[53] In 1367, various Albanian rulers established the Despotate of Arta. The Lake of Shkodër is the largest lake in Southern Europe and located in northwest. At this period many socialist-styled complexes, wide roads and factories were constructed, while town squares were redesigned and numerous of historic and important buildings demolished. [64] Enjoying this privileged position, they held various high administrative positions with over two dozen Albanian Grand Viziers among others members of the prominent Köprülü family, Zagan Pasha, Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Ali Pasha of Tepelena however, two sultans such as Bayezid II and Mehmed III had both mothers of Albanian origin. [49][50][51] Arbanon is considered to be the first sketch of an Albanian state, that retained a semi-autonomous status as the western extremity of the Byzantine Empire, under the Byzantine Doukai of Epirus or Laskarids of Nicaea.[52]. Although China has one of the world's largest economies, there is a huge income gap, widespread poverty, and a slower urbanization rate than that of developed countries. Other significant examples include: a baptism formula (Unte paghesont premenit Atit et Birit et spertit senit) from 1462, written in Albanian within a Latin text by the Bishop of Durrës, Pal Engjëlli; a glossary of Albanian words of 1497 by Arnold von Harff, a German who had travelled through Albania, and a 15th-century fragment of the Bible from the Gospel of Matthew, also in Albanian, but written in Greek letters. Instead, what many now interpret "Third World" to mean encompasses economically poor and non-industrialized countries, as well as newly industrialized countries. This is claimed to be an attempt to intimidate minorities into declaring Albanian ethnicity; according to them the Albanian government has stated that it will jail anyone who does not participate in the census or refuse to declare his or her ethnicity. During the last years of the war, the country fell into a civil war-like state between the communists and nationalists. [119], On 26 November 2019, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake ravaged Albania with the epicenter positioned 16 km (10 mi) southwest of the town of Mamurras. This term was used to describe countries that were not aligned with the Communist Bloc or NATO or that were neutral. [167], The chief purpose of the armed forces of Albania is the defence of the independence, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the country, as well as the participation in humanitarian, combat, non-combat and peace support operations. Albania has been an active member of the United Nations since 1955. However, the United Kingdom and Austro-Hungarian Empire consequently blocked the arrangement and caused the Treaty of Berlin. The country has never had an official religion either as a republic or as a kingdom. It is an official candidate for membership in the European Union. The Shkumbin river is the rough dividing line between the two dialects. 0.3 Senegal. [135] The average precipitation is about 1,485 millimetres (58.5 inches). In 1272, he established the Kingdom of Albania and conquered regions back from the Despotate of Epirus. [237] In comparison to other developed and developing countries, Albania has a relatively low rate of obesity probably thanks to the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Albania is the top performing country in the world in terms of ease of hiring foreign labors, the Global Competitiveness Report says. Algeria Algiers, Algeria. The largest county in Albania, by population, is Tirana County with over 800,000 people. It handles about 1.5 million passengers each year. [165] In 2014, it also joined the United Nations Human Rights Council from 2015 to 2017 and was elected vice president in 2015. Today the term is often used to describe the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia/Oceania. [228][7], Compulsory primary education is divided into two levels, elementary and secondary school, from grade one to five and six to nine, respectively. Contemporary artists Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, Era Istrefi, Dua Lipa, Ava Max, Bleona, Elvana Gjata, Ermonela Jaho, and Inva Mula have achieved international recognition for their music,[356] while soprano Ermonela Jaho has been described by some as the "world's most acclaimed soprano". [137] The mean monthly temperature ranges between −1 °C (30 °F) in winter to 21.8 °C (71.2 °F) in summer. There has been a considerable increase in private car ownership and bus usage while rail use decreased since the end of communism. Vietnam's economy is continuing to grow, and its education and health care have made significant improvements in the past 20 years. [249] Withal the TAP runs for 215 kilometres (134 miles) across Albania's territory before entering the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast approximately 17 kilometres (11 miles) northwest of Fier. [357] Albanian opera singer Saimir Pirgu was nominated for the 2017 Grammy Award.[358]. His unequal fight against them won the esteem of Europe also among others financial and military aid from the Papacy and Naples, Venice and Ragusa. Several gramophone compilations were recorded at the time by the three artists, which eventually led to the recognition of Albanian iso-polyphony as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.[354]. The league was later defeated by the Ottoman army sent by the sultan. During the Peoples Republic of Albania, Albanian cinema developed rapidly with the inauguration of the Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re in Tirana. [168][169], Albania has committed to increase the participations in multinational operations. [295] Among young people aged 25 or less, English, German and Turkish have seen rising interest after 2000. [324][325] Some Muslim Community officials expressed unhappiness with the data claiming that many Muslims were not counted and that the number of adherents numbered some 70% of the Albanian population. There are 15 national parks, 4 ramsar sites, 1 biosphere reserve and 786 other types of conservation reserves across Albania all of them depicting a huge variety of natural sceneries ranging from imposing mountains to picturesque coasts.[156]. One road sign in Albanian and a minority language (Macedonian) and one in Albanian and a foreign language for tourists (English) in Pustec. [42], The Roman Empire was split in 395 upon the death of Theodosius I into an Eastern and Western Roman Empire in part because of the increasing pressure from threats during the Barbarian Invasions. Tirana is its capital and largest city. Three Albanian archaeological sites are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. [219] The country plans to progressively increase the number of airports especially in the south with possible locations in Sarandë, Gjirokastër and Vlorë.[220]. Of particular concern is the Vjosë, which represents one of the last intact large river systems in Europe. Albania’s economic transition stumbled in 1997 when individual investors, constituting perhaps one-third of the country’s population, fell prey to a pyramid finance scheme that devastated the national economy and led to weeks of anarchy. [259] Vodafone Albania alone served more than 931,000 mobile users, Telekom Albania had about 605,000 users and Albtelecom had more than 272,000 users. Districts colored gray are those where a majority of people did not declare an ethnicity (the question was optional). The constitution of Albania guarantees equal, free and universal health care for all its citizens. People's Daily. In the field of education, illiteracy was eliminated among the country's adult population. Brazil is part of BRICS and has the largest economy of any country in South America and Central America; however, Brazil has a low BDP per capita, low living standards, and high birth and death rates. [313][314][315][316] The first recorded Protestant of Albania was Said Toptani, who travelled around Europe and returned to Tirana in 1853, where he preached Protestantism. [311] It later emerged as the majority religion, during centuries of Ottoman rule,[312] though a significant Christian minority remained. The principal ports serve a system of ferries connecting Albania with numerous islands and coastal cities in Croatia, Greece and Italy. [171] It was invited to join NATO on 3 April 2008, and it became a full member on 2 April 2009. [99], The average annual increase in the country's national income was 29% and 56% higher than the world and European average, respectively. [157] Encircled by numerous two-thousanders, Valbonë Valley National Park and Theth National Park cover a combined territory of 106.3 square kilometres (41.0 sq mi) within the rugged Albanian Alps in northern Albania. Some parts of this seaside are very clean ecologically, which represent in this prospective unexplored areas, which are very rare within the Mediterranean. Albania plans to build three hydropower plants. Albanian wine is also common throughout the country, and has been cultivated for thousands of years. The resulting civil war caused a wave of evacuations of foreign nationals and refugees.[111]. [158], The government is based on the separation and balancing of powers among the legislative, judiciary and executive. Archaeological sites from this period include the Kamenica Tumulus, Konispol Cave and Pellumbas Cave. The Prehistory of the Balkans; and the Middle East and the Aegean World, Tenth to Eighth Centuries B.C. [329] In 2008, there were 694 Catholic churches and 425 orthodox churches, 568 mosques and 70 bektashi tekkes in the country.[330][331]. Black tea with a slice of lemon and sugar, milk, or honey is also popular. Class struggle was strictly applied, human freedom and human rights were denied. [83][84] Meanwhile, the revolt of Albanian peasants against the new Albanian regime erupted under the leadership of the group of Muslim clerics gathered around Essad Pasha Toptani, who proclaimed himself the savior of Albania and Islam. The rise of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empire in the Middle Ages was accompanied by a corresponding growth in Christian and Islamic art in the lands of Albania which are apparent in examples of architecture and mosaics throughout the country. The main international organisation that was involved was the Western European Union's multinational Albanian Police element, which worked with the government to restructure the judicial system and simultaneously the Albanian police. 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