The 2010 CIA World Factbook

Part 242

Chapter 2423,759 wordsPublic domain

Oman males age 16-49: 816,579 females age 16-49: 622,927 (2010 est.)

Pakistan males age 16-49: 35,774,936 females age 16-49: 34,572,451 (2010 est.)

Palau males age 16-49: 5,223 females age 16-49: 3,949 (2010 est.)

Panama males age 16-49: 719,761 females age 16-49: 719,444 (2010 est.)

Papua New Guinea males age 16-49: 1,103,479 females age 16-49: 1,107,479 (2010 est.)

Paraguay males age 16-49: 1,375,610 females age 16-49: 1,400,597 (2010 est.)

Peru males age 16-49: 6,045,256 females age 16-49: 6,501,224 (2010 est.)

Philippines males age 16-49: 19,650,825 females age 16-49: 21,029,243 (2010 est.)

Poland males age 16-49: 7,860,841 females age 16-49: 7,828,221 (2010 est.)

Portugal males age 16-49: 2,104,945 females age 16-49: 2,034,912 (2010 est.)

Puerto Rico males age 16-49: 704,833 females age 16-49: 788,234 (2010 est.)

Qatar males age 16-49: 320,277 females age 16-49: 138,558 (2010 est.)

Romania males age 16-49: 4,513,619 females age 16-49: 4,566,620 (2010 est.)

Russia males age 16-49: 20,746,777 females age 16-49: 27,174,148 (2010 est.)

Rwanda males age 16-49: 1,641,563 females age 16-49: 1,696,514 (2010 est.)

Saint Barthelemy males age 16-49: 1,543 females age 16-49: 1,303 (2010 est.)

Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha males age 16-49: 1,575 females age 16-49: 1,591 (2010 est.)

Saint Kitts and Nevis males age 16-49: 10,736 females age 16-49: 10,913 (2010 est.)

Saint Lucia males age 16-49: 32,406 females age 16-49: 36,216 (2010 est.)

Saint Martin males age 16-49: 6,391 females age 16-49: 6,947 (2010 est.)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon males age 16-49: 1,097 females age 16-49: 1,096 (2010 est.)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines males age 16-49: 22,932 females age 16-49: 22,134 (2010 est.)

Samoa males age 16-49: 37,674 females age 16-49: 37,492 (2010 est.)

San Marino males age 16-49: 5,564 females age 16-49: 6,068 (2010 est.)

Sao Tome and Principe males age 16-49: 26,530 females age 16-49: 28,450 (2010 est.)

Saudi Arabia males age 16-49: 7,560,216 females age 16-49: 5,773,033 (2010 est.)

Senegal males age 16-49: 2,109,080 females age 16-49: 2,287,510 (2010 est.)

Serbia males age 16-49: 1,405,391 females age 16-49: 1,368,207 (2010 est.)

Seychelles males age 16-49: 19,989 females age 16-49: 19,882 (2010 est.)

Sierra Leone males age 16-49: 713,190 females age 16-49: 813,830 (2010 est.)

Singapore males age 16-49: 1,027,701 females age 16-49: 1,097,762 (2010 est.)

Slovakia males age 16-49: 1,162,282 females age 16-49: 1,147,526 (2010 est.)

Slovenia males age 16-49: 397,440 females age 16-49: 385,505 (2010 est.)

Solomon Islands males age 16-49: 125,928 females age 16-49: 126,999 (2010 est.)

Somalia males age 16-49: 1,328,567 females age 16-49: 1,386,971 (2010 est.)

South Africa males age 16-49: 7,676,331 females age 16-49: 6,521,338 (2010 est.)

Spain males age 16-49: 8,040,207 females age 16-49: 7,798,254 (2010 est.)

Sri Lanka males age 16-49: 4,518,582 females age 16-49: 4,701,942 (2010 est.)

Sudan males age 16-49: 6,094,209 females age 16-49: 6,213,984 (2010 est.)

Suriname males age 16-49: 108,555 females age 16-49: 111,927 (2010 est.)

Swaziland males age 16-49: 196,633 females age 16-49: 172,602 (2010 est.)

Sweden males age 16-49: 1,709,592 females age 16-49: 1,649,875 (2010 est.)

Switzerland males age 16-49: 1,502,736 females age 16-49: 1,468,785 (2010 est.)

Syria males age 16-49: 4,948,802 females age 16-49: 4,786,596 (2010 est.)

Taiwan males age 16-49: 5,094,111 females age 16-49: 4,980,454 (2010 est.)

Tajikistan males age 16-49: 1,461,896 females age 16-49: 1,642,240 (2010 est.)

Tanzania males age 16-49: 5,667,987 females age 16-49: 5,690,331 (2010 est.)

Thailand males age 16-49: 13,247,646 females age 16-49: 14,166,227 (2010 est.)

Timor-Leste males age 16-49: 236,996 females age 16-49: 245,033 (2010 est.)

Togo males age 16-49: 983,283 females age 16-49: 1,004,887 (2010 est.)

Tonga males age 16-49: 27,404 females age 16-49: 28,509 (2010 est.)

Trinidad and Tobago males age 16-49: 273,361 females age 16-49: 266,535 (2010 est.)

Tunisia males age 16-49: 2,594,602 females age 16-49: 2,510,159 (2010 est.)

Turkey males age 16-49: 17,447,579 females age 16-49: 17,173,063 (2010 est.)

Turkmenistan males age 16-49: 1,046,907 females age 16-49: 1,168,960 (2010 est.)

Turks and Caicos Islands males age 16-49: 5,062 females age 16-49: 4,772 (2010 est.)

Tuvalu males age 16-49: 1,981 females age 16-49: 2,005 (2010 est.)

Uganda males age 16-49: 4,138,180 females age 16-49: 4,028,125 (2010 est.)

Ukraine males age 16-49: 6,970,035 females age 16-49: 9,015,224 (2010 est.)

United Arab Emirates males age 16-49: 2,157,211 females age 16-49: 816,363 (2010 est.)

United Kingdom males age 16-49: 12,113,310 females age 16-49: 11,604,784 (2010 est.)

United States males age 16-49: 60,388,734 females age 16-49: 59,217,809 (2010 est.)

Uruguay males age 16-49: 713,223 females age 16-49: 697,197 (2010 est.)

Uzbekistan males age 16-49: 6,456,675 females age 16-49: 6,658,475 (2010 est.)

Vanuatu males age 16-49: 42,450 females age 16-49: 43,894 (2010 est.)

Venezuela males age 16-49: 5,504,152 females age 16-49: 5,976,339 (2010 est.)

Vietnam males age 16-49: 20,153,269 females age 16-49: 20,980,830 (2010 est.)

Virgin Islands males age 16-49: 17,675 females age 16-49: 21,070 (2010 est.)

Wallis and Futuna males age 16-49: 3,326 females age 16-49: 3,305 (2010 est.)

West Bank males age 16-49: 562,570 females age 16-49: 531,532 (2010 est.)

Western Sahara males age 16-49: 76,483 females age 16-49: 83,988 (2010 est.)

Yemen males age 16-49: 3,902,186 females age 16-49: 3,952,370 (2010 est.)

Zambia males age 16-49: 1,401,481 females age 16-49: 1,274,583 (2010 est.)

Zimbabwe males age 16-49: 1,327,894 females age 16-49: 1,525,815 (2010 est.)

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Field Listing :: Manpower reaching militarily significant age

annually

This entry gives the number of males and females entering the military manpower pool (i.e., reaching age 16) in any given year and is a measure of the availability of military-age young adults. Country

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

Afghanistan male: 378,996 female: 357,822 (2010 est.)

Albania male: 35,249 female: 31,855 (2010 est.)

Algeria male: 365,503 female: 352,009 (2010 est.)

American Samoa male: 810 female: 796 (2010 est.)

Andorra male: 396 female: 350 (2010 est.)

Angola male: 151,237 female: 147,919 (2010 est.)

Anguilla male: 111 female: 111 (2010 est.)

Antigua and Barbuda male: 763 female: 758 (2010 est.)

Argentina male: 340,570 female: 323,953 (2010 est.)

Armenia male: 24,611 female: 22,682 (2010 est.)

Aruba male: 738 female: 715 (2010 est.)

Australia male: 144,232 female: 136,525 (2010 est.)

Austria male: 49,455 female: 47,046 (2010 est.)

Azerbaijan male: 84,441 female: 78,905 (2010 est.)

Bahamas, The male: 2,840 female: 2,758 (2010 est.)

Bahrain male: 6,590 female: 6,475 (2010 est.)

Bangladesh male: 1,550,385 female: 1,676,137 (2010 est.)

Barbados male: 1,897 female: 1,884 (2010 est.)

Belarus male: 55,758 female: 52,572 (2010 est.)

Belgium male: 60,726 female: 57,882 (2010 est.)

Belize male: 3,678 female: 3,543 (2010 est.)

Benin male: 105,468 female: 101,603 (2010 est.)

Bermuda male: 436 female: 397 (2010 est.)

Bhutan male: 7,432 female: 7,153 (2010 est.)

Bolivia male: 108,336 female: 104,934 (2010 est.)

Bosnia and Herzegovina male: 26,134 female: 24,518 (2010 est.)

Botswana male: 23,496 female: 22,944 (2010 est.)

Brazil male: 1,712,427 female: 1,652,491 (2010 est.)

British Virgin Islands male: 174 female: 167 (2010 est.)

Brunei male: 3,509 female: 3,427 (2010 est.)

Bulgaria male: 35,604 female: 34,199 (2010 est.)

Burkina Faso male: 188,394 female: 185,975 (2010 est.)

Burma male: 526,557 female: 510,538 (2010 est.)

Burundi male: 111,829 female: 111,802 (2010 est.)

Cambodia male: 168,519 female: 166,418 (2010 est.)

Cameroon male: 213,538 female: 209,549 (2010 est.)

Canada male: 220,538 female: 208,033 (2010 est.)

Cape Verde male: 6,077 female: 6,075 (2010 est.)

Cayman Islands male: 326 female: 347 (2010 est.)

Central African Republic male: 54,024 female: 53,203 (2010 est.)

Chad male: 125,073 female: 125,069 (2010 est.)

Chile male: 143,778 female: 138,058 (2010 est.)

China male: 10,699,186 female: 9,460,217 (2010 est.)

Colombia male: 432,280 female: 416,051 (2010 est.)

Comoros male: 8,519 female: 8,498 (2010 est.)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the male: 842,020 female: 839,044 (2010 est.)

Congo, Republic of the male: 48,365 female: 47,874 (2010 est.)

Cook Islands male: 136 female: 115 (2010 est.)

Costa Rica male: 42,486 female: 40,745 (2010 est.)

Cote d'Ivoire male: 240,989 female: 237,180 (2010 est.)

Croatia male: 27,670 female: 26,503 (2010 est.)

Cuba male: 74,084 female: 70,445 (2010 est.)

Cyprus male: 8,317 female: 7,542 (2010 est.)

Czech Republic male: 55,139 female: 52,440 (2010 est.)

Denmark male: 37,831 female: 35,930 (2010 est.)

Djibouti male: 8,260 female: 8,503 (2010 est.)

Dominica male: 729 female: 688 (2010 est.)

Dominican Republic male: 98,394 female: 94,576 (2010 est.)

Ecuador male: 150,296 female: 145,184 (2010 est.)

Egypt male: 799,377 female: 764,602 (2010 est.)

El Salvador male: 71,292 female: 68,821 (2010 est.)

Equatorial Guinea male: 7,186 female: 6,920 (2010 est.)

Eritrea male: 64,489 female: 64,476 (2010 est.)

Estonia male: 6,945 female: 6,564 (2010 est.)

Ethiopia male: 934,523 female: 947,103 (2010 est.)

Faroe Islands male: 379 female: 368 (2010 est.)

Fiji male: 9,131 female: 8,776 (2010 est.)

Finland male: 33,297 female: 32,233 (2010 est.)

France male: 389,956 female: 372,312 (2010 est.)

French Polynesia male: 2,592 female: 2,481 (2010 est.)

Gabon male: 17,283 female: 17,276 (2010 est.)

Gambia, The male: 20,858 female: 20,762 (2010 est.)

Gaza Strip male: 18,931 female: 18,010 (2010 est.)

Georgia male: 30,314 female: 28,299 (2010 est.)

Germany male: 421,227 female: 398,809 (2010 est.)

Ghana male: 270,993 female: 263,961 (2010 est.)

Gibraltar male: 250 female: 233 (2010 est.)

Greece male: 53,222 female: 49,828 (2010 est.)

Greenland male: 511 female: 484 (2010 est.)

Grenada male: 987 female: 1,026 (2010 est.)

Guam male: 1,687 female: 1,597 (2010 est.)

Guatemala male: 168,959 female: 166,414 (2010 est.)

Guernsey male: 347 female: 350 (2010 est.)

Guinea male: 114,353 female: 111,873 (2010 est.)

Guinea-Bissau male: 17,300 female: 17,523 (2010 est.)

Guyana male: 8,842 female: 8,452 (2010 est.)

Haiti male: 110,514 female: 108,208 (2010 est.)

Honduras male: 94,501 female: 90,757 (2010 est.)

Hong Kong male: 41,717 female: 38,240 (2010 est.)

Hungary male: 58,894 female: 55,922 (2010 est.)

Iceland male: 2,318 female: 2,263 (2010 est.)

India male: 12,011,217 female: 10,639,158 (2010 est.)

Indonesia male: 2,227,993 female: 2,156,427 (2010 est.)

Iran male: 636,558 female: 604,658 (2010 est.)

Iraq male: 323,328 female: 313,360 (2010 est.)

Ireland male: 27,987 female: 26,240 (2010 est.)

Isle of Man male: 469 female: 449 (2010 est.)

Israel male: 61,613 female: 58,679 (2010 est.)

Italy male: 280,255 female: 263,336 (2010 est.)

Jamaica male: 32,723 female: 32,098 (2010 est.)

Japan male: 626,115 female: 593,905 (2010 est.)

Jersey male: 594 female: 555 (2010 est.)

Jordan male: 73,554 female: 69,359 (2010 est.)

Kazakhstan male: 133,884 female: 127,415 (2010 est.)

Kenya male: 417,061 female: 412,438 (2010 est.)

Kiribati male: 1,107 female: 1,083 (2010 est.)

Korea, North male: 184,631 female: 178,565 (2010 est.)

Korea, South male: 370,645 female: 321,765 (2010 est.)

Kuwait male: 19,038 female: 19,787 (2010 est.)

Kyrgyzstan male: 56,269 female: 54,004 (2010 est.)

Laos male: 77,910 female: 77,761 (2010 est.)

Latvia male: 11,536 female: 11,058 (2010 est.)

Lebanon male: 37,856 female: 36,072 (2010 est.)

Lesotho male: 19,435 female: 20,400 (2010 est.)

Liberia male: 33,411 female: 35,264 (2010 est.)

Libya male: 59,842 female: 57,357 (2010 est.)

Liechtenstein male: 209 female: 208 (2010 est.)

Lithuania male: 21,606 female: 20,536 (2010 est.)

Luxembourg male: 3,211 female: 3,057 (2010 est.)

Macau male: 4,488 female: 3,900 (2010 est.)

Macedonia male: 15,338 female: 14,445 (2010 est.)

Madagascar male: 242,334 female: 241,359 (2010 est.)

Malawi male: 177,376 female: 176,905 (2010 est.)

Malaysia male: 267,646 female: 253,529 (2010 est.)

Maldives male: 4,369 female: 3,765 (2010 est.)

Mali male: 153,198 female: 154,762 (2010 est.)

Malta male: 2,570 female: 2,410 (2010 est.)

Marshall Islands male: 602 female: 580 (2010 est.)

Mauritania male: 35,322 female: 36,035 (2010 est.)

Mauritius male: 10,565 female: 10,447 (2010 est.)

Mayotte male: 2,627 female: 2,619 (2010 est.)

Mexico male: 1,108,032 female: 1,069,885 (2010 est.)

Micronesia, Federated States of male: 1,270 female: 1,221 (2010 est.)

Moldova male: 30,012 female: 28,450 (2010 est.)

Monaco male: 147 female: 133 (2010 est.)

Mongolia male: 29,240 female: 28,156 (2010 est.)

Montenegro male: 3,407 female: 3,741 (2010 est.)

Montserrat male: 38 female: 36 (2010 est.)

Morocco male: 300,262 female: 298,227 (2010 est.)

Mozambique male: 272,922 female: 272,062 (2010 est.)

Namibia male: 26,152 female: 25,790 (2010 est.)

Nauru male: 174 female: 168 (2010 est.)

Nepal male: 374,882 female: 361,848 (2010 est.)

Netherlands male: 104,694 female: 99,874 (2010 est.)

New Caledonia male: 2,138 female: 2,061 (2010 est.)

New Zealand male: 30,956 female: 29,236 (2010 est.)

Nicaragua male: 71,171 female: 68,948 (2010 est.)

Niger male: 177,985 female: 172,180 (2010 est.)

Nigeria male: 1,731,734 female: 1,652,632 (2010 est.)

Northern Mariana Islands male: 430 female: 346 (2010 est.)

Norway male: 32,045 female: 30,610 (2010 est.)

Oman male: 31,827 female: 30,148 (2010 est.)

Pakistan male: 2,144,574 female: 2,000,479 (2010 est.)

Palau male: 212 female: 218 (2010 est.)

Panama male: 31,398 female: 30,182 (2010 est.)

Papua New Guinea male: 66,139 female: 64,244 (2010 est.)

Paraguay male: 72,455 female: 70,910 (2010 est.)

Peru male: 312,375 female: 302,452 (2010 est.)

Philippines male: 1,039,679 female: 1,001,448 (2010 est.)

Poland male: 235,248 female: 224,801 (2010 est.)

Portugal male: 62,628 female: 55,737 (2010 est.)

Puerto Rico male: 30,616 female: 29,196 (2010 est.)

Qatar male: 6,403 female: 5,144 (2010 est.)

Romania male: 121,391 female: 115,258 (2010 est.)

Russia male: 712,838 female: 678,623 (2010 est.)

Rwanda male: 98,164 female: 97,839 (2010 est.)

Saint Barthelemy male: 21 female: 21 (2010 est.)

Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha male: 48 female: 47 (2010 est.)

Saint Kitts and Nevis male: 402 female: 430 (2010 est.)

Saint Lucia male: 1,627 female: 1,521 (2010 est.)

Saint Martin male: 172 female: 165 (2010 est.)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon male: 36 female: 34 (2010 est.)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines male: 990 female: 979 (2010 est.)

Samoa male: 2,219 female: 2,058 (2010 est.)

San Marino male: 176 female: 164 (2010 est.)

Sao Tome and Principe male: 1,997 female: 1,922 (2010 est.)

Saudi Arabia male: 280,041 female: 269,580 (2010 est.)

Senegal male: 157,468 female: 156,689 (2010 est.)

Serbia male: 43,925 female: 41,342 (2010 est.)

Seychelles male: 704 female: 672 (2010 est.)

Sierra Leone male: 53,349 female: 56,307 (2010 est.)

Singapore male: 27,430 female: 25,918 (2010 est.)

Slovakia male: 33,915 female: 32,448 (2010 est.)

Slovenia male: 9,979 female: 9,610 (2010 est.)

Solomon Islands male: 7,256 female: 6,995 (2010 est.)

Somalia male: 99,919 female: 99,771 (2010 est.)

South Africa male: 492,743 female: 496,374 (2010 est.)

Spain male: 193,038 female: 181,703 (2010 est.)

Sri Lanka male: 172,081 female: 166,358 (2010 est.)

Sudan male: 506,742 female: 487,434 (2010 est.)

Suriname male: 4,046 female: 4,056 (2010 est.)

Swaziland male: 16,024 female: 15,630 (2010 est.)

Sweden male: 58,937 female: 56,225 (2010 est.)

Switzerland male: 47,043 female: 43,033 (2010 est.)

Syria male: 253,578 female: 241,777 (2010 est.)

Taiwan male: 166,141 female: 155,070 (2010 est.)

Tajikistan male: 77,585 female: 75,201 (2010 est.)

Tanzania male: 498,815 female: 500,941 (2010 est.)

Thailand male: 535,884 female: 511,444 (2010 est.)

Timor-Leste male: 12,795 female: 12,443 (2010 est.)

Togo male: 71,081 female: 69,969 (2010 est.)

Tonga male: 1,448 female: 1,392 (2010 est.)

Trinidad and Tobago male: 8,572 female: 7,966 (2010 est.)

Tunisia male: 96,697 female: 90,599 (2010 est.)

Turkey male: 695,326 female: 666,026 (2010 est.)

Turkmenistan male: 55,805 female: 54,908 (2010 est.)

Turks and Caicos Islands male: 229 female: 223 (2010 est.)

Tuvalu male: 120 female: 110 (2010 est.)

Uganda male: 412,640 female: 408,521 (2010 est.)

Ukraine male: 256,196 female: 244,473 (2010 est.)

United Arab Emirates male: 27,256 female: 24,305 (2010 est.)

United Kingdom male: 386,492 female: 369,185 (2010 est.)

United States male: 2,174,260 female: 2,065,595 (2010 est.)

Uruguay male: 27,631 female: 26,703 (2010 est.)

Uzbekistan male: 306,743 female: 299,264 (2010 est.)

Vanuatu male: 2,346 female: 2,249 (2010 est.)

Venezuela male: 276,612 female: 273,819 (2010 est.)

Vietnam male: 877,075 female: 816,076 (2010 est.)

Virgin Islands male: 805 female: 849 (2010 est.)

Wallis and Futuna male: 178 female: 153 (2010 est.)

West Bank male: 30,547 female: 29,062 (2010 est.)

Western Sahara male: 5,376 female: 5,280 (2010 est.)

Yemen male: 279,283 female: 269,824 (2010 est.)

Zambia male: 151,586 female: 150,839 (2010 est.)

Zimbabwe male: 155,117 female: 152,875 (2010 est.)

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Field Listing :: Background

This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends. Country

Background

Afghanistan Ahmad Shah DURRANI unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian Empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup. The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels. A series of subsequent civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama BIN LADIN. The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution, a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005. In December 2004, Hamid KARZAI became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan and the National Assembly was inaugurated the following December. Karzai was re-elected in August 2009 for a second term. Despite gains toward building a stable central government, a resurgent Taliban and continuing provincial instability - particularly in the south and the east - remain serious challenges for the Afghan Government.

Akrotiri By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area.

Albania Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939. Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic Communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, a dilapidated physical infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, there have been claims of electoral fraud in every one of Albania's post-communist elections. In the 2005 general elections, the Democratic Party and its allies won a decisive victory on pledges to reduce crime and corruption, promote economic growth, and decrease the size of government. The election, and particularly the orderly transition of power, was considered an important step forward. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and is a potential candidate for EU accession. Although Albania's economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure.