NAVIGATION
|
HOME
• FLAG FINDER
• MAP FINDER
• SOURCES
• ADD YOURSELF TO THE ATLAS! COUNTRIES A-D • COUNTRIES E-K • COUNTRIES L-R • COUNTRIES S-Z |
NAVIGATION
Serbia and Montenegro
Srbija-Crna Gora
INTRODUCTION
|
Background:
|
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought themselves as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government successfully steered its own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY) in 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1999, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of NATO, Russian, and other peacekeepers in Kosovo. Federal elections in the fall of 2000, brought about the ouster of MILOSEVIC and installed Vojislav KOSTUNICA as president. The arrest of MILOSEVIC in 2001 allowed for his subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. In 2001, the country's suspension was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name of Yugoslavia. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999, under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. In 2002, the Serbian and Montenegrin components of Yugoslavia began negotiations to forge a looser relationship. These talks became a reality in February 2003 when lawmakers restructured the country into a loose federation of two republics called Serbia and Montenegro. An agreement was also reached to hold a referendum in each republic in three years on full independence. |
GEOGRAPHY
|
Location:
|
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
44 00 N, 21 00 E |
|
Map references:
|
Europe |
|
Area:
|
total: 102,350 sq km
water: 214 sq km land: 102,136 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly smaller than Kentucky |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 2,246 km
border countries: Albania 287 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km, Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km |
|
Coastline:
|
199 km |
|
Maritime claims:
|
NA |
|
Climate:
|
in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland |
|
Terrain:
|
extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Daravica 2,656 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
oil, gas, coal, antimony, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, gold, pyrite, chrome, hydropower, arable land |
|
Land use:
|
arable land: 36.34%
permanent crops: 3.44% other: 60.22% (1998 est.) |
|
Irrigated land:
|
570 sq km |
|
Natural hazards:
|
destructive earthquakes |
|
Environment - current issues:
|
pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to: Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
|
Geography - note:
|
controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
PEOPLE
|
Population:
|
10,655,774
note: a census was taken in Serbia 1-15 April 2002 (July 2003 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 19.3% (male 1,062,625; female 990,071)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 3,422,543; female 3,548,058) 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 696,716; female 935,761) (2003 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total: 36.2 years
male: 34.3 years female: 37.9 years (2002) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.07% (2003 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
12.74 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
-1.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total: 16.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 15.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 18.57 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 73.97 years
male: 71.03 years female: 77.16 years (2003 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.77 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.2% (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
10,000 (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
less than 100 (2001 est.) |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Serb(s); Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Serbian; Montenegrin |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991) |
|
Religions:
|
Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11% |
|
Languages:
|
Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93% male: 97.2% female: 88.9% (1991) |