SERBIA

GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION

Official name: Republic of Serbia
Capital: Belgrade
Area: 88.361 sq. Km.
Population: 7,498.000
Official languages: Serbian
Monetary unit: Dinar
Ethnic/cultural composition: Serbian (66%), Albanian (17%), Hungarian (3.5%), other (13.5%)
Religion: Orthodox, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant
Serbian Human Development Index: 74/178 (2004)
Kosovo Human Development Index:  101/178 (2004)
Annual population growth rate: 0.3
Fertility rate:  1.69
Life expectancy: 72.39 years

Annual GDP growth (excluding Kosovo): 5.9% (2005)
GDP per capita (excluding Kosovo): 3.280 USD  
Kosovo GDP per capita: 1.600 USD

GDP Distribution:
Primary Sector: 16.6%.
Secondary Sector: 25.5%.
Tertiary Sector: 57.9%. (2005)

Inflation: 15.5% (2005).
External debt: USD 19.605,7 million (62 % of GDP).

Unemployment rate: 31.6% (The rate in Kosovo is that of approximately 50%)
Access to drinking water: n/a

Geography

Rich and fertile plains of Vojvodina make up the north of the country, while the limestone ranges and basins of Balkan and Carpathian Mountains characterize the eastern region. The major rivers are Danube, Drava, Sava, Drina and Tisa. Danube flows east through the northern part of Serbia into Romania. The Sava, Drava, and Tisza rivers are also navigable and are used for commercial transport.

Climate

Major part of Serbia has continental climate, cold winters and hot summers. The interior of the country has a more extreme climate. The average temperature in Belgrade in January is 0ºC, while in July it is 21ºC. At the mountains in the interior the altitude lowers summer temperatures and causes cold and hard winters with heavy snowfalls.

Natural resources

The minerals are the principal natural resource of Serbia. Antimonium and lead deposits in the country are among the greatest in Europe. Carbon, zinc, chrome and copper are also to be found, as well as small deposits of natural gas.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DATA

The Republic of , consisting of the historical region of Serbia (currently known as the Central Serbia) and autonomous provinces of Vojvodina (at the north) and Kosovo (at the south of the country, has an administrative division into 29 districts and the City of Belgrade.

Government: After the independence of Montenegro in 2006, Serbia is organized as a parliamentarian republic. The National Assembly has 250 members elected by direct voting for a four-year term.
 
President of Serbia: Boris Tadić
Prime Minister: Vojislav Kostunica

After the decision adopted at the Thesaloniki Summit in June 2003, Serbia became a potential candidate for access to the European Union, but since the country has not met its commitments to cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the European Commission has decided to suspend the negotiations in May 2006.    

Also, the Kosovo province inside Serbia has a special position, being under the interim administration of the United Nations with interim institutions of self-government and a special juridical status defined by the Resolution 1244 of the Security Council of June 9, 1999.

President: Fatmir Sejdiu
Prime Minister: Agim Ceku.
On January 26 of 2007 Martti Ahtisaari, Special UN Envoy for Kosovo, presented the details of his proposal for a definite status of the province. Even though it does not propose the independence, the document establishes an important grade of autonomy. This work draft opens a long path of negotiations which could possibly cause certain modifications of the document before its final adoption.

Information for the traveler

You can find more information in the document prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain

Note: Information presented on this page was obtained thanks to the Reports prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain (MFA), World Bank (WB), The Fact Book, UNDP Human Development Report.