Complex tax codes and licensing requirements, a weak judicial system, endemic corruption, poor enforcement of contracts and property issues, and antiquated infrastructure contribute to Albania's poor business environment making attracting foreign investment difficult. However, A dispute arose concerning the status of Kosovo. Elbasan history dates back to the 5th century as it played a critical role in the spread if Christianity. In Albania, World War II began with its invasion by Italy in April 1939. An award-winning Ukrainian e-government app and digital platform supported by the United States is accelerating Ukraine's digital transformation - and it's about to expand to more countries. In the same month a partisan detachment laid an ambush for an Italian transport column en route to Gjirokastr. [3] On April 12, the Albanian parliament voted to depose Zog and unite the nation with Italy "in personal union" by offering the Albanian crown to Victor Emmanuel III[5] and the Italians set up a fascist government under Shefqet Verlaci and soon absorbed Albania's military and diplomatic service into Italy's. Elbasan has a total population of about 126,703 making it one of the biggest cities in the country. The Italians hoped that extensive investment in Albania would bring both economic and political benefits. In terms of population, Albania is one of the smaller countries in Europe, with just three million residents as of 2016. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, it has slowed, and the country is still one of the poorest in Europe. )imports: 110,000 metric tons (2020 est. )tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est. Resistance to the occupation grew rapidly as signs of Italian weakness became apparent. 1 Tirana (Tiran) the capital. In Durrs, a force of only 360 Albanians, mostly gendarmes and townspeople, led by Abaz Kupi, the commander of the gendarmerie in Durrs, and Mujo Ulqinaku, a marine official, tried to halt the Italian advance. [citation needed], As Germany annexed Austria and moved against Czechoslovakia, Italy saw itself becoming a second-rate member of the Axis. Albania has been a candidate for accession to . Enver Hoxha and a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, Mehmet Shehu, eventually rose to become the most powerful figures in Albania for decades after the war. At the end of 1942, guerrilla forces numbered no more than 8,000 to 10,000. Albania's political history is visible in the Ottoman, Fascist, and Soviet-era architecture that still dominates its capital city, and the country also benefits from being one of the sunniest countries in Europe, ranking just below Nice and Monaco in 2016 with 2544 hours of sunshine. The population of the municipalities and municipal units of Albania. Currency: lek. Albanian resistance began in 1940 with small etas but it became a significant force in 1942. In Albania, World War II began with its invasion by Italy in April 1939. )major-language sample(s): Libri i fakteve boterore, burim i pa zevendesueshem per informacione elementare. Name Population Area (km) Region Prague (Praha) 1,391,508: 496: Prague Brno: 377,028: 230: South Moravian Region: Ostrava: 314,590: 214: In his memoirs published in 1984, British Special Operations Executive David Smiley wrote: "Mehmet Shehu was a short, wiry, dark sallow-faced man of about thirty who seldom smiled except at other people's misfortunes. Shkoder has a population of about 102,075 people living in 872.71 km2 area. Albania: Prefectures and Major Cities with population statistics, maps, charts, weather and web information. It had 20,000 regular soldiers and guerrillas in the field by that time. In September 1942, the party organised a popular front organisation, the National Liberation Movement (NLM), from a number of resistance groups, including several that were strongly anti-Communist. There were also other small groups of Wehrmacht deserters dispersed among Albanian partisan forces, composed of Germans, Austrians, Frenchmen, Czechs and Poles. Albania's capital city is Tirana and is by far the largest city and powerhouse of the Albanian economy.Albania's second city and major port is Durrs.Further, some cities form fourth level and final subdivisions called municipal units (njsi bashkiake, lagje or rajone). The warfare ceased for a while.[16]. )imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est. Vlor is the second largest port in Albania after Durrs. )proven reserves: 5.692 billion cubic meters (2021 est. Since large cities tend to have . After several false starts, the mission made contact with the NLM. Its objective was to resist German troops with help from the Albanian Partisans. Vlore. ), deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents; air pollution from industrial and power plants; loss of biodiversity due to lack of resources for sound environmental management, party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlandssigned, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements, particulate matter emissions: 17.87 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est. ), total: 4.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est. Tirana is known as a primate city, as it is disproportionately larger than any other cities in Albania its population of around half a million people (which increases to over 850,000 if the surrounding metropolitan area is included) is significantly larger than any other city in the country. Dajt is a popular tourist site for a great view of the city. In both states, the share of workers with college degrees exceeds the national rate. The Nazis then occupied it until the communist liberated it in 1944. The British military mission urged the remnants of the nationalists not to oppose the communists' advance, and the Allies recalled their representatives with them to Italy. They supported the creation of Greater Albania by Italians and called for the creation of a republic and the introduction of economic and social reforms, opposing King Zog's return. 7-to-1: Letter 'H' Cities. Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header. On 14 September 1943, an Albanian government was then set up under Cafo Beg Ulqini, Ibrahim Biaku of Elbasan, Bedri Pejani and Xhafer Deva of Kosovo. The country continues to face high public debt, exceeding its former statutory limit of 60% of GDP in 2013 and reaching 72% in 2016. Paris became the Albanian communists' hub until Nazi deportations depleted their ranks after the fall of France in 1940. In August 1944 a new unit was formed in Third Shock Brigade from some 40 Wehrmacht deserters (mostly Armenians and Turkmen). Albania stood in an unenviable position after World War II. List of cities (statutrn msto in Czech) Krlovec not included yet. ), total: 10.82 deaths/1,000 live birthsmale: 11.85 deaths/1,000 live birthsfemale: 9.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est. Compare cost of living by city. Since 2014, Albanias economy has steadily improved and economic growth reached 3.8% in 2017. The Albanian military was placed under Italian command and formally merged into the Italian Army in 1940. Italy 45%, Spain 8%, Germany 6%, Greece 5%, France 4%, China 4% (2019), leather footwear and parts, crude petroleum, iron alloys, clothing, electricity, perfumes (2019), $8.004 billion (2021 est.) Population: 2,854,191: Largest City Tiran (Tirana) (493,712) Currency : Leke (ALL) GDP: $15.28 Billion: GDP Per Capita: This page was last . In anticipation of such invasion, the Wehrmacht drew up a series of military plans for action against Italian holdings in the Balkans code-named Konstantin. )-$1.315 billion (2020 est. Eventually, the number of combat groups and partisan detachments, reinforced by deserters from the army, had grown to dozens, with over 3,000 men. Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939 and occupied by Germany in 1943. )$37.619 billion (2020 est. Last modified August 30, 2022. The dominant figure in modern Albanian history, Enver Hoxha rose from obscurity to lead his people for a longer time than any other ruler. )subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 91 (2020 est. The total population according to the 2011 census was 2,821,977 consisting of an enumerated population of 2,800,138 plus 21,839 refusals. There is a small valley which overlooks the Adriatic Sea. Facts about Albania. The Balli Kombtar, which had fought against the Italians, were threatened by the superior forces of the LNC and the Yugoslav Partisans, who were backed by the Allies. Albania: . Cities []. statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account. 1. Initial reports of the Italian activity were quite favourable. Along with neighbouring and mainly Albanian-inhabited Kosovo, it has a Muslim majority . In July 2016, Albania passed constitutional amendments reforming the judicial system in order to strengthen the rule of law and to reduce deeply entrenched corruption. List of cities in Montenegro by population. )$9.547 billion (2018 est. In fact, the country had no fully-fledged Communist Party before World War II. After returning to Albania in 1936 without having earned a degree, he taught French for years at his former lyce and participated in a communist cell in Kor. The official list of cities was geo-referenced and overlaid with globally-available spatial data to produce city-level indicators capturing spatial characteristics (e.g., urban footprint) and proxies for economic activity. (Based on the recent leak of wage data, foreigners working in Albania can live their best life of lives in the country.) The 2019 population density in Albania is 105 people per Km 2 (272 people per mi 2), calculated on a total land area of 27,400 Km2 (10,579 sq. These attempts were quickly abandoned after the Germans and Italians overran Yugoslavia. Albania is located in southeastern Europe in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula and covers an area of about 28,748 square km. During the Roman Empire reign, the city was part of Epirus Nova, a vital port to the sustainability of the empire. 78.57yrs. The 2000s brought about further decline, and the population is just 2.9 million in 2020, a decline of approximately 400,000 people in thirty years. Tirana is also the 7th largest city in the Balkan Peninsula with a population of 858,262. Cities and towns in Albania belong to the following size ranges in terms of the number of population: An 'Urban Audit City' is an area, where at least 50% of the city's population lives in an urban centre as well as where at least 75% of the urban centre's population lives in a city. Statista. [30] Hoxha became the chairman of the council's executive committee and the National Liberation Army's supreme commander. According to the 2011 Census, Albania had a population of about 2,831,741. Largest Cities in Albania CITY NAME Vlore is an important seaport and commercial center as well. ), $9.311 billion (2019 est. Furthermore, thousands of Cham Albanians were driven out of Greece and accused of collaborating with the Axis occupation forces. British agents working in Albania during the war fed the Albanian resistance fighters with false information that the Allies were planning a major invasion of the Balkans and urged the disparate Albanian groups to unite their efforts. There was a great flow of Wehrmacht deserters during the end of conflict to Albania from September to October 1944 as German forces began withdrawing from Albania. As of 2014, there were 74 cities classified as urban areas and 2,972 villages as rural areas in Albania. )wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est. The lowest rate of unemployment of these years is 12.3% in 1996, while the highest is 18.4% in 1999. [18], The NLM formally established the National Liberation Army (NLA) in July 1943 with Spiro Moisiu as its military chief and Enver Hoxha as its political officer. The officers of this command were attached to British missions in Albania and were repatriated to Italy in August 1944. ), total dependency ratio: 48.2youth dependency ratio: 24.1elderly dependency ratio: 24.1potential support ratio: 4.2 (2021 est. The British had tried mounting liaison operations into Italian-occupied Albania in early 1941, from what was then neutral Yugoslavia. Albania in April 2017 received a European Commission recommendation to open EU accession negotiations following the passage of historic EU-mandated justice reforms in 2016. The Balli Kombtar were also active in Kosovo and Macedonia. The bulk of the stores received in this and subsequent drops were donated to the NLM, who were the dominant group in Southern Albania, and were used to equip the "First Partisan Brigade". 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