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Albania: Country Report
Facts:
 Official Name: Republic of Albania
 Area: 28,748 sq. km
 Population: 3,011,405
 Official Language: Albanian
 Major Religion: Muslim, Albanian
Orthodox, Roman Catholic
Albania is located in southeastern Europe. Albania borders the Adriatic Sea and Ionian
Sea, between Greece in the south and Montenegro and Kosovo to the north. Albania
shares its past within the Ottoman Empire, declaring independence from the latter in
1912. Albania did not enjoy independence for long; it was conquered by Italy in 1939.
During World War II, Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied
itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s,
Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty
democracy.1 Albania’s transition has proven to be challenging as successive
governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption,
dilapidated infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political
opponents.1 Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first
holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers
judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability
following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, each of Albania's postCommunist elections have been marred by claims of electoral fraud. The 2009 general
elections resulted in a coalition government, the first such in the country’s history.
Albania joined NATO in April 2009, and in June of 2014 Albania was officially accepted
into the EU1. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of
the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate
energy and transportation infrastructure. However, Albania has recently had great
advances in development with help from organizations like the United Nations
Development Program. In the past several years Albania has experienced 4-6%
economic growth per year, putting them in the group of countries with a high Human
Development Index. Additionally, having to meet EU criteria has pushed Albania to
become a more modern state. Like most Balkan countries, Albania has been affected
by the exodus of migrants fleeing the Syrian Civil War. Though it has largely avoided
most migrants, as it is off the main route that flows through Serbia, recently it has seen
an uptick in traffic as Hungary continues its harsh border policy. The issue of whether to
allow migrants in is a contentious one in Albania, as the country has a history of its own
citizens fleeing violence. Following the collapse of Communism, tens of thousands of
Albanians fled to Italy and elsewhere to escape their war torn country. With this recent
history, there is sympathy for the current migrants, however the official stance of the
Prime Minister Edi Rama is that Albania will remain not open to migrants.
Economic Indicators:
 Monetary Unit:
 The GDP (purchasing power parity) of Albania in 2015 was $32.44 billion with
a GDP per capita of $ 11,900 (2015 Est)2
 Albania had a real growth rate of 2.7% (2015 Est).3
 Inflation rate was 2.2%, while unemployment rate was 17.3% (2015 Est).4
1
BBC World News: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11283616
CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/al.html
2
http://www.economywatch.com/economic-statistics/country/Albania/
3
CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/al.html
2
 Albanian public debt in 2015 was 73.3 % of GDP, investment 26.5% of GDP,
and as of 2014 the external debt was $8.782 billion.4
 14.3% of Albania’s population is below the poverty line as estimated in 2012.5
Economic Structure:
 Albania’s GDP composition by sector in 2015 is as follows:





o Agriculture: 22.3%
o Industry: 15%
o Services: 62.6%6
Labor force by sector in 2014 is as follows:
o Agriculture: 41.8%
o industry: 11%
o services: 46.8%7
In 2015 Albania imported commodities valued at $3.597 billion.8
Albania’s chief trade partners are Italy and Spain. Albania exported services
and goods worth of $ 1.15 billion from Italy and $168 million from Spain.9
Albania’s primary export commodities are textiles and footwear;
asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits,
tobacco.10
Albania, a formerly closed, centrally-planned state, is making the
difficult transition to a more modern open-market economy. .11
Political Considerations:
 Albania has technically been a democratic country since 1992 when the
country held the first democratic elections with the electoral victory of the
Democratic Party.
 While Albania has successfully held free elections since then, it has been
plagued by a multitude of problems including corruption, poor infrastructure,
organized crime, and many others that have impeded its political and
economic progress.
4
Ibid
Ibid
6
Ibid
7
Ibid
8
Ibid
9
(Albania: The Observatory of Economic Complexity 2010) http://atlas.media.mit.edu/country/alb/
10
Ibid
5
 Albania’s chief legislative body is a unicameral assembly. The People’s
Assembly, or Kuvendi Popullor, consisting of 140 seats with 100 determined
by direct popular vote, the remainder divided according to proportional
representation. Legislators serve a term of 4 years.
 Bujar NishanI is the current president of the Republic of Albania. In July 2005,
Mr. Nishani begun his political career as a member of the Albanian
Democratic Party. He has since then moved up the political ladder and on
July 24, 2012, Mr. Bujar Nishani was sworn in as president of Albania by the
Albanian Parliament.
 The Assembly of the Republic of Albania elects the President to a 5-year term
by secret ballot, requiring a 50%+1 majority of the votes of all deputies. 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).
 The head of government is Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Under Albanian law,
the prime minister is the appointee of the president, who can be elected for up
to two 5-year terms by 3/5 of the Kuvendi Popullor. The president’s appointee
must be confirmed by the assembly;
 Joining the EU has helped to stabilize Albania and has reinforced the
country’s presence as an important economic and political player. Albania is
also a member of the UN, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, International Monetary Fund, World
Bank, and World Trade Organization. 5
Attractions:
 Natural Resources: Albania is a source of a great many natural
resources, including oil and metallic ores that make the country a
great potential target for investment and economic growth;
 Location: Located on the coast of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas and
bordering Greece, Albania is a prime location for real estate
development and tourism, a great source of funds to the Albanian
economy;
 Euro-Atlantic Integration: Since its independence in 1992,
Albania has pursued a steady agenda of integration with its
European neighbors, and has made great progress towards that
goal. It is now a member of NATO and the EU. Its participation in
5
State Background Notes: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3235.htm
such multilateral organizations serves to strengthen both its
economic and political ties with the region.
Troubled Spots:
 Corruption and Transparency: Like many emerging countries,
Albania suffers from bureaucratic corruption and transparency
issues, with many government officials taking bribes and favors
from members of organized crime families.
 Unclear business laws and tax code: The business laws and tax
codes in Albania are mired in layers of red tape to the point where
the laws are incredibly unclear and even less clearly enforced. This
makes it difficult to operate businesses in the country given the
possibility of extreme and unfair taxation and other potentially
hazardous problems.
 Security concerns: Albania has been relatively secure for a
decade, but is part of a region that has been in turmoil for quite
some time and thus is still somewhat susceptible to the dangers
and insecurities of a post-conflict situation. Refugees, ethnic strife
and other such phenomena are not uncommon in Albania or the
Balkans.
Acknowledgements:
Research and Data Development Provided by: Karen Coronel, Research Assistant,
under the supervision and coordination of Dr. Gerard Janco, President, Eurasia
Center/EBC. Updated by Reena SenGupta. Updated on 10/20/16 by Jared Martin.
Works Cited:
"The Observatory of Economic Complexity: Albania Exports, Imports and Trade Partners." The
Observatory of Economic Complexity: Albania Exports ,Imports-and-Trade-Partners.
http://atlas.media.mit.edu/country/alb/Accessed June 18, 2016.
CIA The World Factbook-Serbia. (accessed June 16, 2016).