Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center
:Albania Economy
Overview:
The Albanian economy, already providing the lowest standard of living in
Europe, contracted sharply in 1991, with most industries producing at only a
fraction of past levels and an unemployment rate estimated at 40%. For over
40 years, the Stalinist-type economy has operated on the principle of
central planning and state ownership of the means of production. Albania
began fitful economic reforms during 1991, including the liberalization of
prices and trade, the privatization of shops and transport, and land reform.
These reform measures were crippled, however, by the widespread civil
disorder that accompanied the collapse of the Communist state. Following
their overwhelming victory in the 22 March 1991 elections, the new
Democratic government announced a program of shock therapy to stabilize the
economy and establish a market economy. In an effort to expand international
ties, Tirane has reestablished diplomatic relations with the former Soviet
Union and the US and has joined the IMF and World Bank. The Albanians have
also passed legislation allowing foreign investment. Albania possesses
considerable mineral resources and, until 1990, was largely self-sufficient
in food; however, the breakup of cooperative farms in 1991 and general
economic decline forced Albania to rely on foreign aid to maintain adequate
supplies. Available statistics on Albanian economic activity are rudimentary
and subject to an especially wide margin of error.
GNP:
purchasing power equivalent - $2.7 billion, per capita $820; real growth
rate —35% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
100% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
40% (1992 est.)
Budget:
revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.4 billion, including capital
expenditures of $70 million (1991 est.)
Exports:
$80 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
asphalt, petroleum products, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude
oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
partners:
Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania,
Bulgaria, Hungary
Imports:
$147 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
commodities:
machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products, textiles, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals
partners:
Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary,
Bulgaria
External debt:
$500 million (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate —55% (1991 est.)
Electricity:
1,690,000 kW capacity; 5,000 million kWh produced, 1,530 kWh per capita
(1990)
Industries:
food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, oil, cement, chemicals,
basic metals, hydropower
:Albania Economy
Agriculture:
arable land per capita among lowest in Europe; over 60% of arable land now
in private hands; one-half of work force engaged in farming; wide range of
temperate-zone crops and livestock; severe dislocations suffered in 1991
Economic aid:
$190 million humanitarian aid, $94 million in loans/guarantees/credits
Currency:
lek (plural - leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
Exchange rates:
leke (L) per US$1 - 50 (January 1992), 25 (September 1991)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Albania Communications
Railroads:
543 km total; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track and 34 km narrow
gauge, single track (1990); line connecting Titograd (Serbia and Montenegro)
and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986
Highways:
16,700 km total; 6,700 km highways, 10,000 km forest and agricultural cart
roads (1990)
Inland 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 (1988)
Ports:
Durres, Sarande, Vlore
Merchant marine:
11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886 GRT/76,449 DWT
Airports:
12 total, 10 usable; more than 5 with permanent-surface runways; more than 5
with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
inadequate service; 15,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 13 AM, 1 TV;
514,000 radios, 255,000 TVs (1987 est.)
:Albania Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Coastal Defense Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Interior Ministry
Troops, Border Troops
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 886,032; 731,072 fit for military service; 33,028 reach
military age (19) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - 1.0 billion leks, NA% of GNP (FY90); note -
conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current
exchange rate could produce misleading results
:Algeria Geography