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Albania is a mediterranean country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro in the north, Serbia (Kosovo) in the north-east, the Republic of Macedonia in the east, and Greece in the south, has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ionian Sea in the southwest. The country is an emerging democracy and is formally named the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë).
Republika e Shqipërise
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| National motto: none
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| Official language | Albanian
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Capital
- Population:
- Coordinates:
| Tirana
(Tiranë)
353,400 (2003)
41°20'N, 19°48'E
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| Head of State
| Alfred Moisiu, President
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| Head of Government
| Fatos Nano, Prime Minister
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Area
- Total:
- % water:
| Ranked 139th
28,748 km²
4.7%
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Land borders
Coastline
| 720 km
362 km
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Population
- Total:
- Density:
| Ranked 126th
3,582,205 (2003)
125/km²
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GDP
- Total (2003)
- GDP/capita
- GDP/capita
| 112th, 106th, 130th, 93rd
US$15.7 Billion (PPP)
$4,400 (PPP)
$2,230 (Nominal)
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Independence
| From the Ottoman Empire
November 28, 1912
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| National Day | 28 November
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| Religions | Muslim 70%
Greek Orthodox 20%
Roman Catholic 10%
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| Currency | Lek (Lk) = 100 qindarka
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| Time zone | UTC+2:00
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| National anthem | Hymni i Flamurit (/Rreth Flamurit Të Për Bashkuar)
Albanian: Hymn to the Flag (/The Flag That United Us In The Struggle)
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| Internet TLD | .al
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| Calling Code
| 355
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Origin and history of the name
One of the first written evidences of the use of the word " Albanoi " as the name of an Illyrian tribe in what is now north-central Albania goes back to the 130 A.D., in a work of Tolomeo. Albanopolis of the Albani, a place located on the map of Ptolemy (3.12.20) and also named on an ancient family epitaph at Scupi, which has been identified with the Zgërdhesh hill-fort near Kruja in northern Albania. Moreover, Arbanon is just likely to be the name of a district - the plain of the Mat has been suggested - rather than particular place. An indication of movement from higher altitudes in a much earlier period has been detected in the distribution of place-names ending in -esh that appears to derive from the latin -enisis or -esis, between the Shkumbin and the Mat, with a concentration between Elbasan and Kruja.
The term Albanoi may have been slowly spread to other Illyrian tribes until its usage became universal among all the Albanian people. According to the Albanian scholar Konitza, the term "Albania" did not displace "Illyria" completely until the end of the fourteenth century. The word "Alba" or "Arba" seems to be connected with the town Arba (modern Rab, Croatia), in prehistoric times inhabited by the Illyrian Liburnians, first mentioned in 360 BC. The root of the name comes from Illyrian Arb ("dark", "green", "wooded") and is simply transposed into antique names of Arba, Arva, Arbia which are mentioned by the cosmographers of the time.
The derivation of the name Albania is of considerable antiquity, dating back perhaps to the pre-Celtic alb (hill), from whence Alps, or possibly from the Indo-European albh (white), from whence albino and Albion. Approximately a millennium after, some Byzantine writers use the words “Albanon” and “Arbanon” to indicate the region of Kruja. Under the Angiò, in the XIII century, the names “Albania “and “Albanenses” indicate the whole country and all the population, as it is demonstrated by the works of many ancient Albanian writers such as Budi, Blanco and Bogdano. We first learn of Albanians in their native land as the Arbanites of Arbanon in Anna Comnenas' account (Alexiad 4) of the troubles in that region caused in the reign of her father Alexius I Comneus (1081- 1118) by the Normans. In ‘History’ written in 1079-1080, Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates was first to refer to the Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke of Dyrrachium. The Italo-Albanians and the Albanian minorities (still present in Greece) have been called in different ways with the passing of the years: Arbënuer, Arbënor, Arbëneshë, Arbreshë. There seems to be no doubt that the root Alb- or Arb- is earlier than Shqip-, from which the modern name of the state (Shqipëria) derives, a name which appears only in the time of the Turkish invasions. The Albanian name of the country, Shqipëria, translates into English as "Land of the Eagles", hence the two-headed bird on the national flag and emblem, and because of the large presence of these animals in the mountainous zones of Albania.
History
Main article: History of Albania
Several notorious historians and writers of antiquity bring witness in their books of the existence of a very ancient population, inhabitants of the Balkan area, before the arrival of the first Greek settlers. This population was called Pelasgians, and their center was Dodona. Dodona, estimated to be some 5 000 year old city, has been for many years the center of the kingdom of Epirus, one of the most influent of the kingdoms in the Balkans during antiquity. In Dodona is located the first oracle of the antiquity, about 2500 years before the Oracle of Delphi, and till then, was the center of pilgrimage of greek settlers. Greek historians and writers note that Pelasgians were an ancient people that had the gift to predict the future, thus, it's well known and mentioned several times the Maple tree of Dodona, ..."where pelasgians and their wise men would gather, and from the movement of its leaves, caused by the breeze of the sea, they could predict the future, the weather"...
What characterizes these populations of antiquity, is their original architecture, huge and enormous stone walls(megalithic), as we may find in the Balkan area, in Sardinia, Stonehenge, etc... Illyrians arise as a people speaking an Indo-European language around 1000 BC. The Illyrian culture was influenced by the Peloponesian culture (mainly the south Illyrian tribes). Albania being also the site of several Greek colonies. After being conquered by a number of nations mainly the Byzantine Empire, it became a part of the Ottoman Empire in 1478 after years of resistance under the leadership of Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeg, the Albanian National Hero.
After the First Balkan War, Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. The country was ruled by King Zog I until 1939 when it was occupied by Italy. The communists took over after World War II, in November 1944, under the leader of the resistance, Enver Hoxha. From 1945 until 1990 Albania had one of the most repressive governments in Europe. The communist party was created in 1941 with the direction of Bolshevik Communist Parties. All those who opposed it were eliminated. Enver Hoxha became the leader of this party. For many decades of his domination, Hoxha created and destroyed relationships with Belgrade, Moscow and China always in his personal interest. For 46 years he denied Albanians of their human, religious and political rights. The country was isolated, first from the West ( Western Europe, Canada, USA) and later even from the communist East. The government ordered the abolishment of all previous classes of society. The rich farmers and merchants were called the exploiting class and were liquidated in "the name of people". The people, the laboring peasants, did not get anything good out of that. All mosques and churches were destroyed and any kind of religious ritual or ideology was called illegal. The personal possesions were eliminated and ccoperatives were created. The number of political prisoners grew. The day came when Hoxha's closest friends were imprisoned for life.
In 1985, Enver Hoxha died and Ramiz Alia took his place and tried to follow his footsteps, but in Eastern Europe the changes had already started: Gorbacov had appeared in the Soviet Union with a different point of view. The totalitarian regime was pressured by the US and Europe and the hate of people. While in Romania the communist leader Nicolai Chauchesku was assassinated, Ramiz Alia understood what the only thing to do was. He signed the Helsinki Agreement (which was signed by the other countries in 1975) that respected some human rights. He also allowed pluralism, and even though his party won the election of 1991 it was clear that the change would not be stopped. Thousands of Albanians entered the embassies of western countries impatient of prosperity. Started by students, the riots spread all over the country and lead to the collapse of the dictator's monument in the centre of Tirana. In 1992 the general elections were won by the Democratic Party with 62% of the votes.
The change from dictature to democracy had many challenges. The Democratic party had to do the reforms it had promised, but they either were too slow or didn't solve the problems, so the people were disappointed from their hopes for fast prosperity. The local elections were lost by the Democratic party in 1992. The proces of free trade competition and privatization made people more doubtful on what they really wanted.
In the general elections of June 1996 the Democratic Party tried to win an absolute majority and manipulated the results. In 1997 the fraud of the pyramidal schemes shocked the entire government and riots started. Many cities were now controlled by militia and armed citizens. This anarchy and rebellion caused the socialist party to win the early elections of 1997. Since then Albania has been oriented towards the West, was accepted in the Council of Europe and has requested membership in NATO. The working force of Albania has continued to immigrate to Greece, Italy, Europe and North America. Corruption in the government is becoming more and more obvious. The politics has not fulfilled the people's hope for a short and not too painfull transition.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Albania
Head of state is the president, who is elected by the Kuvendi, or the Assembly of Republic of Albania. The main part of the Assembly's 140 members is elected every 4 years. 100 of the parliament members are chosen by the people with a direct vote, while the other 40 members are chosen using a proportional system. The president is assisted by a council of ministers, which is appointed by the president.
Administrative divisions
Main articles: Districts of Albania and Counties of Albania
Albania is divided into 36 rrethe (districts). Several districts are then grouped a qark (county or prefecture), of which there are 12. The capital city, Tiranë, has a special status. The districts are:-
See also: List of cities in Albania (Note: some cities have the same name as the district they are in).
Geography
Main article: Geography of Albania
 Map of Albania Albania consists of mostly hilly and mountainous terrain, the highest mountain, Korab in the district of Dibra reaching up to 2,753 m. The country mostly has a land climate, with cold winters and hot summers.
Besides capital city Tirana, with 520,000 inhabitants, the principal cities are Durrës, Elbasan, Shkodër, Gjirokastër, Vlorë and Korçë.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Albania
Albania is one of Europe's poorest countries, with half of the economically-active population still engaged in agriculture and a fifth said to be working abroad. The country has to deal with a high unemployment rate, corruption up to high government levels and organised crime.
The country exports nearly nothing and imports a lot from Greece and Italy. The money for imports comes from the financial aid and from the money that refugees working abroad bring to Albania. This is a good status quo business for both Greece and Italy. The Greek government also makes money by unofficially selling visas to Albanian citizens, who are not allowed to travel freely abroad. For this reason both countries have several visa consulates in major cities of Albania, and oppose indirectly every possibility of free movement of Albanian citizens in the EU.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Albania
Most of the population is Albanian (98% 1989 est.), but there is a small Greek minority - albanian descended (0.2% 1989 est.). Many ethnic Albanians also live in bordering Kosovo(around 1,8 million), FYROM(around 800,000), Montenegro(around 47,000), Serbia(over 150,000 , mainly in the southern Serbia), and in Greece, where Albanians(Arvanitas) are one of the largest ethnic groups of Greece(estimates over 1 million)[see Encyclopaedia Britannica for further information on this topic], as well as the Albanian immigrants that have migrated in Greece after the year 1990(some estimates speak of some 600,000 of immigrants, but the number could be larger, since the Greek government does nothing to legalize, and thus register its citizens). The language is Albanian, although some Greek is also spoken in some small villages of south bordering Greece. In the area of Gorë in the Kukës district is spoken a Slavic language called Gorani. This is the only area in the world where this language is spoken. The village of Shishtavec is the main centre of Gorani language.
Since the occupation by the Ottomans, the majority of Albanians have been Muslim (70%), even though religion was prohibited during the communist era. The Eastern Orthodox (20%) and Catholic Church (10%) are the other main religions in Albania, though in Albania religious fanaticism has never been a serious problem with people from different religions living in peace and even getting married without any problem. The majority of the south of Albania is Alevi-Bektashi, people who follow a faith originating in the Turkish migrations into Turkey, and came to Albania through the Ottoman Janissaries. It has outwardly Shi'ite Islamic elements, but is really a Shamanic-Pantheistic faith. The main prophet of Alevism is Haxhi Bektash Veliu, and it is currently headed by Baba Flamur Shkalla, the successor of Baba Rexhep, based in Madison, USA..
Culture
Main article: Culture of Albania
Miscellaneous topics
External links
Official government websites
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