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| |+<big><big>'''Република Србија'''<br/>'''Republika Srbija'''</big><br/>Republic of Serbia</big> | |||
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| | align=center width=140px | ] | |||
| | align=center width=140px | ] | |||
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| | style="text-align: center; background: #f9f9f9;" | ] | |||
| | {{Serbia and Montenegro 2}} | |||
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| | ]{{footnote|1}} | |||
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| | ''']'''<br/> – Total<br/> – % water | |||
| | <br/> 88,361 ]<br/> n/a | |||
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| | ''']'''<br/> – Total (])<br/> (not including data for Kosovo and Metohia Province)<br/> – ]<br/> | |||
| | <br/> 7.498.001<br/><br/> 126.83/km² | |||
| |- | |||
| | ''']'''<br/> (not including data for Kosovo and Metohia Province) | |||
| | ]: 82,86%<br/>]: 3,91%<br/>]: 1,82%<br/>]: 1,44%<br/>]: 0,94%<br/>]: 0,82%<br/>]: 0,79%<br/>]: 0,53%<br/>]: 0,46%<br/>]: 0,27%<br/>Others: 6,16% | |||
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| |-t sure whait looks like vandalism | |||
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| | ] (])''Also ] (]) in Kosovo'' | |||
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| | ] still used (] reserved) | |||
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| # In Vojvodina, the following languages are also official: ], ], ], ] and ];<br/>In Kosovo also: ]. | |||
| |} | |||
| The '''Republic of Serbia''' (]: Република Србија) is a ] in south-eastern ] which is united with ] in a loose commonwealth known as the State Union of ]. | |||
| The roots of the Serbian state reach back to the first half of the ]. The Kingdom of Serbia was established in the ], and in the ] it eventually became the ]. The Empire fell to the Turks after the historic Serbian defeat at the ] in ]. The Serbian states of ] and ] managed to survive for another seventy years until they too were annexed to the Ottoman Empire, whose rule would last for the next four centuries despite three Austrian occupations and numerous rebellions. The ] of 1804-1813 and the ] of 1815 resulted in the establishment of the ], which was semi-independent from Turkey, and the formation of modern Serbia. In 1876 ], ], and ] declared war against Turkey and proclaimed their unification. However, the ] of ] granted complete independence "only" to ] and ], leaving ] and ] to ]--which blocked their unification until the ] of ] and ], and ] (1914-1918). After ], Serbia was a founding member of ] in its various forms (the ], the ], and the ]). | |||
| ==History== | |||
| ]''. According to this interpretation, the western border of Serbia was the river Vrbas]] | |||
| ]''. According to this interpretation, the western border of Serbia was the river Una]] | |||
| ]. According to this interpretation, the western border of Serbia was the river Una]] | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| ''See also '''The Serbia Series:''''' | |||
| {|style="border:1px solid #8888aa; background-color:#f7f8ff; padding:2px; font-size:85%;" | |||
| | colspan="4" rowspan="1" style="text-align: center; background-color: rgb(204, 153, 51);" |]–] | |||
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| |style="text-align: center;" | ] | |||
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| |style="text-align: center;" | ] | |||
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| |style="text-align: center;" | ] | |||
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| |style="text-align: center;" | ] | |||
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| |style="text-align: center;" | ] | |||
| |} | |||
| ''See also: ], ], ]'' | |||
| === Medieval Serbia, 7th – 14th century === | |||
| {{Main|History of Medieval Serbia}} | |||
| The Serbs entered their present territory early in the ], settling in six distinct tribal delimitations: | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *]/] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| The first recorded Serb princes were ], ], ] and ]. By that time, the country had entirely accepted ]. In ], today's ], ] was ] by the ] in 1077. At this time, Serbs were Catholics as well as Orthodox. King Mihailo also obtained from the Pope the title of Archbishop for the city of Bar. With this act, the Serbs managed to achieve religious independence. His son, Konstantin Bodin, claimed the throne in 1080, and ruled until his death in 1101. The rulers kept changing and the country accepted supreme protection from the ] rather than from the hostile ]. Serbia was freed from the Byzantine Empire a century later. | |||
| Serbs have not been united since the Middle Ages. The nation was split into several states, which were at times independent but at other times united. The names of those states were Duklja (Zeta), Zahumlje , Travunija , Pagania , Bosna and Rascia . Eventualy Rascia emerged as the strongest and took the name Serbia instead. The first Serb-organized state emerged under Časlav Klonimirović in the mid-10th century in Rascia. The first half of the ] saw the rise of the Vojislavljević family in Zeta. Marked by disintegration and crises, it lasted until the end of ]. After a struggle for the throne with his brothers, Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the ], rose to power in ] and started renewing the Serbian state in the Raska region. Sometimes with the sponsorship of Byzantium, and sometimes opposing it, the ''veliki zupan'' (a title equivalent to the rank of ]) ] expanded his state by seizing territories in the east and south, and newly annexed the littoral and the Zeta region. Along with his governmental efforts, the ''veliki zupan'' dedicated much care to the construction of monasteries. His endowments include the Djurdjevi Stupovi Monastery and the ] Monastery in the ] region, and the ] Monastery on Mount Athos. The Nemanjići led Serbia to a golden age which produced a powerful state with its apogee under Tsar ] in the mid-], before finally succumbing to the ] (with Zeta, the last bastion, finally falling in ]). | |||
| ] and ]]] | |||
| ] was succeeded by his middle son Stefan II, whilst his first-born, Vukan, was given the rule of the Zeta region (present-day Montenegro). Stefan Nemanja's youngest son Rastko became a monk and took the name of ], turning all his efforts to spreading Christianity among his people. Since the Curia already had ambitions to spread its influence to the Balkans as well, ] used these propitious circumstances to obtain his crown from the Pope, thus becoming the first Serbian king in ]. Actually he was only the first Serbian King to came from Rascia, because the first Serbian king was King Mihailo from Zeta. In ], his brother Sava managed to secure the ] status for the Serbian Church and became the first Serbian orthodox] in ]. Thus the Serbs acquired both forms of independence: temporal and religious. | |||
| The next generation of Serbian rulers - the sons of ] - ], ] and ], marked a period of stagnation of the state structure. All three kings were more or less dependent on some of the neighboring states - ], ] or ]. Hungary's ties played a decisive role in his son's ] succession to the throne, on account of his son's marriage to a Hungarian princess. Later when Dragutin ] in favor of his younger brother ] (in ]), the Hungarian king ] gave him lands in northeastern ], the regions of ], ] and ], and the city of ], whilst he managed to conquer and annex lands in northeastern Serbia. His new state was named the ''Kingdom of Srem'', and the northern border of the state crossed not only the ] river, but also the ]. Thus, some of these territories became part of the Serbian state for the first time. After Dragutin died (in ]), the new ruler of the ''Kingdom of Srem'' was his son, King ], who ruled until ]. | |||
| Under the rule of ]'s younger brother — ], Serbia grew stronger in spite of the fact that it had to occasionally fight wars on three different fronts. King Milutin was an apt diplomat much inclined to the use of customary medieval diplomatic expedients — dynastic marriages. He was married five times, with Hungarian, Bulgarian and Byzantine princesses. He is also famous for building churches, some of which are the brightest examples of medieval Serbian architecture: the ] in Kosovo, the Cathedral in ] Monastery on ], the ] in ] etc. Because of his endowments, King Milutin has been proclaimed a saint, in spite of his tumultuous life. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Stefan, later dubbed ]. Spreading the kingdom to the east by conquering the town of ] and the surrounding counties, and to the south by acquiring territories in Macedonia. Stefan Dečanski was worthy of his father and built the Visoki ] in ] — the most monumental example of Serbian medieval architecture — that earned him his nickname. | |||
| ]]] | |||
| Medieval Serbia enjoyed a high political, economic, and cultural reputation in Europe. It was one of the few states that did not practice the feudal order. Medieval Serbia reached its apex in the mid-14th century, during the rule of Tzar ]. This is the period of the Dusanov Zakonik (], ]), a juridical achievement very unique among the European states of the time. Tzar Dusan opened up new trade routes and strengthened the state's economy. Serbia flourished, featuring one of the most evolved countries and cultures in Europe. Some of Serbia's greatest Medieval arts were created during this period, most notably St. Sava's ]. Tzar ] doubled the size of his kingdom seizing territories to the south, southeast and east at the expense of ] and conquered almost the entire of today's Greece without Peloponesia and the islands. After he conquered the city of Ser, he was crowned as the ] by the first Serbian Patriarch in 1346. Before his sudden death, Stefan Dušan tried to organize a Crusade with the Pope against the threatening Turks. Unfortunately, he died in December 1355 at the age 47. Modern abduction of the emperor's body revealed that he was poisoned. He was succeeded by his son ], called the Weak, a term that might also apply to the state of the kingdom slowly sliding into feudal anarchy. This was a period marked by the rise of a new threat: the ] which gradually spread from ] to ] conquering ] first and then the remaining ] states. | |||
| === Turkish conquest === | |||
| {{Main|History of Ottoman Serbia}} | |||
| ]]] | |||
| Two of the most powerful Serbian barons in the Serbian Empire, the brothers Mrnjavcevic, gathered a great Army to fight and push back the Turks from Europe. They marched into Turkish territory in ] to attack the enemy but they were too confident in themselves. They built a camp overnight near the river Marica in today's Turkey, and started celebrating and getting drunk. During the night, a detachment of Turkish forces attacked the drunk Serbian knights and drove them back to the river. Most of the Serbs were either drowned or killed, thereby annihilating the Serbian army which was gathered from southern states. | |||
| Having defeated the Serbian army in two crucial battles: on the banks of the river Marica in ] — where the forces of Serbian noblemen Mrnjavcevic from todays ] were defeated, and on Kosovo Polje (Kosovo Field) in ], where the vassal troops commanded by Prince Lazar — the strongest regional ruler in Serbia at the time —killed Turkish Sultan Murat but suffered a defeat, due to the legendary "sudden departure" of Brankovic's Serbian troops. The ] defined the fate of Serbia, because after it no force capable of standing up to the Turks existed. This was an instable period marked by the rule of Prince Lazar's son — despot ] — a true European-style knight a military leader as well as a poet, and his cousin ], who moved the ] north — to the newly built fortified town of ]. The Turks continued their conquest until they finally seized the entire norhern Serbian territory in ] when Smederevo fell into their hands. Only free Serbian territories were parts of Bosnia and Zeta. But they lasted only until 1496. The present-day Serbian territory would be ruled by the Ottoman Empire for the next four centuries. | |||
| In the ] on ] ], ] destroyed the army of ]-] ] ], who was killed on the battlefield. After this battle ] ceased to be independent state and became a part of the Ottoman Empire. Soon after the Battle of Mohács, leader of Serbian mercenaries in Hungary, ] established his rule in ], northern ] and a small part of ]. (These three regions are now parts of ]). He created an ephemeral independent state, with city ] as its capital. At the pitch of his power, Jovan Nenad crowned himself in Subotica for Serb emperor. Taking advantage of the extremely confused military and political situation, the Hungarian noblemen from the region joined forces against him and defeated the Serbian troops in the summer of ]. Emperor Jovan Nenad was assassinated and his state collapsed. | |||
| European powers, and ] in particular, fought many wars against the Ottoman Empire, relying on the help of the Serbs that lived under Ottoman rule. During the ] (]–]). in ], the Serbs staged an uprising in ] — the ]n part of Turkey, and sultan ] retaliated by burning the remains of St Sava — the most sacred thing for all Serbs, honored even by ]s of Serbian origin. Serbs created another center of resistance in ] but when peace was signed by Turkey and Austria they abandoned to Turkish vengeance. This sequence of events became usual in the centuries that followed.]]] | |||
| During the Great War (]–]) between Turkey and the ] — created with the sponsorship of the Pope and including Austria, ] and ] — these three powers incited the Serbs to rebel against the Turkish authorities and soon uprisings and ] spread throughout the western Balkans: from ] and the ] to the ] basin and Ancient Serbia (Macedonia, Raška, Kosovo and Metohija). However, when the Austrians started to pull out of Serbia, they invited the Serbian people to come north with them to the Austrian territories. Having to choose between Ottoman reprisal and living in a ] state, Serbs abandoned their homesteads and headed north lead by ] ]. | |||
| Another important episode in Serbian history took place in ]–], when the Serbian ethnic territories ranging from Dalmatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to Belgrade and the Danube basin newly became the battleground for a new Austria-Ottoman war launched by Prince ]. The Serbs sided once again with Austria. After a peace treaty was signed in Požarevac, the Ottomans lost all its possessions in the Danube basin, as well as northern Serbia and northern Bosnia, parts of Dalmatia and the ]. | |||
| The last Austrian-Ottoman war was the so called ] (]–]), when the Austrians newly urged the Christians in Bosnia to rebel. No wars were fought afterwards until the ] that marked the fall of both mighty empires. | |||
| === Modern Serbia === | |||
| {{Main|History of Modern Serbia}} | |||
| Serbia gained its autonomy from the ] in two uprisings in ] and ], although Turkish troops continued to garrison the capital, ], until ]. The Turkish Empire was already faced with a deep internal crisis without any hope of recuperating. This had a particularly hard effect on the Christian nations living under its rule. The Serbs launched not only a national revolution but a social one as well and gradually Serbia started to catch up with the European states with the introduction of the bourgeois society values. Resulting from the uprisings and subsequent wars against the Ottoman Empire, the independent Principality of Serbia was formed and granted international recognition in ]. Serbia was a ] or kneževina (knjaževina), between ] and ], and a ] between ] and ], during which time the internal politics revolved largely around dynastic rivalry between the ] and ] families. | |||
| This period was marked by the alternation of two dynasties descending from ] — Karađorđe, leader of the First Serbian Uprising and ], leader of the Second Serbian Uprising. Further development of Serbia was characterized by general progress in economy, culture and arts, primarily due to a wise state policy of sending young people to European capitals to get an education. They all brought back a new spirit and a new system of values. One of the external manifestations of the transformation that the former Turkish province was going through was the proclamation of the Kingdom of Serbia in 1882. | |||
| ]) in ]]] | |||
| Between ] and ] there was an ] crown land known as Dukedom (]) of Serbia and Tamis ]. This region is still known as Vojvodina. | |||
| In the second half of ], Serbia was integrated into the constellation of European states and the first political parties were founded thus giving new momentum to political life. The ] in ], bringing Karađorđe's grandson to the throne with the title of King ] opened the way for parliamentary democracy in Serbia. Having received a European education, this liberal king translated "On Freedom" by ] and gave his country a democratic constitution. It initiated a period of parliamentary government and political freedom interrupted by the outbreak of the liberation wars. The ] ]–], terminated the Turkish domination in the Balkans. Turkey was pushed back towards the Bosporus, and national Balkan states were created in the territories it withdrew from. | |||
| ==== Serbia in World War I ==== | |||
| The ], ] assassination of Austrian Crown Prince ] in the ]n capital ], served as a pretext for the Austrian attack on Serbia that marked the beginning of ], despite Serbia's acceptance (on ]) of nearly all of ]'s demands. The Serbian Army bravely defended its country and won several major victories, but it was finally overpowered by the joint forces of ], Austria-Hungary and ], and had to withdraw from the national territory marching across the ]n mountain ranges to the ]. On ] Serbia was promised by the ] the territories of Srem, Baranja, eastern Slavonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and eastern Dalmatia as a reward after the war; although, this would not come to be because of the much more popular myth of a "unified South Slavic Country" (see below) Having recuperated on ] the Serbian Army returned to combat on the ] front together with other ] forces comprising ], the ], ], ] and the ]. In World War I, Serbia had 1,264,000 casualties — 28% of its 4½m population, which also represented 58% of its male population — a loss from which it never fully recovered. This enormous sacrifice was the contribution Serbia gave to the Allied victory and the remodeling of Europe and of the World after World War I. | |||
| === The Kingdom of Yugoslavia === | |||
| {{Main|History of The Kingdom of Yugoslavia}} | |||
| With the end of ] and the collapse of both the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires the conditions were met for proclaiming the ] in December of ]. The Yugoslav ideal had long been cultivated by the intellectual circles of the three nations that gave the name to the country, but the international constellation of political forces and interests did not permit its implementation until then. However, after the war, idealist intellectuals gave way to politicians, and the most influential Croatian politicians opposed the new state right from the start. | |||
| The ] (HSS) headed by ], and then by ] slowly grew to become a massive party endorsing Croatian national interests. According to its leaders the Yugoslav state did not provide a satisfactory solution to the Croatian national question. They chose to conduct their political battle by systematically obstructing state institutions and making political coalitions to undermine the state unity, thus extorting certain concessions. Each political or economic issue was used as a pretext for raising the so-called "unsettled Croatian question". | |||
| Trying to match this challenge and prevent any further weakening of the country, King ] banned national political parties in ], assumed executive power, and renamed the country ]. He hoped to curb separatist tendencies and mitigate nationalist passions. However the balance of power changed in international relations: in ] and Germany, ] and ] rose to power, and ] became the absolute ruler in the ]. None of these three states favored the policy pursued by Alexander I. The first two wanted to revise the international treaties signed after World War I, and the Soviets were determined to regain their positions in Europe and pursue a more active international policy. Yugoslavia was an obstacle for these plans, and King Aleksandar I was the pillar of the Yugoslav policy. | |||
| During an official visit to ] in ], the king was ] in ] by a member of the ] — an extreme nationalist organization in Bulgaria that had plans to annex territories along the eastern and southern Yugoslav border — with the cooperation of the ] — a Croatian fascist separatist organization, although some Croatian and independent scholars do not believe Croatian cooperation was provided or even necessary. It is possible to believe this without being a fascist sympathizer or a Catholic apologist. The international political scene in the late 1930s was marked by growing intolerance between the principal figures, by the aggressive attitude of the totalitarian regimes, and by the certainty that the order set up after World War I was losing its strongholds and its sponsors were losing their strength. Supported and pressured by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, Croatian leader Vlatko Maček and his party managed to extort the creation of the Croatian banovina (administrative province) in 1939. The agreement specified that Croatia was to remain part of Yugoslavia, but it was hurriedly building an independent political identity in international relations, much like the ] so far away to the west. | |||
| ==== Serbia in World War II ==== | |||
| At the beginning of the ], Yugoslavia found itself surrounded by hostile countries. Except for ], all other neighboring countries had signed agreements with either Germany or Italy. ] was strongly pressuring Yugoslavia to join the Axis powers. The government was even prepared to reach a compromise with him, but the spirit in the country was completely different. Public demonstrations against Nazism prompted a brutal reaction. The ] bombed ] and other major cities and in April ], the Axis powers occupied Yugoslavia and disintegrated it. The western parts of the country together with Bosnia and Herzegovina were turned into a Nazi puppet state called the ] (NDH) and ruled by the ]. Serbia was set up as another puppet state under serbian army general Milan Nedić. The northern territories were annexed by Hungary, and eastern and southern territories to Bulgaria. Kosovo and Metohia were mostly annexed by Albania which was under the sponsorship of fascist Italy. Montenegro also lost territories to Albania and was then occupied by Italian troops. ] was divided between Germany and Italy that also seized the islands in the Adriatic. | |||
| Following the Nazi example, the Independent State of Croatia established extermination camps and perpetrated an atrocious genocide killing of over at least 700,000 mainly Serbs, but also Jews and Gypsies, according to most independent studies of these atrocities; indeed some claim that 1,000,000 Serbs or more died in Croatian concentration camps by many means. The method of killing employed by authorities was to connect exhaust of trucks used to transport detainees to the cabin where they were loaded. This cabin had no fresh air supply, so the detainees would have died on the way to their burial site from carbon monoxide poisoning. This holocaust set the historical and political backdrop for the ] that broke out fifty years later in Croatia and Bosnia–Herzegovina and that accompanied the break-up of Yugoslavia in ]–]. | |||
| The ruthless attitude of the German occupation forces and the ] policy of the Croatian ] regime, aimed at Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and anti-Ustaša Croats, created a strong anti-fascist resistance. Many Yugoslavs, mostly Serbs, stood up against the genocide and the Nazis. Many joined the Partisan forces created by the Communist Party (National Liberation Army headed by ]) in the liberation and the revolutionary war against Nazis and all the others who were against communism. During this war, the Partisans killed many civilians who did not support their ideals. By the end of ], the Red Army liberated Serbia, and by May ], the remaining republics were meeting up with the Allied forces in Hungary, Austria and Italy. Yugoslavia was among the countries that had the greatest losses in the war: 1,700,000 (10.8% of the population) people were killed and national damages were estimated at 9.1 billion ]s according to the prices of that period. | |||
| === Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia === | |||
| {{Main|History of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia}} | |||
| While the war was still raging, in ], a revolutionary change of the social and state system was proclaimed with the abolition of monarchy in favor of the republic. ] became the first president of the new — socialist — ]. Once a predominantly agricultural country, Yugoslavia was transformed into a mid-range industrial country, and acquired an international political reputation by supporting the ] process and by assuming a leading role in the ]. Socialist Yugoslavia was established as a federal state comprising six ]s: Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia–Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro and two ]s within Serbia — Vojvodina and Kosovo and Metohija. The Serbs were both the most numerous and the most widely distributed of the Yugoslav peoples. | |||
| <!--Desperately need more history here, 40 years passed without anything noteworthy happening?--> | |||
| The ] constitution produced a significantly less centralized federation, increasing the ] of Yugoslavia's republics as well as the autonomous provinces of Serbia. | |||
| When Tito died in ], he was succeeded by a rotating presidency that led to a further weakening of ties between the republics. During the ] the republics pursued significantly different economic policies, with Slovenia and Croatia allowing significant market-based reforms, while Serbia kept to its existing program of state ownership. This, too, was a cause of tension between north and south, as Slovenia in particular experienced a period of strong growth. | |||
| <!--How about info about the Serbian economy, this is an article about Serbia after all, not just the break-up of YU--> | |||
| ==== The break-up of Yugoslavia ==== | |||
| Yugoslavia definitively and incontrovertibly broke up in 1995 following the success of Tudjman's forces over the Serbian establishment, which had been weakened and demoralized by the Allied bombings, embargoes and tacitly accepted Croatian arms-trafficking, and the subsequent secession of ], ] and part of ], which would prove by far the most troublesome and complicated part of the equation by the presence of the large Muslim (Bosniak) population, which had caused it to develop into an irredentist three-way conflict that was by far the bloodiest of the Yugoslav wars. | |||
| In ], continued reported Serbian resistence in Kosovo against the KLA led to ] aerial bombardment (See ]). The war stopped only after Milošević agreed to the retreat of the army and police from Kosovo. The province of Kosovo is now governed by the ]. | |||
| Slobodan Milošević remained in power after the Kosovo conflict. On ], ] after demonstrations and fighting with police, he was overthrown. The appointment of Vojislav Koštunica became legal when on the following morning, Milošević publicly aknowledged the uprising and thus conceded his presidency. Following parliamentary elections in January ], ] became Prime Minister. Đinđić was assassinated in Belgrade on ],] by assailants believed to be connected with ]. Immediately after the assassination, a state of emergency was declared ], acting Prime Minister for the Republic of Serbia. | |||
| In ] the name Yugoslavia was finally retired, as the two states agreed to a more free federation, to be known as the State Union of the Republics of Serbia and Montenegro. | |||
| ==Geography== | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| ] tourist center]] | |||
| Serbia is located in the ] (a historically and geographically distinct region of southeastern ]) and in the ] (an region of central Europe). It shares borders with ], ], ], ], ], ], the Former Yugoslav ], and ]. Serbia is ], although access to the ] is available through neighbouring ], and the ] provides shipping access to inland Europe and the ]. | |||
| Serbia's terrain ranges from the rich, fertile plains of the northern ] region, limestone ranges and basins in the east, and, in the southeast, ancient mountains and hills. The north is dominated by the Danube River. A tributary, the Morava River, flows through the more mountainous southern regions. | |||
| The Serbian ] varies between a continental climate in the north, with cold winters, and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall patterns, and a more Adriatic climate in the south with hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland. | |||
| See also: ] | |||
| === Mountains === | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ===Districts=== | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| A district is called ''Округ / Okrug'' in ]. The Republic of Serbia is divided into 29 districts and the city of Belgrade. Each ''okrug'' is made up of several Општина / Opština (municipalities), the closest equivalent of which would be an ] ], with the difference that all of Serbia is divided into ''opština'', not just urban areas. | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| List of districts: | |||
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| ===Administrative subdivisions=== | |||
| ] | |||
| See also: ] | |||
| Serbia is made up of 108 municipalities. It has two autonomous provinces: ] in the south (with 30 municipalities), which is presently under the administration of the ], and ] in the north (with 54 municipalities). | |||
| The part of Serbia that is neither in Kosovo nor in Vojvodina is called ]. Central Serbia is not an administrative division (unlike the two autonomous provinces), and it has no regional government of its own. In ] this region is often called "]" to denote "the part of the Republic of Serbia not including the provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo", as the ] puts it . This usage was apparently also employed in ] during the Yugoslav era (in the form of "uža Srbija" literally: narrow Serbia). Its use in English is purely geographical without any particular political meaning being implied. | |||
| Some political parties in Serbia (notably ] and ]) propose creation of new administrative units of Serbia. According to these proposals, Serbia would be divided into 6 regions: ] (capital city: ]), ] (capital city: ]), ] (capital city: ]), ] (capital city: ]), ] (capital city: ]), and ] City Region. | |||
| ===Nature preservation=== | |||
| Serbia has five ]s and many national nature reserves. | |||
| National parks: | |||
| * ] (250 km²) | |||
| * ] (120 km²) | |||
| * ] (220 km²) | |||
| * ] (]) (640 km²) | |||
| * ] (390 km²) | |||
| Nature parks: | |||
| * ] (1000 km²) | |||
| * ] (100 km²) | |||
| * ] (1420 km²) | |||
| * ] (750 km²) | |||
| * ] (1150 km²) | |||
| Special nature reservations: | |||
| * ] (300 km²) | |||
| * ] (98.20 km²) | |||
| * ] (5.93 km²) | |||
| * ] (175.01 km²) | |||
| * ] (17.67 km²) | |||
| Nature monuments: | |||
| * ] (0.64 km²) | |||
| ==Politics== | |||
| ''Main article: ], also see: ]'' | |||
| On ] ] the ] agreed to a weaker form of cooperation between ] and ] within a ] called ]. | |||
| After the fall of Slobodan Milošević on ] ], the country was governed by the ]. When Milošević was arrested, the ] (DSS) abandoned the coalition government. Nevertheless, in ] the DSS gathered enough support to form the new ], together with ] and coalition ], and the support of the ]. The ] is ], leader of the ]. | |||
| The current ] is Boris Tadić, leader of the ] (DS). He was elected with 53% of the vote in the second round of the ] held on ] ], following several unsuccessful elections since ]. | |||
| The current ] of the ], as of March 2004, is the former Yugoslav president, ], who replaced ] as Yugoslav president in October of ]. | |||
| Laws concerning the state union must be approved by the ], while bills concerning only Serbia are submitted to the ]. | |||
| == Transportation == | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| Serbia, and in particular the valley of the ], is often described as "the crossroads between East and West", which is one of the primary reasons for its turbulent history. The Morava valley route, which avoids mountainous regions, is by far the easiest way of travelling overland from continental ] to ] and ]. | |||
| ] E65, E70, E75 and E80, as well as the E662, E761, E762, E763, E771, and E851 pass through the country. The E70 westwards from Belgrade and most of the E75 are modern highways of ] / ] standard or close to that. | |||
| The ] River, ]'s connection to the ], flows through Serbia. | |||
| There are three international airports in Serbia: ], ], and the newly rebuilt ] airport. | |||
| The national airline carrier is ] and the railway system is operated by ] in ] and by ] on the national level. | |||
| ==Demographics== | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| Serbia is populated mostly by ]. Significant ] include ], ], ],], ], ], ], ], ], etc. Serbia consists of three territories: the province of ], the province of ] and ] (]: Централна Србија, ]: Centralna Srbija, ]: Central Serbia. Note: The English language sometimes uses the varieties such are "Serbia proper" or "Narrower Serbia"). Both provinces are extremely ethnically diverse which is a result of the division of the country between the ] ] and ] ]. | |||
| ] | |||
| The northern province of ] is the most developed part of the country in terms of economic strength. Together with the ] of ], ] and ], Vojvodina was under the ] before the First World War. Vojvodina is probably the most ethnically diverse territory in Europe, probably discluding ], a fact which tends to surprise most people who had long associated Yugoslavia and the name of Serbia through the prism of the ]. The names used for peoples national affiliation number more than 25. According to the last completed census (]), the province has a population of about 2 million, of which: | |||
| ] 65%, ] 14.3%, ] 2.79%, ] 2.78%, undeclared 2.71%, ] 2.45%, ] 1.75%, ] 1.50%, ] 1.43%, ] 0.97%, ] 0.77%, ] 0.58%, regional affiliation 0.50%, ] 0.23%, others (], ], ], ] etc). ''See also: ], ]'' | |||
| ;Population statistics of Serbia (Estimate May 2005): | |||
| *Serbia (total): 9,396,411 | |||
| **]: 2,116,725 | |||
| **]: 5,479,686 | |||
| **]: 1,800,000 | |||
| ;Main cities (over 100,000 inhabitants) - census 2002 : | |||
| :] (Belgrade): 1,280,600 (1,574,050 including neighbouring places) | |||
| :]: 215,600 (298,139 including neighbouring places) | |||
| :]: 200,000 (251,784 including neighbouring places) | |||
| :]: 173,400 (234,863 including neighbouring places) | |||
| :]: 146,000 (175,182 including neighbouring places) | |||
| :]: 99,500 (147,758 including neighbouring places) | |||
| See also: ] | |||
| ==Culture== | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| See also: | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ** folklore and traditional music | |||
| ** classical and contemporary music | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] - painting, sculpture, contemporary art, photography, cinematography | |||
| * architecture | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| Categories: | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| == Economy == | |||
| ''Main article: ]'' | |||
| Latest economy statistics: | |||
| ;Gross Domestic Product: | |||
| :Real GDP:$25.98 Billion (2004) | |||
| :Real GDP Per Capita: $3066 (September 2005) | |||
| :Real GDP growth rate: 7% (2004) | |||
| :Real GDP growth rate in Q1 2005: 5.3% | |||
| :Real GDP growth rate in Q2 2005: 6.8% | |||
| :Real GDP growth rate in Q1 and Q2 2005: 6.1% | |||
| ;Other statistics (in detail on economy page): | |||
| :Industrial production growth rate: 7.1% (2004) | |||
| :Unemployment rate: 18.50% (Q1 2005) | |||
| :Inflation: 13.7% (2004) | |||
| :Foreign debt: $12.97 Billion (49.9% of GDP) | |||
| :Direct foreign investment estimated for 2005: $1.5 to $2.0 Billion | |||
| == Holidays in Serbia == | |||
| {| {{prettytable}} | |||
| |+<big>'''Holidays'''</big> | |||
| |- | |||
| ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Date | |||
| ! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Name | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] | |||
| | ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] | |||
| | Orthodox ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] | |||
| | ]'s feast Day - Day of Spirituality | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] | |||
| | Sretenje - Serbian ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] | |||
| | ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] * | |||
| | Orthodox ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] * | |||
| | Orthodox ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] * | |||
| | Orthodox ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] | |||
| | ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] | |||
| | ] | |||
| |- | |||
| | ] | |||
| | ]'s Day in memory of ] soldiers | |||
| |- | |||
| |} | |||
| <nowiki>*</nowiki> Dates in 2005 only | |||
| == Miscellaneous == | |||
| * On ] ] the ] adopted ] as the country's ]. | |||
| * In addition, the ] royal coat of arms now replaces the ] adopted after ]. It was first used in the ]. The arms are those of the royal Obrenović dynasty; they are used in two versions, the large (pictured) and small (just the central shield with eagle and crown surmounting). Use of these arms is 'recommended' which means that the coat of arms is not yet official. It will become so if adoption of the Obrenović arms is approved by more than 50% of the voters in a constitutional referendum. | |||
| * ] ] is discovered by ] and named after Serbia. | |||
| == External links == | |||
| === Government links === | |||
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