264 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
264 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
ALBANIA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 28,750 km2; land area: 27,400 km2
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Comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
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Land boundaries: 768 km total; Greece 282 km, Yugoslavia 486 km
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Coastline: 362 km
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Maritime claims:
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Continental shelf: not specified;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Disputes: Kosovo question with Yugoslavia; Northern Epirus question
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with Greece
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Climate: mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry
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summers; interior is cooler and wetter
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Terrain: mostly mountains and hills; small plains along coast
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Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, coal, chromium,
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copper, timber, nickel
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Land use: arable land 21%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and
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pastures 15%; forest and woodland 38%; other 22%; includes irrigated
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1%
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Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes; tsunami occur
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along southwestern coast; deforestation seems to be slowing
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Note: strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links
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Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)
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PEOPLE
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Population: 3,335,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.8% (1991)
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Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 50 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 79 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 2.9 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Albanian(s); adjective--Albanian
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Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greeks 8%, other 2% (Vlachs,
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Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians) (1989 est.)
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Religion: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and
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religious observances prohibited; in November 1990 Albania began
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allowing private religious practice and was considering the repeal
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of the constitutional amendment banning religious activities;
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estimates of religious affiliation--Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%,
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Roman Catholic 10%
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Language: Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek
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Literacy: 72% (male 80%, female 63%) age 9 and over can
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read and write (1955)
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Labor force: 1,500,000 (1987); agriculture about 60%, industry
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and commerce 40% (1986)
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Organized labor: Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, 610,000
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members
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Republic of Albania
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Type: nascent democracy with strong Communist party influence;
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basic law has dropped all references to socialism
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Capital: Tirane
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Administrative divisions: 26 districts (rrethe, singular--rreth);
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Berat, Dibre, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Gramsh,
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Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kukes, Lezhe, Librazhd, Lushnje,
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Mat, Mirdite, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Sarande, Shkoder,
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Skrapar, Tepelene, Tirane, Tropoje, Vlore
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Independence: 28 November 1912 (from Ottoman Empire);
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People's Socialist Republic of Albania declared 11 January 1946
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Constitution: an interim basic law was approved by the People's
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Assembly on 29 April 1991; a new constitution is to be drafted for
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adoption in four to six months
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Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: Liberation Day, 29 November (1944)
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Executive branch: president, prime minister of the Council of
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Ministers, one deputy prime minister of the Council of Ministers
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Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Kuvendi
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Popullor)
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--President of the Republic Ramiz ALIA (since 22
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November 1982);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister of the interim Council of
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Ministers Ylli BUFI (since 5 June 1991);
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Political parties and leaders: Albanian Workers Party (AWP),
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Ramiz ALIA, first secretary;
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Democratic Party (DP), Sali BERISHA, chairman and cofounder with
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Gramoz PASHKO;
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Albanian Republican Party, Sabri GODO;
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Ecology Party, Namik HOTI;
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Omonia (Greek minority party), leader NA;
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Agrarian Party, leader NA;
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note--in December 1990 President ALIA allowed new political parties
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to be formed in addition to the AWP for the first time since 1944
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Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
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Elections:
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President--last held 30 April 1991 (next to be held spring 1992);
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results--President Ramiz ALIA was reelected with token opposition;
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People's Assembly--last held 31 March 1991 (next to be held
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spring 1992);
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results--AWP 68%, DP 25%;
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seats--(250 total) preliminary results AWP 168, DP 75, Omonia 5,
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Veterans Association 1, other 1;
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note--the AWP's votes came mostly from the countryside while the DP
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won majorities in the six-largest cities;
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Communists: 147,000 party members (November 1986); note--in
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March 1991 the Albanian Workers' Party announced that it considered
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itself no longer Communist but socialist
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Member of: ECE, FAO, IAEA, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD,
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UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
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Diplomatic representation: the Governments of the United States and
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Albania agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations to be effective
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from 15 March 1991 and to exchange diplomatic missions at the level
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of ambassador
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Flag: red with a black two-headed eagle in the center below a red
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five-pointed star outlined in yellow
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ECONOMY
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Overview: As the poorest country in Europe, Albania's development
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lags behind even the least favored areas of the Yugoslav economy.
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For over 40 years, the Stalinist-type economy has operated on the
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principles of central planning and state ownership of the means of
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production. In recent years Albania has implemented limited economic
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reforms to stimulate its lagging economy, provide incentives, and
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decentralize decisionmaking. In an effort to expand international
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ties, Tirane has reestablished diplomatic relations with the Soviet
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Union and the US. The Albanians have also passed legislation allowing
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foreign investment. Albania possesses considerable mineral
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resources and, until 1990, was largely self-sufficient in food;
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several years of drought have hindered agricultural development.
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Numerical estimates of Albanian economic activity are subject to an
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especially wide margin of error because the government until recently
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did not release economic information.
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GNP: $4.1 billion, per capita $1,250; real growth rate NA% (1990
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est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
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Unemployment rate: NA%
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Budget: revenues $2.3 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion,
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including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
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Exports: $378 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.);
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commodities--asphalt, bitumen, petroleum products, metals and
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metallic ores, electricity, oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco;
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partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Poland,
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Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary
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Imports: $255 million (f.o.b., 1987 est.);
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commodities--machinery, machine tools, iron and steel products,
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textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals;
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partners--Italy, Yugoslavia, FRG, Czechoslovakia, Romania,
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Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, GDR
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External debt: $NA
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Industrial production: growth rate NA
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Electricity: 1,690,000 kW capacity; 5,000 million kWh produced,
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1,530 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber,
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oil, cement, chemicals, basic metals, hydropower
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Agriculture: arable land per capita among lowest in Europe;
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one-half of work force engaged in farming; produces wide range of
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temperate-zone crops and livestock; claims self-sufficiency in grain
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output
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Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA (1988) $5.8 million
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Currency: lek (plural--leke); 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
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Exchange rates: leke (L) per US$1--8.00 (noncommercial fixed rate
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since 1986), 4.14 (commercial fixed rate since 1987)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 543 km total; 509 1.435-meter standard gauge, single
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track and 34 km narrow gauge, single track (1990); line connecting
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Titograd (Yugoslavia) and Shkoder (Albania) completed August 1986
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Highways: 16,700 km total; 6,700 km highway and roads, 10,000 km
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forest and agricultural (1990)
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Inland waterways: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari,
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Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
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Pipelines: crude oil, 145 km; refined products, 55 km; natural gas,
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64 km (1988)
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Ports: Durres, Sarande, Vlore
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Merchant marine: 11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 52,886
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GRT/75,993 DWT
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Airports: 12 total, 10 usable; more than 5 with permanent-surface
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runways; more than 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways
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1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: stations--17 AM, 1 FM, 9 TV; 246,000 TVs
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(1990); 210,000 radios
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Albanian People's Army, Albanian Coastal Defense Command,
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Air and Air Defense Force, Frontier Troops, Interior Troops
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 900,723; 743,594 fit for
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military service; 33,497 reach military age (19) annually
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Defense expenditures: 1.0 billion leks, NA% of GDP (FY90);
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note--conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
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official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading
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results
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