Albania is located in southeastern Europe and borders Serbia and Montenegro to the north, Macedonia to the east, mainland Greece to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the west. The total land area is 27,398 sq km with a further 1350 sq km of inland water. The coastline facing the Adriatic and Ionian Seas measures 362 km and looks out across to Italy. The terrain of Albania is mostly mountainous with rolling hills. The coastal strip has a small low-lying coastal plain. The highest area of elevation is Maja e Korabit at a height of 2753m. Albania lies within an earthquake zone and is also occasionally subject to freak Tsunamis. Valuable natural resources abound in Albania including Petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper and nickel

Albania gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. Formerly under communist rule, Albania established democracy in 1990. The capital of Albania is Tirana. The ethnic mix is largely dominated by pure Albanians with a few minority groups including Greeks, Serbs and Bulgarians. Albania is a Muslim country and over 70% of the population practices Islam. The official language is Albanian and the national unit of currency is the Lek.

The transition from communist rule difficult. Albania is currently trying to establish a market economy. Half the national workforce is employed within the agricultural sector, producing wheat, corn, potatoes, vegetables, fruits and sugar beet. The transport network consists of 447 km of railways and 18,000 km of highways, of which 5400 km are paved. The crude oil pipeline measures 196 km.

The climate of Albania is best described as being mild temperate. Winters tend to consist of long sustained periods of rainy and cloudy days. The mountainous region is considerably wetter than the low-lying coastal plain. Summertime is hot with many clear days of bright sunshine.