s centrally planned system in 1990 and
1991. Stabilization policies - including a strict monetary policy,
public sector layoffs, and reduced social services - have improved the
government's fiscal situation and reduced inflation. The recovery was
spurred by the remittances of some 20% of the population which works
abroad, mostly in Greece and Italy. These remittances supplement GDP
and help offset the large foreign trade deficit. Foreign assistance
and humanitarian aid also supported the recovery. Most agricultural
land was privatized in 1992, substantially improving peasant incomes.
Albania's limited industrial sector, now less than one-sixth of GDP,
continued to decline in 1994. A sharp fall in chromium prices reduced
hard currency receipts from the mining sector. Large segments of the
population, especially those living in urban areas, continue to depend
on humanitarian aid to meet basic food requirements. Unemployment
remains a severe problem accounting for approximately one-fifth of the
work force. Growth is expected to continue in 1995, but could falter
if Albania becomes involved in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia,
workers' remittances from Greece are reduced, or foreign assistance
declines.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $3.8 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 11% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $1,110 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 18% (1994 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.1 billion
expenditures: $1.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $70
million (1991 est.)

Exports: $112 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: asphalt, metals and metallic ores, electricity, crude
oil, vegetables, fruits, tobacco
partners: Italy, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany,
Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary

Imports: $621 million (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: machinery, consumer goods, grains
partners: Italy, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany,
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece

External debt: $920 million (1994 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate -10% (1993 est.); accounts for 16%
of GDP (1993 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 770,000 kW
production: 4 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,200 kWh (1994)

Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, lumber, oil,