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Albania

Albania
General information
Common nameAlbania
Local name 
Name 
Motto
"Ti, Shqipëri, më jep nder, më jep emrin Shqiptar"
 
"You, Albania, give me honor, give me the name Albanian"
Anthem  
 
"Hymn to the Flag"

CapitalTirana
Largest citycapital
Official languagesAlbanian1
Ethnic groups92% Albanians,
6% Greeks, 2% others
DemonymAlbanian
Government
GovernmentParliamentary republic
PresidentBamir Topi
Prime MinisterSali Berisha
FormationFormation
Principality of Arbër1190
League of Lezhë2 March 1444
Independence from the Ottoman Empire28 November 1912
Recognized by the Great Powers2 December 1912
Current Constitution28 November 1998
Geography
Total Area11100 sq mi (28749 km2) (143rd)
Water %4.7
Demography
Population Est.3,194,972 (136th|population_census=3,069,275 )
Population census3,069,275 (2001)
Density (pop.)126.5/km2 (63) (327.8/sq mi)
Economy
GDP PPP$23.912 billion (2010)
GDP (PPP) per capita$7,468
GDP (nominal)$11.898 billion (2010)
GDP (nominal) per capita$3,716
Other information
Gini26.7 (2005) (low)
HDI(+) 0.719 (2010) (high) (64th)
CurrencyLek (ALL)
Time zoneCET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on theright
Internet TLD.al
Calling code355

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Albania (c-enaudio=en-us-Albania, officially known as the Republic of Albania ( pronounced -sqɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs; Gheg Albanian: Republika e Shqipnísë), is a country in Southeast Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 72 km (44.7 mi) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.

Albania is a member of the UN, NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, World Trade Organisation, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and one of the founding members of the Union for the Mediterranean. Albania has been a potential candidate for accession to the European Union since January 2003, and it formally applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009. Albania has the distinction of being the largest Muslim-majority sovereign country wholly within Europe.

Albania is a parliamentary democracy with a transition economy. The Albanian capital, Tirana, is home to approximately 600,000 of the country's 3,000,000 people. Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy and transportation infrastructure. Albania was chosen as the top country in Lonely Planet's list of ten top countries to visit for 2011.


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