Serbia

Flag
File:Yi-flag.png
Quick Facts
Capital	Belgrade
Government	republic
Currency	new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the euro is legal tender; in Kosovo both the euro and the Yugoslav dinar are legal (2002)
Area	total: 102,350 sq km water: 214 sq km land: 102,136 sq km
Population	10,656,929 note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2002 est.)
Language	Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%
Religion	Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11%

This article is an import from the CIA World Factbook 2002. It's a starting point for creating a real Wikitravel country article according to our country article template. Please plunge forward and edit it.

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 and Russian 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 Montenegran 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

Map of Serbia and Montenegro

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: 10,656,929
note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 19.6% (male 1,077,581; female 1,005,379)
15-64 years: 65.3% (male 3,415,929; female 3,546,410)
65 years and over: 15.1% (male 690,014; female 921,616) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.12% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 12.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 10.59 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 17.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.72 years
female: 76.89 years (2002 est.)
male: 70.78 years

Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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)

Government

Country name: conventional long form: Serbia and Montenegro
conventional short form: none
local short form: none
local long form: Srbija-Crna Gora

Government type: republic

Capital: Belgrade

Administrative divisions: 2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina*

Independence: 27 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY)

National holiday: Republic Day, 29 November

Constitution: 27 April 1992

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Dragisa PESIC (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub LABUS (since 25 January 2001)
cabinet: Federal Ministries act as Cabinet
elections: president elected by the Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 7 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Svetozar MAROVIC elected president by the Parliament; percent of vote - Svetozar MAROVIC NA%

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (126 seats - 91 Serbian, 35 Montenegrin - filled by nominees of the two state parliaments for the first two years, after which the president will call for public elections
elections: last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held NA 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DOS 37, DLECG 19, DSS 17, ZP 14, SPS 12, SRS 8, SDP 5, SSJ 5, other 9

Judicial branch: Federal Court or Savezni Sud; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts are elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms
note: after the promulgation of the new Constitution, the Federal Court will have constitutional and administrative functions; it will have an equal number of judges from each republic

Political parties and leaders: Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Jozsef KASZA]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Dr. Ibrahim RUGOVA, president]; Democratic List for European Montenegro or DLECG [leader NA]; Democratic Opposition of Serbia or DOS (a coalition of many small parties including DSS) [leader NA]; Democratic Party or DS [Zoran DJINDJIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Party of Serb Unity or SSJ [Borislav PELEVIC]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Tomislav NIKOLIC]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party and party of Slobodan MILOSEVIC) [Zoran ANDJELKOVIC, general secretary]; Social Dmocratic Party or SDP [Rasim LJAJIC]; Together for Changes or ZP [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Ibrahim RUGOVA]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Group of 17 Independent Economists or G-17 [leader NA]; National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo or LKCK [Sabit GASHI]; Otpor Student Resistance Movement [leader NA]; Political Council for Presevo, Meveda and Bujanovac or PCPMB [leader NA]; The People's Movement for Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI]

International organization participation: ABEDA, BIS, CCC, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ivan ZIVKOVIC
chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 462-6566

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador William D. MONTGOMERY
embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade
telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344
FAX: [381] (11) 646-031
branch office: Pristina

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red

Economy

Economy - overview: MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the war in Kosovo has left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. Since the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government has implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in November 2001; it will write off 66% of the debt and provide a basis for Belgrade to seek similar debt relief on its $2.8 billion London Club commercial debt. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain it's own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is moving toward local autonomy under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is dependent on the international community for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget. The complexity of Serbia and Montenegro political relationships, slow progress in privatization, and stagnation in the European economy are holding back the economy; nonetheless, growth may be 4.5% in 2003.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $25.3 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.5% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,370 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 26%
industry: 36%
services: 38% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line: 30%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 18% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 3 million (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate: 28% (2002 est.)

Budget: revenues: $3.9 billion
expenditures: $4.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Industries: machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals

Industrial production growth rate: 1.8% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production: 32.984 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 59%
hydro: 41%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption: 31.546 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports: 43 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports: 914 million kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats

Exports: $2.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities: manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials

Exports - partners: Italy 16.4%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 13.1%, Germany 12.1%, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 9.2% (2001)

Imports: $5.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials

Imports - partners: Russia 14.2%, Germany 12.2%, Italy 10.3%, Greece 4.5% (2001)

Debt - external: $9.2 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $2 billion pledged in 2001 (disbursements to follow for several years)

Currency: new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the euro is legal tender; in Kosovo both the euro and the Yugoslav dinar are legal (2002)

Currency code: YUM

Exchange rates: new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 65 (January 2002), 10.0 (December 1998), 5.85 (December 1997), 5.02 (September 1996); black market rate: 14.5 (December 1998), 8.9 (December 1997)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 2.017 million (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 87,000 (1997)

Telephone system: general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios: 3.15 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: more than 771 (including 86 strong stations and 685 low-power stations, plus 20 repeaters in the principal networks; also numerous local or private stations in Serbia and Vojvodina) (1997)

Televisions: 2.75 million (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 9 (2000)

Internet users: 400,000 (2001)

Transportation

Railways: total: 4,059 km
standard gauge: 4,059 km 1.435-m gauge (1,377 km electrified)
note: during the 1999 Kosovo conflict, the Serbian rail system suffered significant damage due to bridge destruction; many rail bridges have been rebuilt; Montenegrin rail lines remain intact (2001)

Highways: total: 48,603 km
paved: 28,822 km (including 560 km of expressways)
note: because of the 1999 Kosovo conflict, many road bridges were destroyed; since the end of the conflict in June 1999, there has been an intensive program to either rebuild bridges or build by-pass routes (1999)
unpaved: 19,781 km

Waterways: 587 km
note: the Danube River, central Europe's connection with the Black Sea, runs through Serbia; since early 2000, a pontoon bridge, replacing a destroyed conventional bridge, has obstructed river traffic at Novi Sad; the obstruction is bypassed by a canal system, the inadequate lock size of which limits the size of vessels which may pass; the pontoon bridge can be opened for large ships but has slowed river traffic (2001)

Pipelines: crude oil 415 km; petroleum products 130 km; natural gas 2,110 km

Ports and harbors: Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika

Merchant marine: total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,437 GRT/400 DWT
ships by type: short-sea passenger 1 (2002 est.)

Airports: 46 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 19 19
over 3,047 m: 2 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2 2
under 914 m: 4 4 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 6

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 26 27
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 2 13 (2002)

Heliports: 4 (2002)

Military

Military branches: Army (VJ) (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces)

Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,589,437 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,082,322 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 82,542 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $654 million (2002)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina have delimited about half of their boundary, but several segments, particularly along the meandering Drina River, remain in dispute; The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (F.Y.R.O.M.)-Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) signed and ratified a boundary agreement, which adjusts the former republic boundaries, with demarcation to commence in 2002; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo dispute authority of the agreement which cedes small tracts of Kosovo to F.Y.R.O.M.; Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro continue to discuss disputed Prevlaka Peninsula and control over the Gulf of Kotor despite imminent UN intention to withdraw UNMOP observer mission

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to money laundering