| Albania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the country in southern Europe. For other uses, see Albania (disambiguation).
Republika e Shqipėrisė
Republic of Albania
Flag
Coat of arms
Motto:
Ti Shqipėri mė jep nder, mė jep emrin shqipėtar
(You Albania give me honor, you give me the name Albanian.)
Anthem: Rreth flamurit tė pėrbashkuar
("United Around the Flag")
Location of Albania (orange)
on the European continent (white) [Legend]
Capital
Tirana
41°20'N 19°48'E? / ?41.333, 19.8
Largest city
Tirana
Official languages
Albanian
Demonym
Albanian
Government
Parliamentary republic
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President
Bamir Topi
-
Prime Minister
Sali Berisha
Independence
from the Ottoman Empire
-
Date
November 28, 1912
Area
-
Total
28,748 km² (139th)
11,100 sq mi
-
Water (%)
4.7
Population
-
2008 estimate
3,600,523 [2] (130th)
-
Density
134/km² (63)
318.6/sq mi
GDP (PPP)
2008 estimate
-
Total
$21.160 billion[1] (112th)
-
Per capita
$6,649 (100th)
Gini (2005)
26.7 (low)
HDI (2007)
? 0.801 (high) (68th)
Currency
Lek (ALL)
Time zone
CET (UTC+1)
-
Summer (DST)
CEST (UTC+2)
Internet TLD
.al
Calling code
+355
Albania, officially the Republic of Albania (Albanian Republika e Shqipėrisė pronounced [??'publika ? ?cip?'?i?s], or simply Shqipėria) is a country in South Eastern Europe. Albania is bordered by Greece to the south-east, Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, and the Republic of Macedonia to the east. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 100 km (60 miles) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto.
The country is a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, and World Trade Organisation.
It is also a potential candidate for membership in the European Union and received a NATO membership invitation on 3 April 2008.
Albania is a parliamentary democracy that is transforming its economy into a market-oriented system. The Albanian capital, Tirana, is home to 350,000 of the country's 3.6 million population. As a result of the opening of the country in the post-communist era, Albania is now undergoing a development boom as its telecommunications, transport and utilities infrastructure is being revamped.
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