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Albania: Countries
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As of July 2007, Albania's population of 3,600,523 is growing by 0.73% per year.[16] Albania is a largely ethnically homogeneous country with only small minorities. Majority of the total population is considered Albanian. Minorities include Greeks, Aromanians, Torbesh, Gorani, Macedonian Slavs, Roma, Montenegrins, Bulgarians, Balkan Egyptians and Jews. The dominant language is Albanian, with two main dialects, Gheg and Tosk. Many Albanians are ... fluent in English, Italian and Greek.
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Albania is a country of a high density population. Tirana, its capital, is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe (5,000 inhabitants/km2 )and a high land use intensity. Built up areas represent over 70% of the total municipal area with one of the lowest ratios of green space per inhabitant. Housing space per capita is the lowest in Europe (7,5 m2). In 1989, 43.4% of the apartments were one-room apartments and 35,9% two-room apartments. Illegal construction due to migration from the North-Eastern parts of the country became very common in the years of transition to the market economy.
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Albania has a total area of 28,750 square kilometers. Its coastline is 362 kilometres long and stretches on the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea. The lowlands of the west face the Adriatic Sea. The 70% of the country that is mountainous is rugged and often inaccessible. The highest mountain is Korab situated in the district of Dibra, reaching up to 2,753 metres (9,032 ft). The country has a continental climate at its high altitude regions with cold winters and hot summers.
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Albania has one of the lowest standards of living in Europe. Approximately 60% of the workforce is engaged in agriculture; the balance is involved in services or industry. The country’s economy contracted in the early 1990s as Albania attempted to move quickly from a tightly controlled state-run system to a market economy. During this period, the unemployment rate was about 40%, but by the end of the decade it was closer to 20%.
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Albania entered an orbit around the Soviet Union, and in September 1948 Moscow stepped in to compensate for Albania's loss of Yugoslav aid. The shift proved to be a boon for Albania because Moscow had far more to offer than hard-strapped Belgrade. The fact that the Soviet Union had no common border with Albania ... appealed to the Albanian regime because it made it more difficult for Moscow to exert pressure on TiranÎ. In November at the First Party Congress of the Albanian Party of Labor (APL), the former Albanian Communist Party renamed at Stalin's suggestion, Hoxha pinned the blame for the country's woes on Yugoslavia and Xoxe. Hoxha had had Xoxe sacked as internal affairs minister in October, replacing him with Shehu. After a secret trial in May 1949, Xoxe was executed.
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USAID and the Government of Albania, in collaboration with United Nations Agencies, World Bank and other bilateral partners, have begun work to produce Albania's first national Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Albania. This survey will sample thousands of households across the country to collect data on population, health, nutrition and gender issues. This collection of data is important to measure major health and demographic indicators for Albania and then compare them with other countries. Read more »
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