Most of the Albanian population lives in the countryside and is engaged in agriculture. The country has a considerable agricultural and cattle-raising potential. The major agricultural products are temperate-zone crops and livestock. Albania’s sedimentary rocks contain large deposits of coal as well as petroleum and bitumen. Other natural resources are natural gas, chromium, copper ore, iron ore and nickel. The size of the industry is significant with an emphasis on mechanical production and shipbuilding. Albania has a mineral extraction and processing industry mainly of chromium, iron, nickel, copper ore, as well as gold.

Albania is situated in South-eastern Europe, to the West of the Balkan Peninsula. It has borders with Montenegro and Serbia in the North and North-east, Macedonia in the East, and Greece in the South-west. In the West, it has a long coast along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Albania is a small country with a rich landscape. It has numerous rivers, mountains and three large lakes. The highest altitudes are found in the Albanian Alps and in the mountains of the Eastern Range. The lowest elevations are found in the coastal lowlands. Albania falls under the humid subtropical belt of the Northern Hemisphere, and is in the Mediterranean climatic zone with relatively short, soft and very humid winters and hot dry summers.

GDP at Current Market Prices:	7946.13 million US$ (2004)
Per Capita GDP:	2471.84 US$ (2004)
Share of Sectors in GDP:	24.48% Agriculture, 19.0% Industry, 56.0% Services, (2003)
Total Exports:	1484.64 million US$ (2004)
Total Imports:	3243.54 million US$ (2004)
Major Exports Items:	Copper cable, canned goods, asphalt, metals, crude oil and vegetables
Major Imports Items:	Machinery, consumer goods and grains
Major Trading Partners:	Italy, Greece, Turkey, Germany and Bulgaria

Albanian Government

Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Institute of Statistics

Bank of Albania