Albania is an independent democratic republic adjoining the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas. The plains and lowlands are about 30% of the country’s total area and on the western side and adjoins the Adriatic Sea. The other 70% of the country is mountainous, rugged and much of it is difficult to access. Albania is located in Southern Central Europe and so has a continental climate on the plains, with cooler temperatures in the higher altitude regions.
The capital city is Tirana with a population of about 850 thousand people. The other main cities are Durrës, Elbasan, Shkodër, Gjirokastër, Vlorë, Korçë and Kukës.
The country has many attractions for tourism: there are three large deep tectonic lakes. Shkodra is in the northwest and 50% is in Albania. Ohrid in the southeast, is deep and so old that unique flora and fauna exist, including “living fossils”. It is under the protection of UNESCO. Over a third of the country is covered by forest and very rich in flora: over 3 thousand species of plant grow in Albania, some of which are used for medicinal purposes. These forests host a wide range of animals such as wolves, bears, wild boars, and chamois. Some, such as Lynx, wildcats, pine martens and polecats are rare.
The population is over 3. 5 million and is ethnically homogeneous (“Albanian”) with only small ethnic minorities including Greeks, Macedonians, Roma, Montenegrins, Bulgarians, Balkan Egyptians and Jews.
The dominant language is Albanian, which has two main dialects, Gheg and Tosk. Many are fluent in English, also Italian and Greek.
Albania became an independent republic in 1920. Sovereignty was ceded in 1928 to Italy and in 1939 the Italians invaded the country. Tirana was liberated in November 1944 by the Albanian partisans. The local Communist Party then took control over Albania. The country allied itself after the Second World War to the USSR, and broke with the Soviet Union in 1960. A political alliance with China followed, leading to several billion dollars in aid, but which was curtailed after 1974 and cut off in 1978.
Enver Hoxha, the nation's ruler for 4 decades, died in spring 1985. The successor regime initiated liberalization policies, including freedom to travel abroad. Albania's Communists were defeated in the election in 1992, amid economic collapse and social unrest. Sali Berisha was elected as the first non-Communist president in over 50 years.
After the election in 1992, the government launched an ambitious economic reform programme to set Albania on the path to a market economy. Policies included structural reforms, such as privatization, enterprise promotion, financial sector reform and the creation of the legal framework for a market economy. The economy contracted in 1989, and has since recovered.
Following the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement in mid 2006, EU ministers pressed Albania to continue reforms, such as freedom of press, property rights, institutional development, respect for ethnic minorities etc.
Albania is now building a modern and diversified economy, improving the country's infrastructure and opened up competition in ports, railways, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution and airports.
Tourism in Albania is a large industry and is now growing rapidly. The most notable tourist attractions are the ancient sites of Apollonia, Butrinti, and Krujë. Albania's coastline is becoming increasingly popular with tourists due to its relatively unspoiled nature and its beaches.
The cuisine of Albania, as with most Mediterranean and Balkan nations, is strongly influenced by its long history, including from Greece, Italy and Turkey. The main meal is lunch, and is usually meat or fish and vegetables with a salad of fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and olives flavoured with olive oil, vinegar and salt. Seafood specialties are also common in the coastal areas.
Translation projects undertaken in Albanian include web site content, sales and marketing material, documentation requirements for engineering and manufacturing.
Total Language Solutions are translation specialists in DTP, print ready and electronic forms of material, integrating text and diagrams and more besides into and out of Albanian.
Total Language Solutions are translation experts in the relevance of text, drawings, colours and layout presentation and localisation to meet consumer expectations and norms, without causing offence.
Our language translation prices are from the translation service to or from English and is based on price per 1,000 words (pro rata).
| Albanian | £95 | Estonian | £95 | Icelandic | £98 | Norwegian | £95 | Swahili | £110 |
| Arabic | £110 | Farsi | £110 | Indonesian | £100 | Polish | £95 | Swedish | £95 |
| Bengali | £105 | Finnish | £95 | Italian | £85 | Portuguese | £85 | Tagalog | £105 |
| Bulgarian | £95 | French | £85 | Japanese | £105 | Punjabi | £105 | Tamil | £105 |
| Cambodian | £110 | German | £90 | Korean | £105 | Rumanian | £95 | Thai | £110 |
| Chinese | £95 | Greek | £100 | Kurdish | £100 | Russian | £95 | Turkish | £95 |
| Croatian | £95 | Gujarati | £105 | Latvian | £95 | Serbian | £95 | Ukrainian | £95 |
| Czech | £95 | Hebrew | £110 | Lithuanian | £95 | Slovak | £95 | Urdu | £105 |
| Danish | £98 | Hindi | £100 | Macedonian | £95 | Slovene | £95 | Vietnamese | £110 |
| Dutch | £90 | Hungarian | £90 | Malaysian | £95 | Spanish | £85 | Welsh | £85 |
Total Language Solutions Limited
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Tel: 0800 6 121 151 Quote Ref: TLSW01