Ethnic divisions: Albanian 90%, Greek 8%, other 2% (Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians)
Principal languages: Albanian (Tosk is official dialect), Greek
Principal religions: Note--all religious observances prohibited 1967-1990; estimates of religious affiliation--Muslim 70%, Greek Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10%
Rank of affluence among U.N. members: 103/183
Long Europe's poorest and most isolated state, Albania has a history of domination by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Turks. It was
a major battlefield in World War I, then a monarchy ruled by a Muslim--King Zog I. Enver Hoxha, a tyrannical Communist, seized power near the end of the second world war and ruled from 1944 until his death in 1985.
During his Stalinist reign he executed thousands, installed a network of spies, banned all foreign contact, and suppressed Albania's Muslim traditions (a legacy of occupation by the Turks). Hoxha, a purist of sorts, brooked no criticism. He cut off relations with other dictators when they moderated their policies, eventually becoming the sole Communist leader to break with both the Soviet Union and China. Soon after his death came the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and then the Soviet Union.
True to its instinct for independence, the Albanian Communist party tried to resist, but after an economic collapse it was pushed out in 1992. The new, non-Communist president, Sali Berisha, began the difficult task of trying to rebuild the economy. It will not be easy: the nation cannot grow enough food for its people, and has almost nothing to trade. Little wonder that Albanians by the thousands are fleeing their mountain villages.
