Geography
Serbia is located in Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. It is placed at the crossroads between Central, Southern and Eastern Europe. The Danube River (2,850 km.) flows through the northern third of the country; it is 588 km. long and forms the border with Croatia and part of Romania. The Sava River, flows into the Danube in central Belgrade. The eastern border of the country is determined by the Carpathian Mountain range, which runs through the whole of Central Europe. Over one quarter of Serbia's overall landmass (27%) is covered by forest.
History
Centuries shaped the cultural boundaries between East and West, a powerful medieval Kingdom, later Serbian Empire, was created, taking up much of the Balkans. The modern state of Serbia emerged in 1817, following the Second Serbian uprising. Later, it expanded its territory further south to include Kosovo and Metohija and the regions of Raška and Vardar Macedonia (in 1912). Finally, Vojvodina (formerly an autonomous Habsburg crown land named Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat) proclaimed its succession from Austria-Hungary, and united with Serbia in November 25, 1918, preceded by the Syrmia region a day before. The current borders of the country were established following the end of World War II, when Serbia became a federal unit within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Serbia became an independent state again in 2006, after Montenegro left the union which was formed after the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1990s.
Key historical dates
- Formation -- 8th century
- Independence lost to Ottoman Empire -- 1459
- Modern State of Serbia -- 1817
- Kingdom of Serbs Croats and Slovenes formed -- 1918
- Socialist Yugoslavia formed -- 1943
- Breakup of Yugoslavia -- 1991-1995
- Union of Serbia and Montenegro dissolved -- 2006
- Kosovo declares independence from Serbia -- 2008
Culture
Serbia is one of Europe's most culturally diverse countries. The borders between large empires ran through the territory of today's Serbia for long periods in history: between the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire; between Kingdom of Hungary, Bulgarian Empire, Frankish Kingdom and Byzantium; and between the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire (later Austria-Hungary). As a result, while the north is culturally "Central European", the south is rather more "Oriental". Not unexpectedly, both regions have influenced each other, and so the distinction between north and south is artificial to some extent. The Byzantine Empire's influence on Serbia was perhaps the greatest. Serbs are Orthodox Christians with their own national church -- the Serbian Orthodox Church. They use both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, as a result of both Eastern and Western influences.
Serbia and Montenegro
From 2003 to 2006, Serbia was part of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, into which the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia had been transformed. On May 21, 2006 Montenegro held a referendum to determine whether or not to end the union with Serbia. The next day, state-certified results showed 55.5% of voters in favor of independence, which was just above the 55% required by the referendum.
Republic of Serbia
On June 5, 2006 National Assembly of Serbia declared "The Republic of Serbia" to be the legal successor to the State Union, following the decision of the people of Montenegro expressed at the independence referendum.
Population and Religion Serbia
The population of Serbia is approximately 10 million. Serbs are the most numerous ethnic group accounting for about two thirds of the total population. Albanians make up 17% of the population, and other minorities include Bosnians, Hungarians, Croats, Romanians, Slovaks, Bulgarians, etc. Religious affiliations of the population break down as follows: Orthodox Christian 85%, Roman Catholic 5.5%, Muslim 3%, Protestant 1%. Education is required and is free and about 10% of the population have post-secondary education.
President
The President of the country is elected for a period of 5 years and nominates candidates for Prime Minister whose appointment must be ratified by the Parliament.
Parliament
Parliament is a legislative body with a total number of 250 members.
Doing Business in Serbia
There are many publications of interest on this matter as well as various websites. Some are listed here:
KPMG publication > Investing in Serbia - PDF
Serbia Investment and Export Promotion Agency - WEBSITE
