Between 1990 and 1992 Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven difficult as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks with links to high government officials, and disruptive political opponents. International observers judged parliamentary elections in 2001 and local elections in 2003 to be acceptable and a step toward democratic development, but identified serious deficiencies. Many of these deficiencies have been addressed through bi-partisan changes to the electoral code in 2003 and 2005, but implementation of these changes will not be demonstrated until parliamentary elections in July 2005.

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea, between Greece and Serbia and Montenegro

Slightly smaller than Maryland

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Mild temperate; cool, cloudy, wet winters; hot, clear, dry summers; interior is cooler and wetter

Destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought

Deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents

Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements

Strategic location along Strait of Otranto (links Adriatic Sea to Ionian Sea and Mediterranean Sea)