Albania

C

Plant and Animal Life

Some 28 percent of Albania is forested with mixed stands of willow, poplar, elm, pine, oak, and white beech trees. Many of the forests near transportation routes have been heavily logged and some have given way to sheep pastures. In these areas, the soil is either washed or blown away during the summer drought, and even in humid months the grass grows sparsely in clumps. Because of heavy grazing by livestock in the summer and the summer drought, much of Albania is unfavorable for wildlife. Wolves, deer, and boars have been pushed back into the most remote forests. Wild fowl, however, are abundant in lowland forests.

D

Natural Resources

Albania is rich in natural resources. The southwestern part of the country is well endowed with natural gas and petroleum. The northeastern region has large reserves of mineral deposits including chromium, copper, iron, and nickel. Large deposits of lignite (a soft, brown coal) are found near Tirana, and natural asphalt is mined near Selenicë. For centuries the forests have provided fuel in wood and charcoal.

E

Climate

Albania’s climate varies with topography. The coastal lowlands have a Mediterranean climate with arid, almost cloudless summers featuring high temperatures both day and night. Winters are rainy but mild, and in the southern lowlands freezing temperatures are rare. In the mountains rain falls much more often in summer, and the northern regions experience more humidity than the south. Temperatures may soar in the daytime, but nights are much cooler. In winter the mountains, like the lowlands, are subject to heavy and frequent thunderstorms, but in the mountains storms are accompanied by heavy snow.

The average temperatures in August, the hottest month, range from 17° to 31°C (63° to 88°F). In January, the coldest month, they range from 2° to 12°C (36° to 54°F). December, the wettest month, has an average rainfall of 211 mm (8.3 in) while the driest months, July and August, receive only 32 mm (1.3 in) of rain. On the coast annual rainfall averages 1,000 mm (40 in), but it may be as great as 2,500 mm (100 in) in the mountains.

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F

Environmental Issues

Both the former Communist government and new administrations have harvested timber in vast quantities. As a result, many forests are degraded, wildlife is threatened, and farms have taken over land once forested. The effects of past deforestation, livestock grazing, and flooding have contributed to a rate of soil erosion that exceeds the natural process of new soil production. The extraction of oil and minerals has also created environmental problems, contaminating air, soil, and groundwater, particularly in central Albania. Public education about conservation, pollution controls, and recycling is limited, and the government has focused most of its resources on economic growth rather than environmental concerns. However, in the early 1990s several environmental interest groups were established, and the government created a committee to educate the public and offer solutions to environmental problems.

Joining the international community in its concern over the degradation of the environment, Albania is party to international agreements concerning biodiversity, climate change, and wetlands.

III

The People of Albania

In 2009 Albania’s population estimate was 3,639,453, resulting in an average density of 133 persons per sq km (344 per sq mi). More and more people have left rural areas for urban ones, particularly in the northern districts, such that in 2005 some 45 percent of the population lived in urban areas, compared to one-fifth in 1950. Albania has had one of the highest birth rates in Europe since the end of World War II (1939-1945) while the death rate has been one of the continent’s lowest. A high rate of population growth was state policy under the Communist regime, which viewed it as essential to Albania’s strength and prosperity.

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