| 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 partisan 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 in name,
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" 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 Serbs
of ethnic Albanians living in the autonomous republic of Kosovo provoked
an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the
stationing of NATO and Russian peacekeepers in Kosovo. Blatant attempts to
manipulate presidential balloting in October of 2000 were followed by
massive nationwide demonstrations and strikes that saw the election
winner, Vojislav KOSTUNICA, replace MILOSEVIC. Government type: republic
Capital: Belgrade
Currency: new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the
German deutsche mark is legal tender (1999)
Geography of Yugoslavia
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea,
between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 21 00 E
Area:
total: 102,350 sq km
land: 102,136 sq km
water: 214 sq km
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
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: 40%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 20.7%
forests and woodland: 17.3%
other: 22% (1998 est.)
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 of Yugoslavia
Population: 10,829,175 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19.8%
15-64 years: 65.3%
65 years and over: 14.9%
Population growth rate: -0.27%
Birth rate: 12.61 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 10.54 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: -4.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 17.42 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.5 years
male: 70.57 years
female: 76.67 years
Total fertility rate: 1.75 children born/woman
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)
SOURCE: The World Factbook |