The countries of the Balkan region are neither major energy producers nor consumers. Although the region does hold some important fossil fuel deposits, these resources are not significant on a world-scale, and the political and economic instability in the Balkans in recent years has discouraged any substantial foreign investment in the respective countries' energy sectors. Rather, the region is becoming more important as a transit center for Russian and Caspian Sea region oil exports to Western consumers. Read more [Source: Energy Information Administration]
Albania
Albania (ăalbāa'nyu), Albanian Shqipëeria or Shqipnija, officially Republic of Albania, republic (2005 est. pop. 3,563,000), 11,101 sq mi (28,752 sq km), SE Europe. Albania is on the Adriatic Sea coast of the Balkan Peninsula, between Montenegro on the northwest, Serbia on the northeast, North Macedonia on the east, and Greece on the southeast. Tirana is the capital and largest city.
Land area: 10,579 sq mi (27,400 sq km); total area: 11,100 sq mi (28,748 sq km)
Population (2006 est.): 3,581,655 (growth rate: 0.5%); birth rate: 15.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 20.8/1000; life expectancy: 77.4; density per sq mi: 339
Monetary unit: Lek
Transportation: Railways: total: 447 km (2004). Highways: total: 18,000 km; paved: 5,400 km; unpaved: 12,600 km (2002). Waterways: 43 km (2006). Ports and harbors: Durres, Sarande, Shengjin, Vlore. Airports: 11 (2005).
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, timber, hydropower. Exports: $650.1 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): textiles and footwear; asphalt, metals and metallic ores, crude oil; vegetables, fruits, tobacco. Imports: $2.473 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (bŭulgâar'ēeu) [key], Bulgarian Balgarija, officially Republic of Bulgaria, republic (2005 est. pop. 7,450,000), 42,823 sq mi (110,912 sq km), SE Europe, on the E Balkan Peninsula. It is bounded by the Black Sea on the east, by Romania on the north, by Serbia and Macedonia on the west, by Greece on the south, and by European Turkey on the southeast. Sofia is the capital. Other important cities are Varna and Burgas (the main Black Sea ports of Bulgaria), Plovdiv and Ruse.
Land area: 42,683 sq mi (110,549 sq km); total area: 42,823 sq mi (110,910 sq km )
Population (2006 est.): 7,385,367 (growth rate: –0.9%); birth rate: 9.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 19.9/1000; life expectancy: 72.3; density per sq mi: 173
Monetary unit: Lev
Transportation: Railways: total: 4,294 km (2004). Highways: total: 37,077 km; paved: 34,111 km (including 328 km of expressways); unpaved: 2,966 km (2002). Waterways: 470 km (2004). Ports and harbors: Burgas, Varna. Airports: 213 (2004 est.)
Natural resources: bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber, arable land. Exports: $11.67 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): hing, footwear, iron and steel, machinery and equipment, fuels. Imports: $15.9 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment; metals and ores; chemicals and plastics; fuels, minerals, and raw materials.
Greece
Greece, Gr. Hellas or Ellas, republic (Hellenic Republic / Republic of Greece, 2005 est. pop. 10,668,000), 50,944 sq mi (131,945 sq km), SE Europe. It occupies the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula and borders on the Ionian Sea in the west, on the Mediterranean Sea in the south, on the Aegean Sea in the east, on Turkey and Bulgaria in the northeast, on FYROM in the north, and on Albania in the northwest. Athens is its capital and largest city. Home of the great Ancient Civilization, which laid the foundation for the current Western civilization (or Grecoroman civilization)
Land area: 50,502 sq mi (130,800 sq km); total area: 50,942 sq mi (131,940 sq km)
Population (2006 est.): 10,688,058 (growth rate: 0.2%); birth rate: 9.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 5.4/1000; life expectancy: 79.2; density per sq mi: 212
Monetary unit: Euro (formerly drachma)
Transportation: Railways: total: 2,571 km (2004). Highways: total: 117,000 km; paved: 107,406 km (including 470 km of expressways); unpaved: 9,594 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 6 km; note: Corinth Canal (6 km) crosses the Isthmus of Corinth; shortens sea voyage by 325 km (2004). Ports and harbors: Agioitheodoroi, Aspropyrgos, Irakleion, Pachi, Peiraiefs, Thessaloniki. Airports: 80 (2004 est.).
Kosovo or Kosovo-Metohija (kôo'sôovôo-metôo'khēeäa), Albanian Kosova, Serbo-Croatian Kosovo i Metohija and Kosmet, province (2002 est. pop. 1,900,000), 4,126 sq mi (10,686 sq km), S Serbia.Pristina is the chief city. The largely mountainous region includes the fertile valleys of Kosovo and Metohija and is drained by tributaries of the Morava (Velika Morava) and Drin rivers. Agriculture, stock raising, forestry, and mining are the major occupations.
North Macedonia
"North Macedonia" (actual legal state recently finalised after negotiations with several international organizations) (măas"udōo'nēe, own language variation: Makedonija, (currently) official provisional designation: North Macedonia, (2005 est. pop. 2,045,000), 9,930 sq mi (25,720 sq km), SE Europe. It is bordered by Serbia on the north, Albania on the west, Greece on the south, and Bulgaria on the east. The capital and largest city is Skopje. Other main cities are Tetovo, Bitola (Bitolj), and Prilep.
Serbia (sûur'bēeu), Serbian Srbija (sŭur'bēeäa), officially Republic of Serbia, republic (1995 est. pop. 10,394,000), 34,116 sq mi (88,361 sq km), W central Balkan Peninsula; formerly the chief constituent republic of Yugoslavia and of its short-lived successor, Serbia and Montenegro. It is bounded in the northwest by Croatia, in the north by Hungary, in the northeast by Romania, in the east by Bulgaria, in the south by North Macedonia, and in the west by Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Belgrade is the capital of Serbia.
