Albania

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Republic of Albania

Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Feja e Shqiptarit është Shqiptaria
(The faith of Albanians is Albanism)[1] (national)
Ti, Shqipëri, më jep nder, më jep emrin Shqiptar
(You Albania give me honor, you give me the name Albanian) (traditional)
Anthem: Himni i Flamurit
("The Banner Hymn")


Capital
(and largest city) Tirana
19°48′E / 41.333°N 19.8°E / 41.333; 19.8
Official language(s) Albanian¹
Demonym Albanian
Government Parliamentary republic
 -  President Bamir Topi
 -  Prime Minister Sali Berisha
Formation
 -  Independence from the Ottoman Empire 28 November 1912 
 -  Current Constitution 28 November 1998 
Area
 -  Total 28,748 km² (139th)
11,100 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) 4.7
Population
 -  2009 estimate 3,639,453[2] (129th)
 -  Density 126.6/km² (63)
327.8/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $21.864 billion[3] (110th)
 -  Per capita $7,018[3] (95th)
GDP (nominal) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $12.964 billion[3] (113th)
 -  Per capita $4,089[3] (94th)
Gini (2005) 26.7 (low) 
HDI (2007) ▲ 0.818 (high) (70th)
Currency Lek (ALL)
Time zone CET (UTC+01)
 -  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+02) (UTC{{{utc_offset_DST}}})
Drives on the right
Internet TLD .al
Calling code 355
¹ Greek, Macedonian and other regional languages are government-recognized minority languages.

Albania /ælˈbeɪniə/ (help·info) al-BAY-nee-ə (Albanian: Shqipëri/Shqipëria, Gheg Albanian: Shqipnia or Shqypnia), officially the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, pronounced [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs]), is a country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo[a] to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 72 km (45 mi) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.

Albania is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Council of Europe, World Trade Organisation, Organisation of the Islamic Conference and one of the founding members of the Union for the Mediterranean. Albania has been a potential candidate for accession to the European Union since January 2003, and it formally applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009.[4]

Albania is a parliamentary democracy and a transition economy. The Albanian capital, Tirana, is home to approximately 727,000 of the country's 3.6 million people, and it is also the financial capital of the country.[5] Free-market reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy and transportation infrastructure.[6][7][8]

Etymology

Albania is the Medieval Latin name of the country which is called Shqipëri by its inhabitants. In Medieval Greek, the country's name is Albania (Greek: Αλβανία) besides variants Albanitia, Arbanitia.[9]

The name may be derived from the Illyrian tribe of the Albani recorded by Ptolemy, the geographer and astronomer from Alexandria who drafted a map in 150 AD[10] that shows the city of Albanopolis[11] (located northeast of Durrës).

The name may have a continuation in the name of a medieval settlement called Albanon and Arbanon, although it is not certain this was the same place.[12] In his History written in 1079–1080, Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates was the first to refer to Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the Duke of Dyrrachium.[13] During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbër or Arbën and referred to themselves as Arbëresh or Arbnesh.[14][15]

As early as the 16th century, a new name for their home evolved among Albanian people: Shqipëria, popularly interpreted as "Land of the Eagles" or "Land of the Mountain Eagle" hence the two-headed bird on the national flag,[16] though most likely the origin lies in Skanderbeg's use of the Byzantine double-headed eagle on his seals.[17][18]

Under the Ottoman Empire Albania was referred to officially as Arnavutluk and its inhabitants as arnaut.[19]

History

Antiquity

The first recorded inhabitants in the territory of Albania were the Illyrians,[20] an Indo-European people that inhabited the area corresponding to northern and central Albania.[21] The Illyrian tribes that resided in the region of modern Albania were the Taulantii[22] the Parthini, the Abri, the Caviii, the Enchelei,[23] and several others. In the westernmost parts of the territory of Albania there lived the Bryges,[24] a Phrygian people, and in the south were the Greek Chaonians.

Beginning in the 8th century BC, Greek colonies were established on the Illyrian coast. The most important were Apollonia, Avlona (modern-day Vlorë), Epidamnos (modern-day Durrës), and Lissus (modern-day Lezhë). The rediscovered Greek city of Buthrotum (modern-day Butrint), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is probably more significant today than it was when Julius Caesar used it as a provisions depot for his troops during his campaigns in the 1st century BC. At that time, it was considered an unimportant outpost, overshadowed by Apollonia and Epidamnos.[25]