An independent republic since 1912 except for periods of monarchy (1928-1939) and Italian rule and German occupation (1939-1944), in 1990 Albania ended 46 years of isolationist one-party Communist government. The transition to multi-party democracy and a market economy has proven difficult as weak and sometimes corrupt governments have tried to deal with severe unemployment (estimated at 40% in the immediate aftermath of a corresponding economic contraction in 1989-1992), the collapse of a fraudulent nationwide investment scheme provoling widespread violence (1997), widespread gangsterism, and large population movements in the form of both emigration to Greece, Italy and other countries, and massive refugee influxes from the Kosovo conflict of 1998-1999.