ALBANIA

STATS

• Population- 2.774 million
• Population density- 106
• PCI- 10,400
• GDP- 12.92 million

MAJOR RESOURCES

• Natural gas
• Copper
• Iron ore
• Nickel

PEOPLE

• Religion- Islam and Christianity
• Language- Albanian
• Life expectancy female- 76
• Life expectancy male- 73

MOST POPULATED CITIES

• Tirana (capital)- 418,495
• Durrës- 122,034
• Elbasan- 100,903

POLITICAL AND PHYSICAL MAP

HISTORY

• A part of Illyria in ancient times and later of the Roman Empire, Albania was ruled by the Byzantine Empire from 535 to 1204.
• An alliance (1444–1466) of Albanian chiefs failed to halt the advance of the Ottoman Turks, and the country remained under at least nominal Turkish rule for more than four centuries, until it proclaimed its independence on Nov. 28, 1912.

CULTURE

• Albanians are native Balkan people who live in Southern Europe
• Albanians live in ethnically compact settlements in large areas
• There are two cultural groups in Albanian territories: The Ghegs and Tosks