Country profilesAlbania

Humanitarian profile

One of Europe's poorest countries, Albania is a net recipient of donor aid. Its largest donor has been the European Commission, but it has also received large amounts of financial assistance from neighbour Greece and Germany. The Soviet Union had been a major aid donor to Albania - part of eastern Europe's Communist bloc - until its collapse in 1991. Albania lies on a series of small fault lines and regularly experiences minor earthquakes, although these rarely kill people.

Country snapshot

Albania is a small and mountainous country nestling on the Adriatic coast in the centre of the Balkans, one of Europe’s most combustible regions. Like neighbouring Kosovo, Albania is a Muslim country although there is also a sizeable Christian minority. It has a population of 3 million living in an area about 8-1/2 times smaller than Britain.  About 32km from the coastline is Tirana, the capital of Albania, with a population about 700,000.

Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe. It emerged from eastern Europe’s Communist bloc in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and has tried to adopt free market principles. But the transition proved difficult and political and financial instability dominated the 1990s. Tensions often spilled over into street violence. Albania has staged multi-party elections since the 1990s, and in 2009 it joined the western military alliance NATO. Albania has also made a formal application to join the European Union.

Poor infrastructure, corruption and unemployment still hinder Albania’s development although the economy is growing and inflation has been brought under control through more disciplined financial controls.

Government

Under a 1998 constitution, Albania is a parliamentary democracy. Elections to the 140-seat People’s Assembly are held every four years through proportional representation. Members of the People’s Assembly elect Albania’s president for a five year term. The president is formally head of state and head of Albania’s military but executive power lies with the prime minister.

Current Prime Minister Sali Berisha has been a major force in Albanian politics since independence. In 1992, the former cardiologist and university professor became Albania’s first post-Communist president. Violent protests in 1997 over the collapse of a fraudulent financial pyramid scheme forced him from office but in 2005 he returned as Albania’s prime minister. In 2009, Berisha narrowly won re-election.

Economy

Formerly a highly centralised command economy, Albania has been making progress towards opening up its markets. In the 1990s this transition triggered economic hardships but in recent years the economy has stabilised and sustained economic growth is predicted.

Emigration is still a major factor for Albania and each year thousands of people leave to search for work abroad, especially in neighbouring EU member state Greece. Remittances are important to Albania’s economy, making up around 15 percent of annual GDP.

Albania’s economy is worth around $24 billion each year, about the same size as EU member Estonia but more than a 100 times smaller than the German economy, the European Union’s largest economy. Albania’s GDP per person is around a quarter of the EU average.

Albania is a relatively low tax country with a flat rate income and corporation tax of 10 percent.  Corruption and money laundering remain a problem in Albania and act as a brake on economic development. Agriculture is the biggest source of employment in Albania. Its infrastructure and transport network remain undeveloped and hinder development. Albania contains some deposits of natural gas which it aims to exploit as well as significant hydroelectric power potential.

History

In the 15^th century the Ottoman Turks extended their rule up into the lands that are now Albania. After initial resistance, Albania proved relatively faithful to Ottoman rule and many Albanians progressed to senior positions within the Ottoman administration. However in the 19^th century an Albanian independence movement grew leading to a series of revolts which the Ottomans were forced to put down with force.

In 1912, after a war in the Balkans, Albania declared independence. Instability followed with the start of World War I but in the 1920s the League of Nations guaranteed Albania’s political integrity.

King Zog I dominated Albanian history over the next two decades. He was the son of a landowner who became first Prime Minister and then President of Albania. In 1928 he crowned himself King Zog of Albania.

In 1939, Italy under Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini invaded Albania. Albania put up little resistance and became an Italian protectorate. King Zog escaped but spent the rest of his life in exile, mainly in Paris.

During World War II a guerrilla movement with a strong Communist allegiance appeared in Albania and led resistance first against the Italians and then against Nazi Germany. Albania was eventually liberated in 1944 and after the end of World War II was set up as a Communist state and an ally of the Soviet Union. Former Communist partisan, Enver Hoxha, led Albania for four decades after the end of World War II until his death in 1985. Hoxha was a great admirer of Soviet leader Josef Stalin but relations with Stalin’s successor, Nikita Khrushchev, were increasingly strained. After the death of Stalin in 1953, Albania switched its allegiance to China.

When Hoxha died in 1985, the Communist Party gradually began to relax its grip on the country. It introduced elections and some forms of private business. The Communists lost power to Sali Berisha and his political party in 1992 and he embarked on liberal reforms to the economy.

In 1997 a series of pyramid schemes collapsed, fronts for money laundering and drugs smuggling, robbing Albanians of millions of dollars. Violence erupted onto the street and hundreds of people died. The United Nations had to send in peacekeepers under Italy to control the situation. The Socialist Party then governed from 1998 until 2005 when Berisha won re-election.

Legal snapshot

Albania’s constitution was adopted in 1998 and strove to separate and balance executive, legislative and judicial powers. The Constitutional Court defends the constitution. It has nine members appointed for nine year terms.

The High Court of Justice is the body that decides on the appointment of judges. The President heads the High Court of Justice. The Minister of Justice, the head of the Supreme Court, three members of the National Assembly and nine other judges are also members.

The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in Albania. It comprises of 17 judges who sit for nine year terms. Five judges sit on panels at the Supreme Court.

Albania’s legal system is based on Civil Law.