Serbia

I

Introduction

Serbia (in Serbian, Srbija), landlocked republic, south-eastern Europe, formerly comprising with Montenegro, the federal republic of Serbia and Montenegro (known until February 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY). Montenegro declared independence in June 2006. Serbia is bordered on the north by Hungary; on the north-west by Croatia, on the east by Romania and Bulgaria; on the south by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; on the south-west by Albania; and on the west by Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia was one of the six constituent republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed on April 27, 1992, by the two republics and claimed by them to be the automatic successor of the SFRY, a claim not acknowledged by the UN or recognized internationally. Serbia includes the formerly autonomous provinces of Kosovo, in the south, and Vojvodina, in the north. Including these two, Serbia has an area of 88,361 sq km (34,116 sq mi); without them, it is 55,968 sq km (21,609 sq mi). The capital of Serbia is Belgrade.

II

Land and Resources

Serbia is mostly mountainous. The Dinaric Alps are to the west, the Sar Mountains and the North Albanian Alps (Prokletje) ring it to the south; and the Balkan and Carpathian mountains lie to the east. Many peaks in these ranges surpass 1,800 m (6,000 ft), with the highest ranges in the south, where the intermontane Kosovo and Metohija basins contain the province of Kosovo. Central Serbia, the Šumadija (“forested area”), is hilly and the most populous area of the country. In the north are the low-lying, fertile, plains of the province of Vojvodina, where the Sova and Tisza rivers join the River Danube. The Danube enters Serbia from the northern border with Hungary, and flows south-east where it forms the border between Serbia and Romania. The River Morava and its tributaries drain most of the centre and south, before flowing north to join the Danube.

Serbia has a generally continental climate with cold, dry winters and warm, humid summers. Temperatures in Belgrade average 1.7° C (35° F) in January, and almost 22.8° C (73° F) in July. Precipitation ranges between about 560 and 1,900 mm (22 and 75 in) depending on elevation and exposure.

III

Population

The population of Serbia (including Kosovo and Vojvodina) in 2008 was estimated at 10,159,046. Almost two thirds of the population of Serbia (including Kosovo and Vojvodina) is ethnically Serb; excluding the two provinces, Serbs comprise almost 88 per cent of the population.

Minorities include Muslims, ethnic Croats and Hungarians, Albanians, and others. In Vojvodina, more than half the population is Serb, with a large ethnic Hungarian minority. In Kosovo, more than 90 per cent of the population is Albanian; Albanians made up 17 per cent of the total population of Serbia at the 1991 census. The small minorities of Croats who lived in Vojvodina and Belgrade, as well as many of the Muslims (who live mainly in the Sandžk region of the south-west), have fled Serbia since 1991.

There were about 2.1 million ethnic Serbs living in the other republics of the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Of this total about 1.4 million (66 per cent) lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina; 580,000 (28 per cent) in Croatia; fewer than 60,000 (3 per cent) in Montenegro; and fewer than 50,000 (2 per cent) each in Slovenia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The official language is Serbian, which is written using the Cyrillic script. Minorities also speak their own languages, notably Albanian and Hungarian. The dominant religion is the Serbian Orthodox branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, with smaller numbers of Muslims, Catholics, and Protestants.

The capital and largest city of Serbia is Belgrade (population, 2002, 1,119,020), which was also the capital of Serbia and Montenegro. Other important cities are Novi Sad (190,602, 2002), Niš (173,390, 2002), Subotica (99,471, 2002), Zrenjanin (79,545, 2002), and Kragujevac (145,890, 2002).

IV

Economy

The wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia had a serious effect on the Serbian economy, but even more disastrous has been the effect of the economic sanctions imposed on Serbia (and Montenegro as a member of the FRY) by the UN because of its military support of Bosnian Serb forces in Bosnia. Formally agreed on May 30, 1992, the sanctions involved a total ban on trade, the suspension of air links, the withdrawal of diplomats, the seizure of financial assets overseas, and the cancellation of sporting and cultural exchanges. Although trade sanctions have been only partially effective, with Albania proving a remarkably porous border for both oil imports and Serbian exports, the general results have been devastating, particularly for ordinary people. Economic output declined by a third between 1991 and 1992, before the start of sanctions; by the end of 1993 hyperinflation was running at over 300,000 per cent, and the currency of the FRY, the new dinar, was pegged to the US dollar, after numerous devaluations, at 700,000 new dinars equal US$1. Unemployment was widespread and rising, and many industries were nearing collapse because of lack of raw materials.

The easing of sanctions in October 1994, in return for FRY agreement to end military support, and especially arms supplies, to Croatian and Bosnian Serbs, enabled some improvement in the economy. Hyperinflation began to be brought under control with the introduction in January 1994 of a new convertible super dinar, equivalent to 1,000 million old dinars, and linked to the value of the Deutschmark (55.23 new dinars equalled US$1; 2008). However, the degree of recovery has been hindered by the amount of the country’s economic resources that are being diverted to the military, and by the loss of many conscription-age men and professionals who have fled the country since 1991. Unemployment has remained at more than 50 per cent since mid-1993, and more than 4 million people are estimated to be living below the poverty line.

The Serbian economy is normally based on a mixture of agricultural and industrial production. Traditionally, Vojvodina has been the most important agricultural area. Major crops grown include wheat, maize, sugar beet, hemp, flax, and fruit. Cattle, sheep, and pigs are also raised. Formerly Serbia was one of the chief copper producers of Europe, and its industries were based around mineral-processing and the manufacture of textiles, chemicals, and machinery.