Читать книгу The 2008 CIA World Factbook - United States. Central Intelligence Agency - Страница 51

Exchange rates:

leke (ALL) per US dollar - 92.668 (2007), 98.384 (2006), 102.649 (2005), 102.78 (2004), 121.863 (2003)

Communications

Albania

Telephones - main lines in use:

353,600 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

2.3 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: despite new investment in fixed lines, the density of main lines remains low with roughly 10 lines per 100 people; cellular telephone use is widespread and generally effective; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density is approximately 75 telephones per 100 persons domestic: offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile phone service has been available since 1996; by 2003, two companies were providing mobile services at a greater density than some of Albania's neighbors; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005; Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread outside the capital international: country code - 355; submarine cable provides connectivity to Italy, Croatia, and Greece; the Trans-Balkan Line, a combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system, provides additional connectivity to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey; international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and, when necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to Italy and Greece (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 13, FM 46, shortwave 1 (2005)

Radios:

1 million (2001)

Television broadcast stations:

65 (3 national, 62 local); 2 cable networks (2005)

Televisions:

700,000 (2001)

Internet country code:

.al

Internet hosts:

10,162 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

10 (2001)

Internet users:

471,200 (2006)

Transportation

Albania

Airports:

11 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2007)

Heliports:

1 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 339 km; oil 207 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 447 km standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 18,000 km paved: 7,020 km unpaved: 10,980 km (2002)

Waterways:

43 km (2007)

Merchant marine:

total: 24 by type: cargo 22, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Turkey 1) registered in other countries: 2 (Panama 2) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore

Military

Albania

Military branches:

Land Forces Command (Army), Naval Forces Command, Air Defense

Command, General Staff Headquarters (includes Logistics Command,

Training and Doctrine Command) (2007)

Military service age and obligation:

19 years of age (2004)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16–49: 944,592 females age 16–49: 908,527 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16–49: 798,454 females age 16–49: 767,143 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 36,340 female: 33,077 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1.49% of GDP (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues

Albania

Disputes - international:

the Albanian Government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in neighboring countries, and the peaceful resolution of interethnic disputes; some ethnic Albanian groups in neighboring countries advocate for a "greater Albania," but the idea has little appeal among Albanian nationals; the mass emigration of unemployed Albanians remains a problem for developed countries, chiefly Greece and Italy

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Albania is a source country for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; it is no longer considered a major country of transit; Albanian victims are trafficked to Greece, Italy, Macedonia, and Kosovo, with many trafficked onward to Western European countries; children were also trafficked to Greece for begging and other forms of child labor; approximately half of all Albanian trafficking victims are under age 18; internal sex trafficking of women and children is on the rise tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Albania is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007, particularly in the area of victim protection; the government did not appropriately identify trafficking victims during 2007, and has not demonstrated that it is vigorously investigating or prosecuting complicit officials (2008)

Illicit drugs:

increasingly active transshipment point for Southwest Asian opiates, hashish, and cannabis transiting the Balkan route and - to a lesser extent - cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; limited opium and growing cannabis production; ethnic Albanian narcotrafficking organizations active and expanding in Europe; vulnerable to money laundering associated with regional trafficking in narcotics, arms, contraband, and illegal aliens

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Algeria

Introduction

Algeria

Background:

After more than a century of rule by France, Algerians fought through much of the 1950s to achieve independence in 1962. Algeria's primary political party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), has dominated politics ever since. Many Algerians in the subsequent generation were not satisfied, however, and moved to counter the FLN's centrality in Algerian politics. The surprising first round success of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the December 1991 balloting spurred the Algerian army to intervene and postpone the second round of elections to prevent what the secular elite feared would be an extremist-led government from assuming power. The army began a crackdown on the FIS that spurred FIS supporters to begin attacking government targets. The government later allowed elections featuring pro-government and moderate religious-based parties, but did not appease the activists who progressively widened their attacks. The fighting escalated into an insurgency, which saw intense fighting between 1992–98 and which resulted in over 100,000 deaths - many attributed to indiscriminate massacres of villagers by extremists. The government gained the upper hand by the late-1990s and FIS's armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army, disbanded in January 2000. However, small numbers of armed militants persist in confronting government forces and conducting ambushes and occasional attacks on villages. The army placed Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA in the presidency in 1999 in a fraudulent election but claimed neutrality in his 2004 landslide reelection victory. Longstanding problems continue to face BOUTEFLIKA in his second term, including the ethnic minority Berbers' ongoing autonomy campaign, large-scale unemployment, a shortage of housing, unreliable electrical and water supplies, government inefficiencies and corruption, and the continuing activities of extremist militants. The 2006 merger of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) with al-Qaida (followed by a name change to al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb) signaled an increase in bombings, including high-profile, mass-casualty suicide attacks targeted against the Algerian government and Western interests. Algeria must also diversify its petroleum-based economy, which has yielded a large cash reserve but which has not been used to redress Algeria's many social and infrastructure problems.

Geography

Algeria

Location:

Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia

Geographic coordinates: