Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges of reducing crime and corruption, promoting economic growth, and decreasing the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure. Albania has played a largely helpful role in managing inter-ethnic tensions in southeastern Europe, and is continuing to work toward joining NATO and the EU. Albania, with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been a strong supporter of the global war on terrorism.

You can use this information freely, but first please provide a reciprocal link and include the following source code on the page where you are using the information:

<a title="Albania Country Profile" href="http://www.bttranslations.com/countries/albania.htm" > Albania Country Profile</a> from the site of <a title="BTT Translation Company" href="http://www.bttranslations.com/">BTT Translation Services</a>

If you paste it, it should look like this:

Albania Country Profile from the site of BTT Translation Services


Communications of Albania
Economy of Albania
Geography of Albania
Government of Albania
Transnational Issues of Albania
Military of Albania
People of Albania
Transportation of Albania


The information above is a partial reproduction of Google Maps and the CIA World Factbook.

An Internation Business Forum on ITER, EASYLIMO UK LTD Go-Easycars.co.uk