a small Adriatic country which manages to blend all that you would expect of the Mediterranean climate with the relics of the former Communist regime

Albania - A Country Study

The high risk profile of a country's economic and political environment will further worsen further a generally very bad payment record.

The Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, IPA ) is a Balkan country in Southeastern Europe. It borders Montenegro to the north, the Serbian province of Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west and a coast on the Ionian Sea to the southwest.

The toponym Albania may indicate several different geographical regions: a country in the Balkans; an ancient land in the Caucasus; as well as Scotland, Albania being a Latinization of a Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba. This article will cover etymology, as well as trace the usage of the toponyms and related toponyms and ethnonyms from their earliest known occurrence down to present times.

Albania is an independent state on the Balkan Peninsula,