The crux of this issue is was life in Shqiperia better during or post Hoxha? While I can't definitely answer that question (and many old men speak passionately about this as they're drinking their morning raki and coffee), here are a few things to consider. I have no idea about the life expectancy, and I would doubt figures (current and historic) put out by INSTAT (Albania's institute of statistics). An American epidemiologist looked at reported life expectancy stats, which placed Albanian life expectancy at age 76. His comment was that was the same as America's, and his professional experience lead him to opine that this figure was off (plus the fact that his colleague worked at a local hospital, saw nurses administer surveys, and throw those surveys in the trash when gathered from the patients). Moreover, the world factbook reports that Albanian GDP per capita is 10,700 (2012). Anecdotally, this is way off. the minimum wage is 250 USD a month, and most people at entry level government jobs make about that much. My father in law speaks about the times during the one-party system. He remembers how clean the city was and that there were 200 registered cars in the capital in the early 80s. One striking infrastructural difference between Hoxha's rule (at least in Permet, a small city in Southern Albania) and modern times: water and electricity were on 24 hours a day. Today, most cities live with a seasonal water schedule. I lived in Tirana for two years, and it seemed that every year was the year that Tirana would have 24 hour water service. Which those words didn't help me rinse from a shower when the water cut off unexpectedly before 10pm. The idea of moving from Albania was almost non-existent since Albania was so closed off. Example: almost all fruit and veg were grown domestically. Bananas weren't imported until the early 90s. There were tourist agencies in the U.S. that worked with Americans of Albanian origin to procure tourist visas to Albania for limited time periods. However, an interesting point would be the difficulty of moving around inside the country. Interstate travel from city to city was a suspicious activity. My father in law moved to Polican (near Berat) for a few months to work in an arms factory. Other than that, he remembers that people didn't really travel that much. I wouldn't go as far as stating that Albania under Hoxha was anywhere near the level of "1984," but the state organ was pretty powerful in controlling its message - only state owned media was broadcasted/printed, but a few people along the coast could pick up radio signals from Italy. One more interesting thing: Albania is the land of the coffee shop. All restaurants and coffee shops were owned by the state before 1990. A landmark in Tirana in the bar kafe Europa near the library. This place has landmark status. My wife explained to me that it's notable because that was the first privately owned coffee shop to open in Albania in the early 90s. One thing you could look at as well is Albanian literature and the reputation of Albanian writers. Kadare received a little bit of heat for being too timid as a writer and towing the party line, then bouncing for France after Hoxha's death, while another writer (Mako, I think (the author of "Shpella e pirateve) was pretty outspoken and suffered for it.