Serbia

Background: The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Various paramilitary bands resisted Nazi Germany's occupation and division of Yugoslavia from 1941 to 1945, but fought each other and ethnic opponents as much as the invaders. The military and political movement headed by Josip TITO (Partisans) took full control of Yugoslavia when German and Croatian separatist forces were defeated in 1945. In 1989, Slobodan MILOSEVIC became president of the Serbian Republic and his ultranationalist calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakup of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992.
Location: Southeastern Europe, between Macedonia and Hungary Area: total: 88,361 sq km land: 88,361 sq km. Area - comparative: slightly larger than South Carolina Land boundaries: Total: 2,027 km , border countries: T2,027 km .
Climate and Terrain: Climate: in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); in other parts, continental and Mediterranean climate (hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall) Terrain: extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills . Natural resources: oil, gas, coal, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, magnesium, pyrite, limestone, marble, salt, arable land.
People: Population: 9,396,411. Ethnic groups: Serb 66%, Albanian 17%, Hungarian 3.5%, other 13.5%. Religions: Serbian Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Protestant. Languages: Serbian (official); Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Croatian (all official in Vojvodina); Albanian (official in Kosovo).
Government: Government type: Republic. Capital: Belgrade. Independence: 5 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro).
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 NATO airstrikes in 1999 left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. Most of Kosovo's population lives in rural towns outside of the largest city, Pristina.
Statistics: Telephones - main lines in use: 2.685 million. Telephones - mobile cellular: 5.229 million. Radio broadcast stations: 153. Internet users: 1.4 million. Railways: Total: 41,135 km. Highways: Total: 37,887 km, paved: 23,937, unpaved: 13,950 km. Airports - with paved runways: 18, with unpaved runways: 23