Continental shelf: not specified;
Territorial sea: 15 nm
Disputes: Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question with Greece
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
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, timber, nickel
Land use: 21% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 15% meadows and pastures; 38% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur along southwestern coast; deforestation seems to be slowing
Note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links
Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
- People
Population: 3,273,131 (July 1990), growth rate 1.9% (1990)