Natural hazards:
destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast;
floods; drought
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and
domestic effluents
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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)
People Albania
Population:
3,544,808 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.4% (male 489,363; female 446,586)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 1,184,670; female 1,130,065)
65 years and over: 8.3% (male 135,177; female 158,947) (2004 est.)
Median age:
total: 28.2 years
male: 27.6 years
female: 28.7 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.51% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
15.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)