Official name: Republika e Shqiperise.
Population: 3.27 million.
Area: 28,750 sq km; bounded by Bosnia and Yugoslavia to the north; former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to the east; Greece to the east and south.
The Greek island of Corfu (Kerkira) lies off the southwest coast.
Capital: Tirana (Tirane) (Population, 363,100).
Other cities: Durres (242,500), Elbasan (238,000), Vlore (174,000).
The people: The Albanian majority are a homogenous ethnic group; sizeable Greek minority.
Religion: Freedom of religion proclaimed in 1989; Islam is the major religion, followed by Greek Orthodox and other Christian churches.
History: Roman province of Illyria, later part of the Byzantine empire and the Serb and Bulgarian kingdoms; Turks invaded in 1431; popular rising in 1912 ended Ottoman occupation; President Ahmed Zogu proclaimed himself King Zog in 1926; annexed by Italy in 1939; Stalinist regime came to power at the end of 1944; end of isolation began with the death of Enver Hoxha in 1985.
Border tensions: Opposition leader, Sali Berisha, has openly supported Kosovo Albanian rebels, who maintain sanctuaries in northern Albania; border tensions with Greece over the Greeks of Epirus and illegal Albanian migrants have subsided in recent years.
President: Rexhep Meidani.
Prime Minister: Fatos Nano.
Political parties: Hoxha's Workers' Party changed its name to the Socialist Party under Nano; opposition Democratic Party led by Sali Berisha.