| Poor and backward by European standards, Albania is making the difficult
transition to a more modern open-market economy. The government has taken measures to
curb violent crime and to spur economic activity and trade. The economy is bolstered
by annual remittances from abroad of $600-$800 million, mostly from Greece and Italy;
this helps offset the towering trade deficit. Agriculture, which accounts for about
one-half of GDP, is held back because of frequent drought and the need to modernize
equipment, to clarify property rights, and to consolidate small plots of land. Energy
shortages and antiquated and inadequate infrastructure make it difficult to attract
and sustain foreign investment. The planned construction of a new thermal power plant
near Vlore and improved transmission and distribution facilities will help relieve the
energy shortages. Also, the government is moving slowly to improve the poor national
road and rail network, a long-standing barrier to sustained economic growth. On the
positive side: growth was strong in 2003 and 2004, the nation has important oil and
gas reserves, and inflation is not a problem.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $17.46 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.6% (2004 est.), 7.5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2004 est.), $3,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 55%
industry: 24%
services: 21% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 25% (2004 est.), 19.6% (1996 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 1.692 million (including 352,000 emigrant workers and 261,000
domestically unemployed) (1994 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 50%, industry and
services 50%
Unemployment rate: 16% (2000 est.) officially; may be as high as
25%
Budget:
revenues: $393 million
expenditures: $676 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing; lumber, oil, cement,
chemicals, mining, basic metals, hydropower
Industrial production growth rate: 9% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 5.332 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 3.81%
hydro: 96.19%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 5.379 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 100 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 600 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, sugar beets,
grapes; meat, dairy products
Exports: 310 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores,
crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco
Exports - partners: Italy 67%, Greece 15%, Germany 5%, Austria 2%,
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 2% (2000)
Imports: $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals
Imports - partners: Italy 37%, Greece 28%, Turkey 6%, Germany 6%,
Bulgaria 3% (2000)
Debt - external: $1 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $NA; aid for energy from China, Germany,
Norway (2000)
Currency: 1 lek (L) = 100 qintars
SOURCES: The World Factbook, U.S. Department of State |