The Republic of Albania (Shqip?ria) is a Balkan country in Southeastern Europe. It borders Montenegro to the north, Serbia to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west and a coast on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. Despite its troubled history of foreign rule and internal conflict, the country has been classified as an emerging democracy since the 1990s. Albania is continuing to work toward joining NATO and the European Union.

Land area: 10,579 sq mi (27,400 sq km); total area: 11,100 sq mi (28,748 sq km).

Population (2007 est.): 3,600,523 (growth rate: 0.5%); birth rate: 15.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 20.0/1000; life expectancy: 77.6; density per sq mi: 340.

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Tirana, 353,400
Languages: Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek

Ethnicity/race: Albanian 95%, Greeks 3%, other 2%: Vlachs, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians (1989 est.)
Religions: Islam 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% (est.)