Albania vs Greece

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Albania ( (listen) a(w)l-BAY-nee-ə; Albanian: Shqipëri or Shqipëria; Gheg Albanian: Shqipni or Shqipnia also Shqypni or Shqypnia), officially the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, pronounced [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːsə]), is a country in Southeast Europe on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea.

It shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo into the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, Greece to the south and maritime borders with Greece, Montenegro and Italy to the west. Geographically, the country displays diverse climatic, geological, hydrological, and morphological conditions, defined in an area of 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi). It possesses significant diversity together with the landscape ranging from the snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps as well as the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains to the hot and sunny coasts of the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea along the Mediterranean Sea. Historically, the nation has been inhabited by numerous civilisations like the Illyrians, Thracians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans. The Albanians established the autonomous Principality of Arbër in the 12th century. The Kingdom of Albania and Principality of Albania formed between the 13th and 14th centuries. Before the Ottoman conquest of Albania in the 15th century, the Albanian resistance to Ottoman expansion into Europe headed by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg won them acclaim over most of Europe. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, cultural developments, widely attributed to Albanians having accumulated both intellectual and spiritual strength, conclusively resulted in the Albanian Renaissance. Following the defeat of the Ottomans in the Balkan Wars, the modern nation state of Albania declared independence in 1912. In the 20th century, the Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy which formed Greater Albania before becoming a protectorate of Nazi Germany. Enver Hoxha formed Communist Albania following the Second World War and launched the Albanians on a course of oppression and decades of isolation. The Revolutions of 1991 concluded the fall of communism in Albania and eventually the establishment of the current Republic of Albania. Politically, the country is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic and developing nation with an upper-middle income economy dominated by the service sector, followed by manufacturing. It went through a process of transition following the end of communism in 1990, from centralized planning to a market-based economy. Albania provides universal healthcare and free primary and secondary education to its citizens.The nation is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, UNESCO, NATO, WTO, COE, OSCE, and OIC. It's an official candidate for membership in the European Union. It is one of the founding members of the Energy Community, such as the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and Union for the Mediterranean.

Source: Wikipedia

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Greece (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada, [eˈlaða]), officially the Hellenic Republic, known also as Hellas, is a country located in Southeast Europe. Its population is approximately 10.7 million as of 2018; Athens, the country's capital, is its largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Located on the southern tip of the Balkans, Greece is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It shares land borders with Albania to the shore, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea is located on the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring many islands, of which 227 are inhabited. Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the maximum peak at 2,918 metres (9,573 feet ). The Nation consists of nine traditional geographic regions: Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands (such as the Dodecanese and Cyclades), Thrace, Crete, and the Ionian Islands. Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, important scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama as well as the Olympic Games. In the eighth century B.C., the Greeks were organised into different independent city-states, called poleis (singular polis), which spanned the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Philip II of Macedon united most of present-day Greece in the fourth century B.C., with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, from the eastern Mediterranean to India. The subsequent Hellenistic period saw the height of Greek civilization and influence in antiquity. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century B.C., becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, which adopted the Greek language and civilization. The Greek Orthodox Church, which emerged in the first century A.D., helped shape modern Greek identity and sent Greek customs to the wider Orthodox world. After falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, Greece emerged as a modern nation state in 1830 following a war of independence. The country's rich historical legacy is reflected in part by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Greece is a unitary parliamentary republic and developed nation with an advanced high-income market, a high quality of life, and an extremely large standard of living. Its economy is the largest in the Balkans, where it is a significant regional investor. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the tenth member to join the European Communities (precursor to the European Union) and has been a part of the Eurozone since 2001. It is also a member of numerous other international institutions, such as the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). Greece's unique cultural heritage, large tourism industry, prominent shipping sector and geostrategic importance classify it as a middle power.

Source: Wikipedia