Overall map of Albania.  Note that Greece and Italy are the largest neighbours. This was obtained from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maps_of_Albania

 

First, here are some basic facts and figures about Albania:

Albania is located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula

The total land area of Albania is 28,500 square kilometres (England 130,000 square kilometres)

The total population of Albania, in 2003, was about 3.6 million people

The capital city is Tirana, with a population of about 350,000 people

The unit of currency is the Lek (at the time of writing, 1 US dollar = 96.6 Leke)

Now here are some facts about the population of Albania:

The overall life expectancy (at birth) is about 77 years

This breaks down to 80 years for women and 75 years for men

The fertility rate is a little over two children born per woman

The population growth rate is a little over 0.5% per year

The literacy rate in Albania is 93% for men and 80% for women

70% of Albanians are Muslims, 20% are Albanian Orthodox and the remainder are Roman Catholic

Next, some facts about the geography of Albania:

The overall terrain in Albania is mountainous with peaks ranging between 2,100 and 2,400 m

Forests cover nearly 40% of the total land area of Albania

The climate of Albania tends towards mild winters and hot summers (as I well recall)

Natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromium, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber

Natural hazards include destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along south-western coast; floods; drought

Finally some facts and figures about the economy of Albania

Albania is one of the poorest and least-developed countries in Europe

The Gross Domestic Product is a shade under $19 billion

The average annual salary in Albania is less than $100 per month (the scientists I worked with when I was over there earned about $7 per day in 2000)

The total number of people in jobs (excluding immigrants) is just over 1 million

The "official" estimates of rate of unemployment is around 15%

Italy is Albania's biggest export partner