
natural gas, but produces only 6,425
barrels of oil per day. Natural gas production, estimated at about
30 million cubic meters, is sufficient to meet consumer demands.
Other natural resources include coal,
bauxite,
copper and
iron ore.
Agriculture is the most significant
sector, employing some 58% of the labor force and generating about
21% of GDP. Albania produces significant amounts of
wheat,
corn,
tobacco,
figs (13th largest
producer in the world) and
olives.
Transport
In the early 1990s, the rock-strewn roadways, unstable rail lines,
and obsolete telephone network crisscrossing Albania represented
the remnants of the marked improvements that were made after
World War II.
Enver Hoxha's xenophobia and lust for control
had kept Albania isolated, however, as the communications
revolution transformed the wider world into a global village. Even
internal travel amounted to something of a luxury for many
Albanians during communism's ascendancy.
Highways
.JPG/180px-Tirana's_Overpass_From_Durres_(1).JPG)
SH 2—Tirana's Overpass from
Durrës
Currently the major cities of the country are linked with first
class national roads. There is a four lane highway connecting the
city of Durrës with Tirana and the city of Durrës with the city of
Lushnje. Albania is partaking in the construction of what it sees
as three major corridors of transportation.
The major priority as
of present is the construction of the four lane Durrës-Pristina highway which will
link Kosovo with
Albania's Adriatic coast. The portion of the highway which
links Albania's north east border with Kosovo was completed in June
2009, as a result, cutting the time it takes to get from Kosovo to
Durrës from six hours to two. Indeed the roads in northwestern
Albania remain in poor condition as of summer 2009. It takes
approximately 1H30 to drive the from the border of Montenegro to
Shkodër. It is also worth noting that there are no road signs and
no traffic lights within and around this city. The second priority
is the construction of European corridor 8 linking Albania with the
Republic of Macedonia and Greece. The third priority for the
government is the construction of the north-south axis of the
country; it is sometimes referred to as the
Adriatic–Ionian motorway as
it is part of a larger regional highway connecting Croatia with
Greece along the Adriatic and Ionian coasts. By the end of the
decade it is expected that the majority of the sections of these
three corridors will have been built. When all three corridors are
completed Albania will have an estimated 759 kilometers of highway
linking it with its neighbors.
Durrës–Kukës–Morine Highway (Albania to Kosovo)
There has been much discussion, debate and interest in this small
section of Albanian highway, which is intended to create a new,
super-fast connection between Durrës on the Adriatic coast to
Morine at the border of Kosovo.
The current drive time between Kukës and Durrës is 6–7 hours, but
once the new highway is completed the drive time will only be two
hours. The expected completion is the end of 2009. The whole road
will be around , when completed to Pristina.
The objective for constructing the road, according to the transport
ministry, is to reduce transport costs and accidents, and improve
traffic flow. It is the biggest, most expensive infrastructure
project undertaken in Albania.
There has been much controversy and scandal surrounding this
project as well, due to the spiralling cost of construction leading
to various corruption allegations. Originally the highway was
forecast to cost around EUR400 million, and now the cost appears to
have breached EUR800 million, although the exact cost for the total
highway has yet to be confirmed by the government.
The Morine to Pristina section is expected to start construction in
spring 2009.
Currently there is a display in Tirana’s centre on Bvld Dëshmorët e
Kombit.
Airways
In 1977 Albania's government signed an agreement with Greece,
opening the country's first air links with non-communist Europe. As
a result,
Olympic Airways was the
first non-communist airline to fly into Albania.
By 1991 Tirana had air
links with many major European cities, including Paris
, Rome
, Zürich
, Vienna
, and
Budapest
. Tirana was served by a small airport,
Tirana International Airport Nënë
Tereza
, located twenty-eight kilometers from the capital
at the village of Rinas. Albania had no
regular domestic air service. A Franco-Albanian joint venture
launched Albania's first private airline,
Ada
Air, in 1991.
The company offered flights in a
thirty-six-passenger airplane four days each week between Tirana
and Bari
, Italy, and a
charter service for domestic and international
destinations.
As of
2007 Albania has one international airport: Tirana International Airport Nënë
Tereza. The airport is linked to 29 destinations by
14 airlines. It has seen a dramatic rise in terms of passenger
numbers and aircraft movements since the early 1990s. In September
2009 it served 1.8 million passengers and had 44 landings and
takeoffs per day.
Train in Durrës–Tiranë line
Railway
The railway system was extensively promoted by the
totalitarian regime of
Enver Hoxha, during which time the use of
private transport was effectively prohibited. Since the collapse of
the former regime, there has been a considerable increase in
car ownership and
bus usage.
Whilst some of the country's roads are still in a very poor
condition, there have been other developments (such as the
construction of a
motorway between Tirana
and Durrës) which have taken much traffic away from the railways.
The
railways in Albania are administered by
the national railway company
Hekurudha Shqiptare (HSH) (which
means
Albanian Railways). It operates a gauge (standard
gauge) rail system in Albania.
All trains are hauled by Czech
-built
ČKD diesel-electric
locomotives.
Demographics
Ethnic composition of Albania,
according to the 1989 census (prior to the fall of
communism):
The Albanian population is considered a very young population, with
an average age of 28.9 years. After 1990 the Albanian population
hasfaced new phenomena like migration, which greatly affected the
distribution by districts and prefectures.
Districts in the
North have seen a decreasing population, while Tirana and Durrës districts have increased their population.
Albania's population was 3,152,600 on 1 January 2007 and 3,170,048
on 1 January 2008. Alternative sources estimate the population in
July 2009 at 3,639,453 with an annual growth rate of 0.546%.
Albania is a largely ethnically homogeneous country with only small
minorities. The vast majority of the population is ethnically
Albanian (98.6%). Minorities include
Greeks 1.17% and others 0.23% (
Vlachs,
Macedonians,
Roma,
Bulgarians,
Balkan Egyptians,
Serbs and other former
Yugoslavians). The size of the Greek minority
is contentious, with the Albanian government claiming it is only
60,000, while the Greek government is claiming 300,000.
CIA Factbook gives the Greek minority 3% of the
total population.The dominant language is
Albanian, with two main dialects,
Gheg and
Tosk. Many
Albanians are also fluent in
English,
Italian,
Greek,
Turkish or
German.
Religion
Church of Virgin Mary.
It was built in the 10th century
According to some estimates, a majority of Albanians do not
practice any religion, classified as
irreligious.
According to Operation world's statistics, 41% of Albanians are
Christian (24% Orthodox, 16% Roman Catholic and other Protestant or
independent minorities), and 38.7% are Muslims (both Sunni and
Bektashis).
A recent
Pew Research Center
demographic study put the percentage of
Muslims in Albania at 79.9%, and the other
Christian.
A third
study of religion in Albania under the International Religious
Freedom Report 2009, performed by the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the United
States's State Department
, found that a majority of Albania's population is
nonreligious.
The Albanians first appear in the historical record in
Byzantine sources of the late 11th century. At
this point, they are already fully Christianized. Christianity was
later overshadowed by
Islam, which kept the
scepter of the major religion during the period of
Ottoman Turkish rule from the 15th century
until year 1912. After independence (1912) from the Ottoman Empire,
the Albanian republican, monarchic and later communist regimes
followed a systematic policy of separating religion from official
functions and cultural life. Albania never had an official state
religion either as a republic or as a kingdom. In the 20th century,
the clergy of all faiths was weakened under the monarchy, and
ultimately eradicated during the 1940s and 1950s, under the state
policy of obliterating all organized religion from Albanian
territories.
The Communist regime that took control of Albania after World War
II suppressed religious observance and institutions and entirely
banned religion to the point where Albania was officially declared
to be the world's first atheist state. Religious freedom has
returned to Albania since the regime's change in 1992. Albanian
Muslim populations (mainly secular and of the
Sunni rite) are found throughout the country
whereas
Orthodox Christians
are concentrated in the south and Roman Catholics are found in the
north of the country. No reliable data are available on active
participation in formal religious services, and estimates range
from 25% to 40%.
Previously the religious figures in Albania stood at 70% Muslim,
20% Catholic and 10% Orthodox. Although these statistics were based
on estimates from pre-1967 information.
There are about 4000 active
Jehovahs
witnesses in Albania.Among other religious organizations making
inroads into this nation is
The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or 'Mormons'). The
Church's involvement in Albania began with Humanitarian Aid during
the 1990s. The first missionaries were sent in 1992 with the
Albania Tirana Mission being opened in 1996. As of 2008, there were
nearly 2,000 members of the Church in Albania, spread throughout
ten branches with two purpose-built Chapels and one Family History
Centre..
Culture
Music and folklore
A traditional male folk group from
Skrapar
Albanian
folk music falls into three sylistic groups, with other important
music areas around Shkodër
and Tirana; the major
groupings are the Ghegs of the north and
southern Labs and Tosk. The
northern and southern traditions are contrasted by the "rugged and
heroic" tone of the north and the "relaxed, gentle and
exceptionally beautiful" form of the south. These disparate styles
are unified by "the intensity that both performers and listeners
give to their music as a medium for patriotic expression and as a
vehicle carrying the narrative of
oral
history", as well as certain characteristics like the use of
obscure rhythms such as 3/8, 5/8 and 10/8. The first compilation of
Albanian folk music was made by
Pjetër
Dungu in 1940.
Albanian folk songs can be divided into major groups, the heroic
epics of the north, and the sweetly melodic
lullabies, love songs,
wedding music,
work
songs and other kinds of song. The music of various festivals
and holidays is also an important part of Albanian folk song,
especially those that celebrate St. Lazarus Day (
the
llazore), which inaugurates the springtime. Lullabies and
laments are very important kinds of Albanian
folk song, and are generally performed by solo women.
Albanian language and literature
Albanian was proven to be an
Indo-European language in 1854 by the
German
philologist Franz Bopp. The Albanian language comprises its
own branch of the Indo-European language family.
Some scholars believe that Albanian derives from
Illyrian while others, claim that it
derives from
Daco-
Thracian. (Illyrian and Daco-Thracian,
however, might have been closely related languages; see
Thraco-Illyrian.)
Establishing longer relations, Albanian is often compared to
Balto-Slavic on the one hand and Germanic on the other, both of
which share a number of
isoglosses with
Albanian. Moreover, Albanian has undergone a vowel shift in which
stressed, long
o has fallen to
a, much like in
the former and opposite the latter. Likewise, Albanian has taken
the old relative
jos and innovatively used it exclusively
to qualify adjectives, much in the way Balto-Slavic has used this
word to provide the definite ending of adjectives.
The cultural resistance was first of all expressed through the
elaboration of the
Albanian
language in the area of church texts and publications, mainly
of the
Catholic confessional
region in the North, but also of the
Orthodox in the South. The
Protestant reforms invigorated hopes for the
development of the local language and literary tradition when
cleric
Gjon Buzuku brought into the
Albanian language the
Catholic
liturgy, trying to do for the Albanian language what
Luther did for
German.
Meshari (The Missal) by
Gjon Buzuku, published by him in 1555, is
considered to date as the first literary work of written Albanian.
The refined level of the language and the stabilised orthography
must be a result of an earlier tradition of writing Albanian, a
tradition that is not known. But there are some fragmented
evidence, dating earlier than Buzuku, which indicate that Albanian
was written at least since 14th century AD.
The first known
evidence dates from 1332 AD and deals with the French Dominican
Guillelmus Adae, Archbishop of Antivari
, who in a report in Latin writes that Albanians use
Latin letters in their books although their language is quite
different from Latin. Of special importance in supporting this
are: a baptizing formula (Unte paghesont premenit Atit et Birit
et spertit senit) of 1462, written in Albanian within a text
in Latin by the bishop of Durrës, Pal Engjëlli; a
glossary with Albanian words of 1497 by Arnold von Harff, a German who had
travelled through Albania, and a 15th century fragment from the
Bible from the Gospel of Matthew, also in Albanian, but
in Greek letters.
Albanian writings of these centuries must not have been religious
texts only, but historical chronicles too. They are mentioned by
the humanist
Marin Barleti, who, in
his book
Rrethimi i Shkodrës (The Siege of Shkodër)
(1504), confirms that he leafed through such chronicles written in
the language of the people (
in vernacula lingua). Despite
the obstacles generated by the
Counter-Reformation which was opposed to
the development of national languages in Christian
liturgy , this process went on uninterrupted. During
the 16th to 17th centuries, the
catechism
E mbësuame krishterë (Christian Teachings) (1592) by
Lekë Matrënga,
Doktrina
e krishterë (The Christian Doctrine) (1618) and
Rituale
romanum (1621) by
Pjetër Budi,
the first writer of original Albanian
prose
and
poetry, an
apology
for George Castriot (1636) by
Frang
Bardhi, who also published a dictionary and
folklore creations, the theological-philosophical
treaty
Cuneus Prophetarum (The Band of Prophets) (1685) by
Pjetër Bogdani, the most
universal personality of Albanian
Middle
Ages, were published in
Albanian. The most famous Albanian writer
is probably
Ismail Kadare.
Education
Before Communist regime, Albania’s illiteracy rate was as high as
85%. Schools were scarce between
World War
I and
World War II. When the
Communist regime over took the country in 1944, the regime wanted
to wipe out illiteracy. The regulations became so strict that
anyone between the ages of 12 and 40 who could not read or write
was mandated to attend classes to learn. Since these times of
struggle the country’s literacy rate has improved remarkably. Today
the overall literacy rate in Albania is 98.7%, the male literacy
rate is 99.2% and female literacy rate is 98.3%. Since the rather
large population movements in the 1990’s to urban areas, education
has moved as well. Thousands of teachers moved to urban areas to
follow students.
Administrative divisions
Counties of Albania
Albania is divided into 12 administrative divisions called
(
Albanian: official
qark/
qarku, but often
prefekturë/
prefektura) Counties, 36 districts and
351 municipalities. Each region has its Regional Council and is
composed of a number of Municipalities and Communes, which are the
first level of local governance responsible for local needs and law
enforcement.
Sport
Football is the most popular
sport in Albania, both at a participatory and spectator level. The
sport is governed by the
Football Association of
Albania (
Albanian:
Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit, F.SH.F.).
Entertainment
Radio Televizioni Shqiptar, (
RTSH), is
Albania's leading television network. RTSH runs a national
television station
TVSH, (standing for
Televizioni Shqiptar), and two national radio stations,
using the name
Radio Tirana. An international service
broadcasts radio programmes in Albanian and seven other languages
via
medium wave (AM) and
short wave (SW). The international service has
used the theme from the song "Keputa një gjethe dafine" as its
signature tune.
Since 1999, RTSH has
been a member of the European Broadcasting Union
. Since 1993, RTSH has also run an
international television service via satellite, aimed at Albanian language communities in Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Greece, plus the
Albanian diaspora in the rest of Europe.
According the National Council of Radio and Television Albania has
an estimated 257 media outlets, including 66 radio stations and 65
television stations, with three national and 62 local
stations.
Health
Health care has been in a steep decline after the collapse of
socialism in the country, but a process of modernization has been
taking place since the year 2000. As of the early 2000s, there were
51 hospitals in the country, including a military hospital and
specialist facilities. Albania has successfully annihilated
diseases such as
malaria.
Life
expectancy is estimated at 77.43 years, ranking 51st worldwide, and
outperforming a number of European Union countries, such as
Hungary
and the Czech Republic.. The most common causes of death are
circulatory disease then cancerous illnesses.
The medical school, Faculty of Medicine at Tirana University, is in
Tirana. There are also nursing schools in many other cities.
Cuisine
The
cuisine of Albania- as with most Mediterranean
and Balkan nations, is
strongly influenced by its long history. At different times,
the territory which is now Albania has been claimed or occupied by
Greece, Italy and the
Ottoman Turks, and each group has left
its mark on Albanian cuisine. The main meal of the
Albanians is lunch, and it is usually accompanied
by a
salad of fresh
vegetables, such as
tomatoes,
cucumbers, green
peppers, and
olives
with
olive oil,
vinegar and
salt. Lunch also
includes a main dish of vegetables and meat.
Seafood specialties
are also common in the coastal areas of Durrës, Vlorë and Sarandë
.
Human rights in Albania
LGBT rights in Albania
International rankings
Demographic
Environmental
Economic
See also
Notes and references
Notes:
References:
- Albania applies for EU membership, BBC News, 28 April
2009. Retrieved on 29 April 2009
- Population stats from tirana.gov.al
- Reports: Poverty Decreases In Albania After Years Of Growth.Dow
Jones Newswires,
201-938-5500.http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=200904231403dowjonesdjonline000935&title=reports-poverty-decreases-in-albania-after-years-of-growth
- Albania plans to build three hydropower plants.People's
Daily
- Strong GDP growth reduces poverty in
Albania-study.Reuters.http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/04/23/afx6330798.html
- OED
- Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (Indo-European
Etymological Dictionary) 1959 pp. 30–31
- Constantine A. Chekrezi. Albania Past and Present. New
York: The Macmillan Company, 1919. p. 116.
- Madrugearu A, Gordon M. The wars of the Balkan peninsula.
Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. p.146
- The Illyrians by J. J. Wilkes, 1992, ISBN 0631198075, page
279,"We cannot be certain that the Arbanon of Anna Comnena is the
same as Albanopolis of the Albani, a place located on the map of
Ptolemy (3.12)"
- Robert Elsei. The Albanian lexicon of Arnold von Harff,
Earliest reference to the existence of the Albanian language,
pp. 113–122.
- http://www.pinocacozza.it/
- http://www.radio-arberesh.eu/
- Kristo Frasheri. History of Albania (A Brief
Overview). Tirana, 1964.
- Albanian Etymological Dictionary by Vladimir E. Orel, Brill
1998
- Constantine A. C., and Charles, D. Albania Past and
Present. Columbia University, p. 10. April, 1919.
- An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis by Mogens Herman, ISBN
0198140991, 2004, page 343, "Bouthroton (Bouthrotios)"
- The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe) by John Wilkes,1996,
ISBN-9780631198079, page 111.
- Appian, The Foreign Wars, III, 1.2
- Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, ISBN 0631198075, Page
96,"... 25 Enchelei
- Harding, p. 93. Grabos became the most powerful Illyrian king
after the death of Bardylis in 358.
- "The Journal of Hellenic Studies by Society for the Promotion
of Hellenic Studies (London, England)", 1973, p. 79. Cleitus was
evidently the son of Bardylis II the grandson of the very old
Bardylis who had fallen in battle against Phillip II in 385
BC.
- Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992, p. 120, ISBN 0631198075,page
129,"... mainly because no coins are known to have been issued by
Illyrian rulers of a later period such as Agron, Teuta,
Scerdilaidas, etc. ...
- Research Institute for European and American Studies. The Balkan Muslim Presence.
- The Balkans (Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, 1804-1999)
– by Misha Glenny
- The Balkans by Misha Glenny page 418
- Sarner. Rescue in Albania: One Hundred Percent of Jews in
Albania Rescued from the Holocaust, 1997.
- "Muslim Family Who Hid 26 Jews in Albania from the Nazis
Honored by ADL" Anti-Defamation League
- Escape Through the Balkans: the Autobiography of Irene Grunbaum
(University of Nebraska Press, 1996)
- Shoah Research Center - Albania.
- Israeli Historians Study How Albanian Jews Escaped Holocaust
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,356717,00.html
- Albania. World Almanac & Book of Facts, 2008, pp467–545,
(AN 28820955)
- " Thousands fear as blood feuds sweep Albania".
Telegraph.co.uk. June 3, 2007.
- " In Albanian Feuds, Isolation Engulfs Families
". The New York Times. July 10, 2008.
- BBC News. "Nato welcomes Albania and Croatia", "BBC News", 2009-04-02. Retrieved on
2009-04-02.
- Albania sells off its military hardware, BBC News,
2002
- NATO, [1]
- Albania Country Brief. Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (Australia), 1 August 2008. Accessed
15 August 2009.
- Business: Albania, Cyprus register economic growth
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/roundup/2009/05/15/roundup-bs-03
- Strong economic growth potential puts Albania and Panama top of
long term investment list
http://www.propertywire.com/news/related-stories/albania-panama-long-term-investment-200807201344.html
- Albania's Economy shakes off it's shackles, 23
January, 2003, BBC News.
- Albania, Croatia plan nuclear power plant.
- CIA - The World Factbook
- Enel Albanian Joint Venture Introduces Coal In
Albania's Power Mix, Business Monitor Online, 24 February,
2009
- CIA The World Factbook: Oil producers
- Albania Country Profile, FAO
-
http://www.nce.co.uk/news/transport/albania-motorway-making-the-first-move/5203302.article#
- Women, Men and shefit's in Albania 2006,
Instat, Tirana, 2007
- CIA World Factbook: Albania
- Albania, U.S. Department of State Bureau of European
and Eurasian Affairs, Background Note November 2008. Retrieved on
14 May 2009
- [2]-Freedom of Religion 2007
- http://www.operationworld.org/country/alba/owtext.html
- Albania: International Religious Freedom Report
2007
- Arbatsky, Yuri, cited in Koco with the footnote Translated
and published by Filip Fishta in Shkolla Kombëtare (The National
School; No.1, May 1939), 19, and quoted from his Preface to
Pjetër
Dungu's Lyra Shqiptare (see note 2).
- Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture By J. P. Mallory, Douglas
Q. Adams Edition: illustrated Published by Taylor & Francis,
1997 ISBN 1884964982, 9781884964985 ("Although there are some
lexical items that appear to be shared between Romanian (and by
extension Dacian) and Albanian, by far the strongest connections
can be argued between Albanian and Illyrian." page 11) Concise
Encyclopedia of Languages of the World By Keith Brown, Sarah
Ogilvie Contributor Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie Edition: illustrated
Published by Elsevier, 2008 ISBN 0080877745, 9780080877747
("Albanian constitutes a single branch of the Indo-European
family of languages. It is often held to be related to Illyrian, a
poorly attested language spoken in the Western Balkans in classical
times" page 22)
- Zickel, Iwaskiw, 1994
- radiotirana.org website
- CIA - The World Factbook, Life Expectancy
ranks
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