Forgotten World (161): Albania
It’s time to have another week of postings in my long-running series called Forgotten World – a look at parts of the world that hardly feature in our media or thoughts. You can check the previous 160 entries here.
After World War II, Albania became a Stalinist state under Enver Hoxha, and remained staunchly isolationist until its transition to democracy after 1990. The 1992 elections ended 47 years of communist rule, but the latter half of the decade saw a quick turnover of presidents and prime ministers. Many Albanians left the country in search of work and the money they send home remains an important source of revenue.
During the Nato bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, nearly 500,000 ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo spilled over the border, adding to the population of just over 4 million and imposing a huge burden on Albania’s already fragile economy. While there have been signs of economic progress with inflation under tighter control and some growth, the country remains one of the poorest in Europe.
It is less than 72 km (45 miles) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea, and it is a potential candidate for membership in the European Union