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| Eat me you knights, or feed me sausages!ඈ | |||
| {{Redirect2|Balkan|Balkan Peninsula}} | |||
| {{redirect distinguish|Balkan states|Baltic states}} | |||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2013}} | |||
| {{refimprove|date=August 2015}} | |||
| {{Infobox peninsulas | |||
| |local name = | |||
| |image name = | |||
| |image caption = The Balkan Peninsula, as defined by the ]–]–]–]–] border | |||
| |image alt = The Balkan Peninsula, as defined by the ]–]–]–]–] border | |||
| |locator map = Balkan topo en.jpg | |||
| |location = ] | |||
| |coordinates = | |||
| |area_km2 = 666700 | |||
| |highest mount = ] (Bulgaria) | |||
| |elevation_m = 2925 | |||
| |Country heading = Sovereign states | |||
| |country = ] | |||
| |demonym = Balkan | |||
| |population = 45–50 million (estimation) | |||
| }} | |||
| The '''Balkan Peninsula''', popularly referred to as '''the Balkans''', is a geographical region of ].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7BakAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116 |authors=Colin S. Gray, Geoffrey Sloan |title=Geopolitics, Geography and Strategy |accessdate=10 November 2014}}</ref> The region takes its name from the ] that stretch from the east of ] to the ] at the east of ]. The Balkans are generally considered to include, in whole or in part, ], ], ], ], ], ],{{ref label|status|a|}} the ], ], ], ], ], and the European part of ].<ref name="EB">{{cite web | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50325/Balkans | title=Balkans | publisher=] | access-date=2015-05-03 | quote=The Balkans are usually characterized as comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia—with all or part of each of those countries located within the peninsula. Portions of Greece and Turkey are also located within the geographic region generally defined as the Balkan Peninsula, and many descriptions of the Balkans include those countries too. Some define the region in cultural and historical terms and others geographically, though there are even different interpretations among historians and geographers.... Pop. (2002 est.) 59,297,000. }}</ref> | |||
| The region is inhabited by ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and other ethnic groups which present minorities in certain countries like the ] and ].<ref name="EB" /> The largest religion on the Balkans is ], followed by ] and ].<ref name="okey">{{cite book | first=Robin |last=Okey | title=Taming Balkan Nationalism | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2007}}</ref> | |||
| The total area of the Balkans is 666,700 square km (257,400 square miles) and the population is 59,297,000 (est. 2002).<ref name="EB" /> The Balkans meets the ] on the northwest, ] on the southwest, the ] and ] on the south and southeast, and the ] on the east and northeast. The highest point of the Balkans is ] {{convert|2925|m}} on the ] mountain range in ]. | |||
| The Balkans have been inhabited since the ] and are the route by which farming from the ] spread to ] during the ] (7th millennium BC).<ref name="Borza">{{Citation | last = Borza | first = EN | title = In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence of Macedon | page = 58 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=614pd07OtfQC&pg=PA58&dq=petralona+cave+oldest&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xAzmT-DRNNKXhQeSu8DdCQ&ved=0CFMQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=petralona%20cave%20oldest&f=false | publisher = Princeton University Press | year = 1992}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Perlès | first = Catherine | title = The Early Neolithic in Greece: The First Farming Communities in Europe | page = 1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LQQ3tx5_t7QC&printsec=frontcover&dq=perles+greece+farming+europe+neolithic&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6SrmT4rlDq620QXms7WACQ&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=sesklo&f=false | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2001}}</ref> The Balkans are also the location of the first advanced civilizations. The ] developed a form of ] before the ] and ], known as the ], while the bulk of the symbols had been created in the period between 4500 and 4000 BC, with the ones on the Tărtăria clay tablets even dating back to around 5300 BC.<ref name="GdS" /> | |||
| ==Antiquity and early Middle Ages== | |||
| In Antiquity, the Balkan Mountains had been called by the local ]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VDoQAQAAMAAJ&q=hemus+thracian+name&dq=hemus+thracian+name&output=html_text&cd=6 |title= Bulgaria |page= 54 |work= Hemus – a Thracian name |publisher= Indiana University}}</ref> name '']'', as well as in the Middle Ages<ref>{{cite book|title=Balkan Studies|date=1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEJpAAAAMAAJ&q=thracian+sama+greek+haemus&dq=thracian+sama+greek+haemus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=khWFVemTFsyqogSjh6GQDw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAg}}</ref> and thus the Balkan Peninsula was the "Peninsula of ]". The ] king ], who is likely only a fictitious character, in Greek mythologic fantastics was turned into a mountain by ] as a punishment and the mountain has remained with his name. Apart, there are two equally acceptable theories for the etymology of the name Haemus, one claiming that the name of the mountain was derived apart from mythology, while the other one claiming vice-versa, the one of D. Dechev consider that Haemus (Αἷμος) is derived from a ] word ''*saimon'', 'mountain ridge'.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Decev|first1=D|title=Balkan Studies|date=1986|publisher=University of Michigan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEJpAAAAMAAJ&q=thracian+sama+greek+haemus&dq=thracian+sama+greek+haemus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=khWFVemTFsyqogSjh6GQDw&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAg|accessdate=20 June 2015}}</ref> The other possibility is that "Haemus" ({{lang|grc|Αἵμος}}) derives from the Greek word "haema" ({{lang|grc|αἵμα}}) meaning 'blood'. The myth goes about the fight of ] and the monster/titan ]. Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder bolt and Typhon's blood fell on the mountains from which they got their name.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3cmSa4H_C0oC&lpg=PA20&ots=SBNq-jEdSY&dq=Haemus%20bloody%20zeus%20typhon&hl=bg&pg=PA20#v=onepage&q=Haemus%20bloody%20zeus%20typhon&f=false|title=Gods and Heroes of the Greeks: The Library of Apollodorus|work=Google Books|accessdate=12 September 2014}}</ref> | |||
| ==Late Middle Ages and Ottoman period== | |||
| The earliest mention of the name appears in an early 14th-century Arab map, in which the ] are referred to as ''Balkan''.<ref name="Dobrev 1989">{{cite book | title = Проиcхождение географического названия Балкан - Sixieme Congres international d'etudes du Sud-Est Europeen |language=French | first= Ivan | last = Dobrev | publisher = Ed.de l'Académie bulgare des Sciences | year = 1989 | location = Sofia | url = https://books.google.com/books/about/?id=jxYZnQEACAAJ }}</ref> The popularization of ''Balkan'' began with the arrival of the ] who first mention it in a document dated from 1565.<ref name="Todorova 1997 27"/> There has been no other documented usage of the word to refer to the region before that, despite the fact that other Turkic tribes had already settled earlier or were passing through the Peninsula.<ref name="Todorova 1997 27">{{cite book | title = Imagining the Balkans | first=Maria N. | last =Todorova | publisher = Oxford University Press, Inc. | year = 1997 | location = New York | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-EuFwLQhvYMC&pg=PA27 | page=27}}</ref> There exists also a claim about an earlier ] Turkic origin of the word popular in Bulgaria, however it is only an unscholary assertion.<ref name="Todorova 1997 27"/> The word was used first by the Ottomans in ] in its general meaning of mountain, as in ''Kod̲j̲a-Balkan'', ''Čatal-Balkan'', and ''Ungurus-Balkani̊'', but especially it was applied to the Haemus mountain.<ref>Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Editors: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Online Reference Works.</ref><ref></ref> In Turkish Balkan means "a chain of wooded ]" (''{{lang|tr|balkan}}''),<ref name="Balkan.">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/balkan.html|title=Balkan|work=Encarta World English Dictionary|publisher=Microsoft Corporation|accessdate=31 March 2008 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5kwPqi7mD|archivedate=31 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = Büyük Türkçe Sözlük | title = balkan | publisher = Türk Dil Kurumu | url = http://www.tdkterim.gov.tr/bts/ | quote = Sarp ve ormanlık sıradağ| language = Turkish}}</ref> while in ] the word ''balkan'' (балкан) means "mountain".<ref>Андрейчин Л. и др., Български тълковен речник (допълнен и преработен от Д. Попов). Четвърто преработено и допълнено издание.: Издателство “Наука и изкуство”. С., 1994</ref> Another possibility to its etymology is related to ] ''bālk'' meaning "mud", and the Turkish suffix ''an'', i.e. ''swampy forest''.<ref>Current Trends in Altaic Linguistics; European Balkan(s), Turkic bal(yk) and the Problem of Their Original Meanings, Marek Stachowski, Jagiellonian University, p. 618.</ref> The name is still preserved in ] with the ] (Balkan Mountains)<ref>{{cite web | url= http://land.worldcitydb.com/balkhan_mountains_3522246.html | title = Balkhan Mountains | work = World Land Features Database | publisher=Land.WorldCityDB.com |accessdate=31 March 2008| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228223148/http://land.worldcitydb.com/balkhan_mountains_3522246.html| archivedate= 28 February 2008 | deadurl= no}}</ref> and the ] of ]. A less popular hypothesis regarding its etymology is that it derived from the Persian ''Balā-Khān''a meaning ''big, high, house''.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} | |||
| ==Current== | |||
| In the languages of the region, the peninsula is known as: | |||
| * Slavic languages: | |||
| ** {{lang-bg|Балкански полуостров}}, transliterated: ''{{lang|bg|Balkanski poluostrov}}'' | |||
| ** {{lang-mk|Балкански Полуостров}}, transliterated: ''{{lang|mk|Balkanski Poluostrov}}'' | |||
| ** {{lang-sh|Балканско полуострво/''Balkansko poluostrvo''}} (Serbian and Bosnian), ''Balkanski poluotok'' (Croatian), ''Balkansko Poluostrvo''/Балканско полуострво (Montenegrin) | |||
| ** {{lang-sl|Balkanski polotok}} | |||
| * Romance languages: | |||
| ** {{lang-it|Penisola balcanica}} | |||
| ** {{lang-ro|Peninsula Balcanică}} | |||
| * Other languages: | |||
| ** {{lang-sq|Gadishulli Ballkanik}} and ''{{lang|sq|Siujdhesa e Ballkanit}}'' | |||
| ** {{lang-el|Βαλκανική χερσόνησος}}, transliterated: ''{{lang|el|Valkaniki chersonisos}}'' | |||
| ** {{lang-tr|Balkan Yarımadası}} (or alternatively: Balkanlar) | |||
| === Evolution of meaning === | |||
| The first attested time the name "Balkan" was used in the West for the mountain range in ] was in a letter sent in 1490 to Pope ] by Buonaccorsi Callimaco, an Italian humanist, writer and diplomat.<ref>{{cite book|last=Todorova|first=Maria|title=Imagining the Balkans|page=22|publisher=Oxford University Press US|year=2009|isbn=0-19-538786-4}}</ref> English traveler ] introduced this term into the English literature at the end of the 18th-century, and other authors started applying the name to the wider area between the Adriatic and the Black Sea. The concept of the "Balkans" was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pavic|first=Silvia|url=http://geography.about.com/library/misc/ucbalkans.htm|title=Some Thoughts About The Balkans.|publisher=About, Inc.|date=22 November 2000|accessdate=31 March 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080228230925/http://geography.about.com/library/misc/ucbalkans.htm| archivedate= 28 February 2008 | deadurl= no}}</ref> During the 1820s, "Balkan became the preferred although not yet exclusive term alongside Haemus among British travelers... Among Russian travelers not so burdened by classical toponymy, Balkan was the preferred term."<ref>Maria Todorova Gutgsell, ''Imagining the Balkans'' (Oxford University Press, 2009; ISBN 0199728380), p. 24.</ref> | |||
| As time passed, the term gradually acquired political connotations far from its initial geographic meaning, arising from political changes from the late 19th-century to the creation of post–] ] (initially the ]). Zeune's goal was to have a geographical parallel term to the ] and ], and seemingly nothing more. The gradually acquired political connotations are newer and, to a large extent, due to oscillating political circumstances. | |||
| After the ] beginning in June 1991, the term "Balkans" again received a negative meaning, even in casual usage (see ]). | |||
| === Southeast Europe === | |||
| {{main|Southeast Europe}} | |||
| In part due to the historical and political connotations of the term "Balkans",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/balkanize|title=Balkanize|publisher=merriam-webster.com}}</ref> especially since the military conflicts of the 1990s, the term "''']'''" is becoming increasingly popular even though it literally refers to a much larger area and thus isn't as precise.<ref>{{cite book |title=A history of Eastern Europe |last=Bideleux |first=Robert |authorlink= |author2=Ian Jeffries |year=2007 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location= |isbn=978-0-415-36627-4 |page=37 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=PTB0gn_qwTcC&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> A ] initiative of 1999 is called the '']'', and the online newspaper ''Balkan Times'' renamed itself '']'' in 2003. | |||
| == Definitions and boundaries == | |||
| === The Balkan Peninsula === | |||
| ] | |||
| ], showing the Balkans from the perspective of the ]]] | |||
| ] | |||
| The Balkan Peninsula is an area of southeastern Europe surrounded by water on three sides: the ] to the west, the ] (including the ] and ] seas) and the ] to the south and the ] to the east. Its northern boundary is often given as the ], ] and ] Rivers.<ref name=jel01>{{cite book |title=History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries |last=Jelavich |first=Barbara |authorlink= |year=1983 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location= |isbn=978-0-521-27458-6 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=qR4EeOrTm-0C&printsec=frontcover}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110555/Balkans|title=britannica.com|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=12 September 2014}}</ref> The Balkan Peninsula has a combined area of about {{convert|490000|km2|sqmi|sigfig=3|abbr=on}} (slightly smaller than ]). Note: Balkan peninsula largely coincides with ].<ref>{{cite book |last=Hajdú |first=Zoltán |year=2007 |title=Southeast-Europe: State Borders, Cross-border Relations, Spatial Structures |url=https://books.google.hr/books?id=Ajvwx3OSE2AC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false |location=], ] |publisher=] |isbn=978-9-63-905265-9 |accessdate=June 8, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lampe |first=John R.|year=2014 |title=Balkans Into Southeastern Europe, 1914-2014: A Century of War and Transition |url=https://books.google.hr/books?id=tAMdBQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false |location=], ] |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-13-701907-3 |accessdate=June 8, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor=Švob-Ðokic, Nada |year=2001 |title=Redefining Cultural Identities: Southeastern Europe |url=http://www.culturelink.org/publics/joint/cultid04/Svob-Djokic_Redefining_Cultid_SE.pdf |location=], ] |publisher=] |isbn=953-6096-22-6 |accessdate=June 8, 2015}}</ref> | |||
| The countries that are located fully in the peninsula are the following: ], ],<ref>{{kosovo-note}}</ref> ], ], ] and ].<ref name="Agostini, 2004, p.78">Istituto Geografico De Agostini, ''L'Enciclopedia Geografica – Vol.I – Italia'', 2004, Ed. De Agostini p.78</ref> | |||
| The countries that have significant percentage located in the Balkan peninsula are the following: ] (83% of its territory), ] (73% of its territory), ] (49% of its territory), and ] (27% of its territory).<ref name=jel01>{{cite book |title=History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries |last=Jelavich |first=Barbara |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1983 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location= |isbn=978-0-521-27458-6 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=qR4EeOrTm-0C&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> | |||
| The countries that are located partially in the Balkan peninsula are the following: ] (9% of its territory), ] (0.2% of its territory), and ] (3% of its territory).<ref name="jel01"/> | |||
| Countries whose territories lie entirely within the Balkan peninsula: | |||
| * {{ALB}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/al.html</ref>) | |||
| * {{BIH}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bk.html</ref>) | |||
| * {{BUL}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bu.html</ref>) | |||
| * {{KOS}} (]) (alternatively placed in ]<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kv.html</ref>) | |||
| * {{MKD}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mk.html</ref>) | |||
| * {{MNE}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mj.html</ref>) | |||
| Countries whose territories have significant percentage located within the Balkan peninsula: | |||
| * {{GRE}} (]) (alternatively placed in ]<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gr.html</ref><ref>http://maps.unomaha.edu/Peterson/geog1000/Notes/Notes_Exam2/SE.html</ref> and ]) | |||
| * {{SRB}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref>{{cite book|authors=Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek, Louise Olga Vasvári |url=http://books.google.rs/books?id=pFCzty0P4UcC&pg=PA24&dq=central+europe+serbia+culture&hl=sr&sa=X&ei=ypxzVNOdGcPMygPPzoDYCg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=central%20europe%20serbia%20culture&f=false |title=Comparative Hungarian Cultural Studies |publisher=Purdue University Press |accessdate=24 November 2014}}</ref> and ])<ref></ref> | |||
| * {{CRO}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref name="ReferenceA">Lonnie Johnson, , Oxford University Pres</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ebrd.com/downloads/research/REP/rep-2014.pdf|title=In the Heavy Shadow of the Ukraine/Russia Crisis, page 10|work=European Bank for Reconstruction and Development|date=September 2014|accessdate=15 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/en/about-us/unhcr-in-central-europe.html|title=UNHCR in Central Europe|work=UNCHR}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://inea.ec.europa.eu/download/project_fiches/multi_country/fichenew_2013eu92069s_final.pdf|title=Central European Green Corridors - Fast charging cross-border infrastructure for electric vehicles, connecting Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Germany and Croatia|work=Central European Green Corridors|date=October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.central2020.eu/|title=Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Homepage|work=Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE}}</ref> and ])<ref name="Andrew Geddes 2013">Andrew Geddes,Charles Lees,Andrew Taylor : ''"The European Union and South East Europe: The Dynamics of Europeanization and multilevel goverance"'', 2013, ]</ref><ref name="Andrew Geddes 2013"/><ref name="Klaus Liebscher 2005">Klaus Liebscher, Josef Christl, Peter Mooslechner, Doris Ritzberger-Grünwald : ''"European Economic Integration and South-East Europe: Challenges and Prospects"'', 2005, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited</ref><ref name="Klaus Liebscher 2005"/><ref name="Armstrong2007">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.si/books?id=FWA3ppuOgK4C&pg=PA165 |title=Geopolitics of European Union Enlargement: The Fortress Empire |page=165 |chapter=Borders in Central Europe: From Conflict to Cooperation |authors=Armstrong, Werwick. Anderson, James |publisher=Routledge |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-134-30132-4}}</ref> | |||
| Countries that lie partially within the Balkan peninsula: | |||
| * {{ROU}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref name="United Nations"></ref><ref name="books.google.ro">Michael Hayes. (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007)</ref><ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Enlargement of the European Union: The First Or the Last Stage of Integration? : XIII Economic Forum, Krynica, September 4-6, 2003|author=Negri, A.P.|date=2003|publisher=Fundacja Instytut Studiów Wschodnich|isbn=9788391795972|url=http://books.google.ro/books?id=gLQUAQAAIAAJ|accessdate=2014-12-07}}</ref><ref>United States. ] </ref> and ])<ref name="United Nations"/><ref name="books.google.ro"/><ref name="google"/><ref></ref><ref name="eia.doe.gov"></ref><ref>United States. ] </ref> | |||
| * {{SLO}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref name="Geopolitics of EU Enlargement">{{cite book|url=http://terkepek.adatbank.transindex.ro/kepek/netre/51.gif|title=Geopolitics of European Union Enlargement: The Fortress Empire |page=165 |chapter=Borders in Central Europe: From Conflict to Cooperation |authors=Armstrong, Werwick. Anderson, James |publisher=Routledge |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-134-30132-4}}</ref> and ])<ref name="Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia">{{cite web|url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Map+of+europe|title=Map of Europe|work=TheFreeDictionary.com|accessdate=15 January 2015}}</ref> | |||
| * {{TUR}} (alternatively placed in ]<ref name="Turkey" /> or ])<ref name="Turkey"></ref> | |||
| As of 1920 until ] Italy included ] and some ] (like ''Zara'', known as ]) that are within the general definition of the Balkan peninsula. The current territory of Italy includes only the small area around ] and ] inside the Balkan Peninsula. However, the regions of Trieste and Istria are not usually considered part of the Balkans by Italian geographers, due to a definition of the Balkans that limits its western border to the Kupa River.<ref name="Agostini, 2004, p.78"/> | |||
| === The Balkans === | |||
| The abstracted term "The Balkans" covers those countries which lie within the boundaries of the Balkan Peninsula.<ref name=jel01/> Before 1991, the whole of ] was considered to be part of the Balkans.<ref name="tin51">{{cite book |title=World Geography Affected by World Upheavals |last=Tintero |first=Felipa L. |authorlink= |author2=Felicitas R. Manacsa |year= |publisher=Goodwill Trading Co., Inc. |location= |isbn=971-574-041-3 |page=51 |url=https://books.google.com/?id=jsnlxH9nnn4C&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> The term "The Balkans" is sometimes used to describe only the areas in the Balkan peninsula: ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and others, but often it includes Croatia, Serbia and Romania,<ref name=jel01/> namely the provinces of ], ], ], ], ], and others. Italy as a totality is generally accepted as part of Western Europe and the ]. The term "the Balkans" was coined by August Zeune in 1808. | |||
| Broadly interpreted, the term Balkans comprise the following territories:<ref>{{cite book |title=European integration and disintegration: east and west |last=Bideleux |first=Robert |authorlink= |author2=Taylor, Richard |year=1996 |publisher= |location= |isbn= |page=249 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bigd3Z2JA4EC&pg=PA249}}</ref> | |||
| * Former Yugoslavia | |||
| ** {{BIH}} (51,197 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| ** {{CRO}} (56,594 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| ** {{KOS}} (10,908 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| ** {{MKD}} (25,713 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| ** {{MNE}} (13,812 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| ** {{SLO}} (20,273 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| ** {{SRB}} (77,474 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| * {{ALB}} (28,748 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| * {{BUL}} (110,993 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| * {{GRE}}'s ] (110,496 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| * {{ROU}} (238,391 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| * {{TUR}}'s European part, ] (23,764 km<sup>2</sup>) | |||
| === Western Balkans === | |||
| {{further|2015 Western Balkans Summit, Vienna}} | |||
| ], ], ], ], ], and ].]] | |||
| The institutions of the ] and its ] have defined the "Western Balkans" as the south-east European area that includes countries that are not members of the European Union, while others refer to the geographical aspects. | |||
| <ref name="WBSummit">{{cite web |url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/european-foreign-policy/foreign-policy/western-balkans-summit/|title=Western Balkans Summit|accessdate=11 August 2015 |author=]}}</ref><ref></ref><ref name="Centre for Regional Studies">{{cite book|authorlink=Pamer|editor=Zoltan Hajdu|others=Ivan Illes, Zoltan Raffay|title=Southeast-Europe: state borders, cross-border relations, spatial structures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ajvwx3OSE2AC&pg=PA141|accessdate=18 October 2014|year=2007|publisher=Centre for Regional Studies|isbn=978-963-9052-65-9|page=141|chapter=The European integration and regional policy of the West Balkans}}</ref><ref name="eesc.europa.eu">{{cite web|url=http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.western-balkans|title=European Economic and Social Committee – Western Balkans|work=European Economic and Social Committee|accessdate=12 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="eeas.europa.eu">{{cite web|url=http://eeas.europa.eu/western_balkans/index_en.htm|title=European Union External Action – EU relations with the Western Balkans|publisher=|accessdate=12 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="Redaktion: PT-DLR">{{cite web|url=http://www.internationales-buero.de/en/2114.php|title=Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany – Western Balkan Countries|author=Redaktion: PT-DLR|publisher=|accessdate=12 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="bmeia.gv.at"></ref><ref name="wbif.eu">{{cite web|url=http://www.wbif.eu/Stakeholders|title=WBIF – Western Balkans Investment Framework – Stakeholders|publisher=|accessdate=12 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="ec.europa.eu">{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/western-balkans/|title=European Commission – Trade – Countries and regions – Western Balkans|publisher=|accessdate=12 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/balkans_communication/western_balkans_communication_050308_en.pdf|title=Western Balkans: Enhancing the European Perspective|publisher=Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council|date=5 March 2008|accessdate=8 April 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080409004701/http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/balkans_communication/western_balkans_communication_050308_en.pdf| archivedate= 9 April 2008 |deadurl=no}}</ref> The Western Balkans is a neologism coined to describe the countries of "ex-Yugoslavia (minus Slovenia) and Albania".<ref>{{cite book|title=Endgame in the Balkans: Regime Change, European Style|first=Elizabeth|last=Pond|publisher=Brookings Institution|location=Washington, D.C.|year=2006|page=5|isbn=978-0815771609|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JlgHH1dUKj0C&lpg=PA5&ots=-OQrW6-sWh&dq=western%20balkans%20%22minus%20slovenia%22&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> Countries of the Western Balkans are Croatia (now an EU member), Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania — or Albania plus the former Yugoslavia, minus Slovenia.<ref name="Centre for Regional Studies"/><ref name="eesc.europa.eu"/><ref name="eeas.europa.eu"/><ref name="Redaktion: PT-DLR"/><ref name="bmeia.gv.at"/><ref name="wbif.eu"/><ref name="ec.europa.eu"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/balkans_communication/western_balkans_communication_050308_en.pdf|title=Western Balkans: Enhancing the European Perspective|publisher=Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council|date=5 March 2008|accessdate=8 April 2008| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080409004701/http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/balkans_communication/western_balkans_communication_050308_en.pdf| archivedate= 9 April 2008 |deadurl=no}}</ref> Each of these countries aims to join the EU and reach democracy and transmission scores but, until then, they will be strongly connected with the pre-EU waiting program ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://transatlantic.sais-jhu.edu/publications/books/Unfinished%20Business%20Pdf/ch01_Bieber.pdf |format=PDF |title=Perspectives on the Region |deadurl=no |accessdate=19 July 2013}}</ref> | |||
| == Nature and natural resources == | |||
| ]. Its highest peak is ] at a height of 2,376 m.]] | |||
| ], the highest mountain in the Balkans which reaches 2925 m]] | |||
| ] in Serbia, guarding the ] of the Balkans]] | |||
| Most of the area is covered by mountain ranges running from north-west to south-east. The main ranges are the ], running from the Black Sea Coast in Bulgaria to its border with Serbia, the ] in southern Bulgaria and northern Greece, the ] in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro, the ] massif which spreads from Albania to Macedonia, and the ] range, spanning from southern Albania into central Greece and the ]. The highest mountain of the region is ] in Bulgaria, with ] at 2925 m, ] in Greece, the throne of Zeus, being second at 2917 m and ] in Bulgaria being the third at 2914 m. The karst field or ] is a common feature of the landscape. | |||
| On the ] and ] coasts the climate is ], on the ] coast the climate is ] and ], and inland it is ]. In the northern part of the peninsula and on the mountains, winters are frosty and snowy, while summers are hot and dry. In the southern part winters are milder. The humid continental climate is predominant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, northern Croatia, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, northern Montenegro, the interior of Albania, Romania and Serbia, while the other, less common climates, the humid subtropical and oceanic climates, are seen on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria and Turkey; and the Mediterranean climate is seen on the coast of Albania, coast of Croatia, Greece, southern Montenegro and the Aegean coast of Turkey. | |||
| During the centuries many woods have been cut down and replaced with bush. In the southern part and on the coast there is evergreen vegetation. Inland there are woods typical of Central Europe (] and ], and in the mountains, ], ] and ]). The ] in the mountains lies at the height of 1800–2300 m. The landscape provides ]s for numerous endemic species, including extraordinarily abundant insects and reptiles that serve as food for a variety of ] and rare ]s. | |||
| The soils are generally poor, except on the plains where areas with natural grass, fertile soils and warm summers provide an opportunity for tillage. Elsewhere, land cultivation is mostly unsuccessful because of the mountains, hot summers and poor soils, although certain cultures such as ]s and grapes flourish. | |||
| Resources of energy are scarce, except in the territory of Kosovo, where considerable coal, lead, zinc, chromium, silver deposits are located.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/3524092.stm |title=Regions and territories: Kosovo |publisher=BBC News |date=20 November 2009 |accessdate=17 April 2010| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100415042620/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/3524092.stm| archivedate= 15 April 2010 | deadurl= no}}</ref> Other deposits of ], especially in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia also exist. ] deposits are widespread in Greece. Petroleum is most notably present in Romania, although scarce reserves exist in Greece, Serbia and Albania. Natural gas deposits are scarce. ] is in wide use, with over 1,000 dams. The often relentless ] is also being harnessed for power generation. | |||
| Metal ores are more usual than other raw materials. Iron ore is rare but in some countries there is a considerable amount of copper, ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Some metals are exported. | |||
| The time zones are situated as follows: | |||
| * Territories in the time zone of ]: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia | |||
| * Territories in the time zone of ]: Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey | |||
| == History and geopolitical significance == | |||
| ]]] | |||
| ] ruins near ], Albania.]] | |||
| ], ], Serbia.]] | |||
| {{Main|History of the Balkans}} | |||
| === Antiquity === | |||
| The Balkan region was the first area in Europe to experience the arrival of farming cultures in the ] era. The practices of growing grain and raising livestock arrived in the Balkans from the ] by way of ] and spread west and north into ] and Central Europe. Two early culture-complexes have developed in the region, ] and ]. Vinča culture developed a form of ] before the ] and ], known as the ], while the bulk of the symbols had been created in the period between 4500 and 4000 BC, with the ones on the Tărtăria clay tablets even dating back to around 5300 BC.<ref name="GdS">{{cite book |last=Haarmann |first=Harald |title=Geschichte der Schrift |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=2002 |isbn=978-3-406-47998-4 |pp=20 |language=German}}</ref> | |||
| The identity of the Balkans is dominated by its geographical position; historically the area was known as a crossroads of cultures. It has been a juncture between the ] and ] bodies of the ],{{citation needed|date=August 2014}} the destination of a massive influx of pagan ] and ], an area where ] and ] Christianity met,<ref>{{cite book |author=Goldstein, I. |title=Croatia: A History |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=1999}}</ref> as well as the meeting point between ] and Christianity. | |||
| In pre-classical and ], this region was home to ], ], ], ], ], and other ancient groups. The ] incorporated parts of the Balkans comprising ], ], ], and the ] coastal region of ] between the late 6th and the first half of the 5th-century BC into its territories.<ref>Joseph Roisman,Ian Worthington pp 342-345 John Wiley & Sons, 7 jul. 2011 ISBN 144435163X</ref> Later the ] conquered most of the region and spread Roman culture and the ] language, but significant parts still remained under ] influence. The ] considered the ] to be the northern limit of the Peninsula of Haemus and the same limit applied approximately to the border between Greek and Latin use in the region (later called the ]).<ref></ref> The ] and ] arrived in the 6th-century and began assimilating and displacing already-assimilated (through Romanization and Hellenization) older inhabitants of the northern and central Balkans, forming the ].<ref>''''. Mary Edith Durham (2007). p.125. ISBN 1-4346-3426-4</ref> During the ], the Balkans became the stage for a series of wars between the ] and the ] Empires. | |||
| === Early modern period === | |||
| By the end of the 16th-century, the Ottoman Empire had become the controlling force in the region after expanding from Anatolia through ] to the Balkans. Many people in the Balkans place their greatest folk heroes in the era of either the onslaught or the retreat of the Ottoman Empire.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} As examples, for Greeks, ] and ]; and for ], ] and ]; for ], ] and ]; for ], ]; for ], ]<ref name="Considered a Bulgarian in Bulgaria">Considered a Bulgarian in Bulgaria</ref> and ];<ref name="Considered a Bulgarian in Bulgaria"/> and for ], ], ] and ]. | |||
| ] | |||
| ], an ] cathedral built in the 6th-century in ] (present-day Istanbul, Turkey), later an imperial mosque, and now a museum.]] | |||
| In the past several centuries, because of the frequent ] fought in and around the Balkans and the comparative Ottoman isolation from the mainstream of economic advance (reflecting the shift of Europe's commercial and political centre of gravity towards the ]), the Balkans has been the least developed part of Europe. According to Suraiya Faroqhi and Donald Quataert, "The population of the Balkans, according to one estimate, ] in the late 16th-century to only 3 million by the mid-eighteenth. This estimate is in harmony with the first findings based on Ottoman documentary evidence."<ref>''''. Suraiya Faroqhi, Donald Quataert (1997). ]. p.652. ISBN 0-521-57455-2</ref> | |||
| Most of the Balkan nation-states emerged during the 19th and early 20th centuries as they gained independence from the Ottoman Empire or the Austro-Hungarian empire (Greece in 1821, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania in 1878, Bulgaria in 1908, Albania in 1912). | |||
| === Recent history === | |||
| ], a medieval stronghold in the former capital of the ] — ].]] | |||
| ] and the ] in Macedonia. The lake and town were declared a ] by UNESCO in 1980.]] | |||
| ==== World wars ==== | |||
| In 1912–1913 the ] broke out when the nation-states of ], ], ] and ] united in an ] against the ]. As a result of the war, almost all remaining European territories of the ] were captured and partitioned among the allies. Ensuing events also led to the creation of an independent ]. Bulgaria insisted on its status quo territorial integrity, divided and shared by the Great Powers next to the ] in other boundaries and on the pre-war Bulgarian-Serbian agreement. Provoked by the backstage deals between its former allies Serbia and Greece on allocation the spoils at the end of the First Balkan War, while it fights at the main Thracian Front, Bulgaria marks the beginning of ] when attacked them. The Serbs and the Greeks repulse single attacks, but when the Greek army invaded Bulgaria together with an unprovoked Romanian intervention in the back, regardless of the single won battles, Bulgaria collapsed. The Ottoman Empire also used the opportunity to recapture ], establishing its new western borders that still stand today. | |||
| The ] was sparked in the Balkans in 1914 when members of ], a revolutionary organization with predominately Serbian and pro-Yugoslav members, ] the Austro-Hungarian heir ] in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital, ]. That caused a war between the two countries which—through the existing ]—led to the First World War. The Ottoman Empire soon joined the ] becoming one of the three empires participating in that alliance. The next year Bulgaria joined the ] attacking Serbia, which was successfully fighting Austro-Hungary to the north for a year. That led to Serbia's defeat and the intervention of the ] in the Balkans which sent an expeditionary force to establish a new ], the third one of that war, which soon also became static. The participation of Greece in the war three years later, in 1918, on the part of the Entente finally altered the balance between the opponents leading to the collapse of the common German-Bulgarian front there, which caused the exit of Bulgaria from the war, and in turn the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ending the First World War.<ref>Encyclopedia of World War I, Spencer Tucker, Priscilla Mary Roberts, p.242</ref> | |||
| With the start of the ] all Balkan countries, with the exception of Greece, were allies of ], having bilateral military agreements or being part of the ]. ] expanded the war in the Balkans by using its protectorate Albania to ]. After repelling the attack, the Greeks counterattacked, invading Italy-held Albania and causing Nazi Germany's intervention in the Balkans to help its ally.<ref>Europe in Flames, J. Klam, 2002, p.41</ref> Days before the German invasion a successful coup d'état in Belgrade by neutral military personnel seized power.<ref>Russia's life-saver, Albert Loren Weeks, 2004, p.98</ref> | |||
| Although the new government reaffirmed Serbia's intentions to fulfill its obligations as member of the Axis,<ref>Germany and the 2nd World War Volume III:The Mediterranean, south-east Europe, and north Africa, 1939–1941, Gerhard Schreiber, Bernd Stegemann, Detlef Vogel, 1995, p.484</ref> Germany, using its other two allied countries in the region, Bulgaria and Hungary, invaded both Greece and Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia immediately disintegrated when those loyal to the Serbian King and the Croatian units mutinied.<ref>Germany and the 2nd World War Volume III:The Mediterranean, south-east Europe, and north Africa, 1939–1941, Gerhard Schreiber, Bernd Stegemann, Detlef Vogel, 1995, p.521</ref> Greece resisted, but, after two months of fighting, collapsed and was occupied. The two countries were partitioned between the three Axis allies, Bulgaria, Germany and Italy, and the ], a puppet state of Italy and Germany. | |||
| During the occupation the population suffered considerable hardship due to repression and starvation, to which the population reacted by creating a mass resistance movement.<ref>Inside Hitler's Greece:The Experience of Occupation, Mark Mazower, 1993</ref> Together with the early and extremely heavy winter of that year (which caused hundreds of thousands deaths among the poorly fed population), the German invasion had disastrous effects in the timetable of the ] causing a significant delay,<ref>Hermann Goring: Hitler's Second-In-Command, Fred Ramen, 2002, p.61</ref> which had major consequences during the course of the war.<ref>The encyclopedia of codenames of World War II#Marita, Christopher Chant, 1986, p.125-6</ref> | |||
| Finally, at the end of 1944, the Soviets entered Romania and Bulgaria forcing the Germans out of the Balkans. They left behind a region largely ruined as a result of wartime exploitation. | |||
| ==== Cold War ==== | |||
| During the ], most of the countries on the Balkans were governed by communist governments. Greece became the first battleground of the emerging Cold War. The ] was the US response to the ], which raged from 1944 to 1949. This civil war, unleashed by the ], backed by communist volunteers from neighboring countries (Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia), led to massive American assistance for the non-communist Greek government. With this backing, Greece managed to defeat the partisans and, ultimately, remained the only non-communist country in the region. | |||
| However, despite being under communist governments, ] (1948) and Albania (1961) fell out with the Soviet Union. Yugoslavia, led by Marshal ] (1892–1980), first propped up then rejected the idea of merging with ] and instead sought closer relations with the West, later even spearheaded, together with India and Egypt the ]. Albania on the other hand gravitated toward ], later adopting an ] position. | |||
| ] near ], Albania, built by the ] in the 18th-century]] | |||
| As the only non-communist countries, ] and ] were (and still are) part of ] composing the southeastern wing of the alliance. | |||
| ==== Post–Cold War ==== | |||
| In the 1990s, the transition of the regions' ex-Soviet bloc countries towards democratic free-market societies went peacefully with the exception of Yugoslavia. ] broke out after Slovenia and Croatia held free elections and their people voted for independence on their respective countries' referenda. Serbia in turn declared the dissolution of the union as unconstitutional and the ] unsuccessfully tried to maintain status quo. Slovenia and Croatia declared independence on 25 June 1991, followed by the ] in Slovenia. Till October 1991, the Army withdrew from Slovenia, and in Croatia, the ] would continue ]. In the ensuing 10 years armed confrontation, gradually all the other Republics declared independence, with ] by the fighting. The long lasting wars resulted in a United Nations intervention and ] ground and air forces ] in Bosnia and Herzegovina and ]. | |||
| From the dissolution of Yugoslavia six republics achieved international recognition as sovereign republics, but these are traditionally included in Balkans: ], ], ], ] and ]. In 2008, while under UN administration, Kosovo ] (according to the official Serbian policy, Kosovo is still an internal autonomous region). In July 2010, the ], ruled that the declaration of independence was legal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kosovo independence declaration deemed legal|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/07/22/us-serbia-kosovo-idUSTRE66L01720100722|accessdate=16 February 2014|newspaper=Reuters|date=22 July 2010}}</ref> Most UN member states recognise Kosovo. After the end of the wars a ] broke in Serbia and ], the Serbian communist leader (elected president between 1989 and 2000), was overthrown and handed for trial to the ] for crimes against the ] during the Yugoslav wars. Milošević died of a heart attack in 2006 before a verdict could have been released. Ιn 2001 an ] in ] forced the country to give local autonomy to the ] in the areas where they predominate. | |||
| With the dissolution of ] an issue emerged over the name under which the former (federated) republic of Macedonia would internationally be recognized, between the new country and Greece. Being the ] (see ]), the federated Republic under the Yugoslav identity had the name ] on which it declared its sovereignty in 1991. Greece, having a large region (see ]) also under the same name opposed to the usage of this name as an indication of a nationality. The ] is currently under negotiations after a UN initiation. | |||
| Balkan countries control the direct ] between Western Europe and South West Asia (] and the Middle East). Since 2000, all Balkan countries are friendly towards the EU and the USA.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} | |||
| ] has been a member of the ] since 1981 while ] and ] are members since 2007. In 2005, the European Union decided to start accession negotiations with candidate countries; ], and ] were accepted as candidates for European Union membership. In March 2004, ] and ] have become members of ]. As of April 2009,<ref>] to NATO], NATO – News, 7 April 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2009.</ref> ] is a member of ]. ] and what was then ] started negotiations with the EU over the Stabilization and Accession Agreements, although shortly after they started, negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro were suspended for lack of co-operation with the ]. During the ] ] vetoed Macedonia's NATO membership bid over the ] between the two countries{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}}. | |||
| All other countries have expressed a desire to join the EU at some point in the future. | |||
| == Politics and economy == | |||
| ] in Greece. ] is an important part of the Greek economy.]] | |||
| ] (also known as Mećavnik or Küstendorf), an ethno village in ] and home to the annual ] film festival]] | |||
| Currently all of the states are republics, but until World War II all except Turkey were monarchies. Most of the republics are ], excluding Romania and Bosnia which are ]. All the states have ] ], most of which are in the upper-middle income range ($4,000 – $12,000 p.c.), however, ] has ] (over $12,000 p.c.), and is also classified with very high ] in contrast to the remaining states which are classified with high HDI. The states from the former ] that formerly had ] system and Turkey mark gradual economic growth each year, only the economy of Greece drops for 2012 and meanwhile it was expected to grow in 2013. The Gross domestic product (]) per capita is highest in Greece (over $25,000), followed by Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia ($10,000 – $15,000), Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo (below $10,000).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2009&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=914%2C962%2C943%2C963%2C918%2C960%2C968%2C942%2C961%2C174%2C186%2C967&s=PPPPC&grp=0&a=&pr1.x=41&pr1.y=12|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects|publisher=International Monetary Fund|year=2009–2016}}</ref> The ], which indicates the level of difference by monetary welfare of the layers, is on the second level at the highest monetary equality in Albania, Bulgaria and Serbia, on the third level in Greece, Montenegro and Romania, on the fourth level in Macedonia, on the fifth level in Turkey, and the most unequal by Gini coefficient is Bosnia at the eighth level which is the penultimate level and one of the highest in the world. The unemployment is lowest in Romania (below 10%), followed by Bulgaria, Turkey, Albania (10 – 15%), Greece (15 – 20%), Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia (20 – 30%), Macedonia (over 30%) and Kosovo (over 40%). | |||
| * On political, social and economic criteria the divisions are as follows: | |||
| ** Territories ] of the ]: Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania and Slovenia | |||
| ** Territories currently in ] for EU membership: Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey | |||
| ** Territories ] for EU membership: Albania and Macedonia | |||
| ** Territories with "]" status for EU membership: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo | |||
| * On border control and trade criteria the divisions are as follows: | |||
| ** Territories in the ]: Greece and Slovenia | |||
| ** Territories that are legally bound to join the ]: Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania | |||
| ** Territories in a ] with the EU: Turkey | |||
| ** Territories members of the ]: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. | |||
| * On currency criteria the divisions are as follows: | |||
| ** Territories members of the ]: Greece and Slovenia | |||
| ** Territories using the ] without authorization by the EU: Kosovo and Montenegro | |||
| ** Territories using the national currencies and ] for the ]: Bulgaria (]), Croatia (]), Romania (]) | |||
| ** Territories using the national currencies: Albania (]), Bosnia and Herzegovina (]), Macedonia (]) and Serbia (]). | |||
| * On military criteria the divisions are as follows:] is the main base of the ] under ] command in Kosovo.]] | |||
| ** Territories ] of ]: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey | |||
| ** Territories members of the ] with ] and ] for joining NATO: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro | |||
| ** Territories members of the ]: Serbia | |||
| * On the recent political, social and economic criteria there are two groups of countries: | |||
| ** Territories with communist or socialist past: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia | |||
| ** Territories with capitalist past: Greece and Turkey | |||
| === Regional organizations ===<!-- This section is linked from ] --> | |||
| {| style="width:500px" | |||
| |- | |||
| |] (SEECP) member states]] || ] {{legend|#ff7f40|members}}{{legend|#00ff00|observers}} {{legend|#007fff|supporting partners}}]] | |||
| |- | |||
| |] (SECI) {{legend|#ff7f40|members}} {{legend|#00ff00|observers}}]] || ] (BSEC) {{legend|#ff7f40|members}} {{legend|#00ff00|observers}}]] | |||
| |} | |||
| See also the ] | |||
| == Demographics == | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ]]] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%" | |||
| |- | |||
| ! Territory !!data-sort-type="number"| Population within pensinsula!!data-sort-type="number"| Life expectancy | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Albania}} | |||
| |2,831,741<ref name="Institute of Statistics of Albania">{{cite web |url=http://census.al/default.aspx?lang=en |title=Institute of Statistics of Albania. 2011 Census Results}}</ref> | |||
| |77.4 years | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} | |||
| |3,839,737<ref name="Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina">Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Estimate for 2011.</ref> | |||
| |74.9 years | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Bulgaria}} | |||
| |7,814,570<ref name="National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria">{{cite web |url=http://www.nsi.bg/census2011/pageen2.php?p2=179 |title=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria. 2011 Census Results}}</ref> | |||
| |74.5 years | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Greece}} | |||
| |11,123,034<ref name="epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu">http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tps00001&plugin=1 Official estimate</ref>{{Update inline|date=June 2015}} | |||
| |82 years | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Kosovo}} | |||
| |1,733,872<ref name="Statistical Office of Kosovo">{{cite web |url=http://esk.rks-gov.net/rekos2011/?cid={{formatnum:240276}} |title=Statistical Office of Kosovo. 2011 Census Results}}</ref> | |||
| | – | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Macedonia}} | |||
| |2,057,284<ref name="State Statistical Office of Macedonia">{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/publikacii/2.4.11.14.pdf |title=State Statistical Office of Macedonia. Estimate for 2010 |language=Macedonian |date= |accessdate=17 April 2010}}</ref> | |||
| |74.2 years | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Montenegro}} | |||
| |625,266<ref name="Statistical Office of Montenegro">{{cite web |url=http://monstat.org/eng/page.php?id=57&pageid=57 |title= Statistical Office of Montenegro. 2011 Census Results}}</ref> | |||
| | – | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Romania}} | |||
| |832,141<ref name="National Institute of Statistics of Romania">{{cite web |title= National Institute of Statistics of Romania. 2011 Census Results. |url=http://www.insse.ro/cms/files/statistici/comunicate/alte/2012/Comunicat%20DATE%20PROVIZORII%20RPL%202011.pdf |language=Romanian}}</ref> | |||
| |72.5 years | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Serbia}} | |||
| |7,209,764<ref name="Statistical Office of Serbia">{{cite web|title=Statistical Office of Serbia. 2011 Census Results|date=|url=http://webrzs.stat.gov.rs/WebSite/public/PublicationView.aspx?pKey=41&pLevel=1&pubType=2&pubKey=834}}</ref> | |||
| |74.2 years | |||
| |- | |||
| |{{flagu|Turkey}} | |||
| |10,620,739<ref name="Turkish Statistical Institute">{{cite web |url=http://www.tuik.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=15974 |title= Turkish Statistical Institute}}</ref> | |||
| |75 years<ref name="OECD Better Life Index">{{cite web |url=http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/turkey/ |title= OECD Better Life Index}}</ref> | |||
| |-class="sortbottom" | |||
| |'''Balkans''' ** | |||
| |est. '''48 million''' | |||
| | | |||
| |} | |||
| <small>The ] are not taken into account. Both census figures of Serbia and Kosovo in the table do not include ], therefore in the population of the Balkans, made up of sum of the populations in the table, is added separately an additional number of 70,000 to include the missing population of ].</small> | |||
| === Religion === | |||
| The region's principal religions are Christianity (], ]) and ] (]).<ref name=okey/> Eastern Orthodoxy is the majority religion in both the Balkan peninsula and the Balkan region. A variety of different traditions of each faith are practiced, with each of the Eastern Orthodox countries having its own national church. | |||
| * Territories in which the principal religion is ] (with national churches in parentheses): | |||
| ** Bulgaria (]) | |||
| ** Greece (]) | |||
| ** Macedonia (]) | |||
| ** Montenegro (] and ]) | |||
| ** Romania (]) | |||
| ** Serbia (]) | |||
| * Territories in which the principal religion is ]: | |||
| ** ] | |||
| ** ] | |||
| * Territories in which the principal religion is ]: | |||
| ** ] | |||
| ** ] | |||
| ** ] | |||
| ** ] | |||
| * Territories in which religious minorities encompass over 10% of the population: | |||
| ** Albania: ] and ] | |||
| ** Bosnia and Herzegovina: ] and ] | |||
| ** Macedonia: ] | |||
| ** Montenegro: ] | |||
| ** Romania: ] and ] (including ]) | |||
| * Territories in which religious minorities encompass less than 10% of the population: | |||
| ** Serbia: ], ] and ] (mainly in ]) | |||
| ** Croatia: ] and ] | |||
| ** Turkey: ] and ] | |||
| The ] communities of the Balkans were some of the oldest in Europe and date back to ancient times. These communities were ], except in ] where the Jewish communities were ]. In ], the small and close-knit Jewish community is 90% ], and ] is still spoken among the elderly. The Sephardi Jewish cemetery in ] has tombstones of a unique shape and inscribed in ancient Ladino.<ref>, Accessed 15 July 2008.</ref> Sephardi Jews used to have a large presence in the city of ], and by 1900, some 80,000, or more than half of the population, were Jews.<ref>"". ].</ref> The Jewish communities in the Balkans suffered immensely during ], and the vast majority were killed during the ]. An exception were the ], most of whom were saved by ], who resisted ], opposing their deportation to ]. Almost all of the few survivors have emigrated to the (then) newly founded state of ] and elsewhere. No Balkan country today has a significant Jewish minority. | |||
| === Languages === | |||
| {{main|Languages of the Balkans}} | |||
| {{further|Balkan sprachbund}} | |||
| The Balkan region today is a very diverse ethno-linguistic region, being home to multiple ], ], and ], as well as ], ], and others. ] is spoken by a large portion of the ] living throughout the Balkan countries. Throughout history many other ethnic groups with their own languages lived in the area, among them ], ], ], ] and various ]. All of the aforementioned languages from the present and from the past belong to the wider ] language family, with the exception of the Turkic languages (e.g., ] and ]). | |||
| * Territories where the predominant language is from the ]: | |||
| ** Albania and Kosovo | |||
| * Territories where the predominant language is from the ]: | |||
| ** Greece | |||
| * Territories where the predominant language is from the ]: | |||
| ** Romania | |||
| * Territories where the predominant language is from the ]: | |||
| ** Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. | |||
| * Territories where the predominant language is from the ]: | |||
| ** Turkey | |||
| * Territories in which there are minority language families encompassing over 10% of the population: | |||
| ** Macedonia: Albanian language family | |||
| === Urbanization === | |||
| Most of the states in the Balkans are predominantly urbanized; the countries in which the rural population is the majority are Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo each being about 50% rural and 50% urban.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS|title=Data: Urban population (% of total)|publisher= The World Bank|year=2006–2010}}</ref> | |||
| {{wide image|Panorama Zagreb.jpg|900px|Panoramic view of southern Zagreb}} | |||
| ] and the ]]] | |||
| ] from the parliamentary square]] | |||
| ] and the ] which defines the border of the Balkan peninsula]] | |||
| ]'s port and part of city's center.]] | |||
| ] with Mount Dajt in the distance]] | |||
| A list of cities with population of over 150,000 inhabitants: | |||
| {| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| |- | |||
| ! Rank !! City !! Country !!data-sort-type="number"| Urban pop. !!data-sort-type="number"| Metro pop. !! Census | |||
| |- | |||
| | 1 || ] || {{SRB}} || 1,344,844 || 1,659,440 || 2011<ref name="Serbian 2011 census">{{Serbian census 2011}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 2 || ] || {{BGR}} || 1,204,685 || 1,359,520 || 2011<ref name="Bulgarian 2011 census">{{cite web |url=http://www.nsi.bg/census2011/NPDOCS/Census2011final.pdf |title=ПРЕБРОЯВАНЕ 2011 |year=2011 |language=Bulgarian |publisher=National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 3 || ] || {{GRE}} || 788,952 || 1,104,460 || 2011<ref name="Greek 2011 census" /> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 4 || ] || {{CRO}} || 686,568 || 1,107,115 || 2011<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Croatian Bureau of Statistics |url=http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv/censuses/census2011/htm/H11_Zup11_0000.html |title=Popisane osobe, kućanstva i stambene jednice, prvi rezultati popisa 2011 (Grad Zagreb) |year=2011 |language=Croatian}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 5 || ] || {{GRE}} || 664,046 || 3,737,550 || 2011<ref name="Greek 2011 census">{{cite web |publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece |url=http://www.tovima.gr/files/1/2011/07/22/apografh22.pdf |title=Πίνακας 1: Προσωρινά αποτελέσματα του Μόνιμου Πληθυσμού της Ελλάδος: Ανακοίνωση προσωρινών αποτελεσμάτων Απογραφής Πληθυσμού 2011 |year=2011 |language=Greek}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 6 || ] || {{ALB}} || 610,070 || 930,687 || 2011<ref name="Albanian 2011 census">{{cite web |url=http://census.al/Resources/Data/Census2011/Instat_print%20.pdf |title=Population and Housing Census in Albania |year=2011 |publisher=Institute of Statistics of Albania}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 7 || ] || {{MKD}} || 506,926 || 668,518 || 2002<ref>{{cite web|title=2002 census results|author=Government of the Republic of Macedonia|url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/kniga_13.pdf|publisher=stat.gov.mk |accessdate=2010-01-30|authorlink=Government of the Republic of Macedonia}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 8 || ] || {{BIH}} || 369,534 || 438,443 || 2013 (preliminary)<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Statistical office of Republika Srpska |url=http://www2.rzs.rs.ba/static/uploads/bilteni/popis/PreliminarniRezultati_Popis2013.pdf |title=Census 2013 preliminary |year=2013}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 9 || ] || {{BGR}} || 339,077 || 403,153 || 2011<ref name="Bulgarian 2011 census" /> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 10 || ] || {{BGR}} || 334,870 || 343,544 || 2011<ref name="Bulgarian 2011 census" /> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 11 || ] || {{SLO}} || 282,994 || N/A || 2013<ref name="Mestna Občina Ljubljana">{{cite web |url=http://www.ljubljana.si/si/zivljenje-v-ljubljani/v-srediscu/90508/detail.html |title=Statistical Yearbook Ljubljana 2013 |publisher=City Administration, Department for Development and Investments |accessdate=18 August 2014 |work=Place Names}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 12 || ] || {{SRB}} || 277,522 || 341,625 || 2011<ref name="Serbian 2011 census" /> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 13 || ] || {{BGR}} || 200,271 || 223,902 || 2011<ref name="Bulgarian 2011 census" /> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 14 || ] || {{SRB}} || 183,544 || 260,237 || 2011<ref name="Serbian 2011 census" /> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 15 || ] || {{flag|Kosovo}}{{ref|status|a}} || 198,000 || 205,133 || 2011<ref name="Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës">{{cite web |url=http://www.ask.rks-gov.net/ballina}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 16 || ] || {{CRO}} || 167,121 || 349,314 || 2011{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} | |||
| |- | |||
| | 17 || ] || {{flag|Kosovo}}{{ref|status|a}} || 178,000 || 181,756 || 2011<ref name="Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës"/> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 18 || ] || {{GRE}} || 171,484 || 260,308 || 2011<ref name="Greek 2011 census" /> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 19 || ] || {{MNE}} || 156,196 || 189,937 || 2011<ref name="Montenegrin 2011 census">{{cite web |title=Montenegrin 2011 census |year=2011 |publisher=Monstat |url=http://www.monstat.org/eng/page.php?id=392&pageid=57}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 20 || ] || {{BIH}} || 150,997 || 199,191 || 2013 (preliminary)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.rzs.rs.ba/static/uploads/bilteni/popis/PreliminarniRezultati_Popis2013.pdf |title=2013 census (preliminary) |year=2013 |publisher=Statistical office of Republika Srpska}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | 21 || ] || {{SRB}} || 150,835 || 179,417 || 2011<ref name="Serbian 2011 census" /> | |||
| |- | |||
| | colspan=6 style="text-align: center;" | Cities located within the Balkan peninsula, whose countries are not regarded as part of the Balkans | |||
| |- | |||
| | || ]* || {{TUR}} || 12,919,000 || 14,160,467 || 2013<ref name="Population of Turkey">{{cite web|url=http://www.turkstat.gov.tr/HbGetirHTML.do?id=15974|publisher=]|title=The Results of Address Based Population Registration System, 2013|date=31 December 2013|accessdate=29 January 2014}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | || ] || {{ROM}} || 254,693 || N/A || 2011<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.constanta.insse.ro/phpfiles/COMUNICAT_RPL_CONSTANTA.pdf |title=COMISIA JUDEŢEANǍ PENTRU RECENSĂMÂNTUL POPULAŢIEI ŞI AL LOCUINŢELOR, JUDEŢUL CONSTANTA |year=2011 |language=Romanian |publisher=National Institute of Statistics of Romania}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| | || ] || {{TUR}} || 215,293 || N/A || 2010<ref name="Turkish 2010 register">{{cite web |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Turkey-RBC20.html |title=Turkey: Registered Population |work=List of the registered population by cities and provinces in the years 2010 and 2007, quoted from the State Institute of Statistics of the Republic of Turkey |year=2010 |publisher=City Population DE}}</ref>{{better source|date=February 2014}} | |||
| |- | |||
| | || ] || {{ITA}} || 205,374 || N/A || 2009<ref>{{cite web |url=http://demo.istat.it |title=ISTAT |year=2009 |publisher=National Institute of Statistics of Italy}}</ref> | |||
| |- | |||
| |} | |||
| : ''İstanbul is partly located in the Balkans, and partly in Asia.'' | |||
| ==Culture== | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| == See also == | |||
| {{colbegin}} | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ** ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ** ] | |||
| ** ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| {{colend}} | |||
| == Annotations == | |||
| {| style="margin-left:13px; line-height:150%" | |||
| |align="right" valign="top"|a. | |||
| |{{note|status}}{{Kosovo-note}} | |||
| |} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist|30em}} | |||
| == Sources == | |||
| * {{cite book |last=Gray |first=Colin S. |title=Geopolitics, Geography and Strategy |year=1999 |publisher=Routledge |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-7146-8053-8}} | |||
| * {{cite journal |last=Banac |first=Ivo |authorlink=Ivo Banac |date=October 1992 |title=Historiography of the Countries of Eastern Europe: Yugoslavia |journal=] |volume=97 |issue=4 |publisher=] |pages=1084–1104 |doi=10.2307/2165494 |jstor=2165494}} | |||
| * {{cite book |last=Banac |first=Ivo |title=The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics |year=1984 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, N.Y. |isbn=978-0-8014-9493-2}} | |||
| * {{cite book |author=Goldstein |first=Ivo |title=Croatia: A History |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |location=Montreal, Quebec, Canada |isbn=978-0-7735-2017-2 |year=1999}} | |||
| * Carter, Francis W., ed. ''An Historical Geography of the Balkans'' Academic Press, 1977. | |||
| * ]. ''The Slavs in European History and Civilization'' Rutgers University Press, 1962. | |||
| * ] ''The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century'' ; ''The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest.'' Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, . | |||
| * {{cite book |last=Jelavich |first=Barbara |authorlink=Barbara Jelavich |title=History of the Balkans |date=29 July 1983 |publisher=]}} | |||
| * {{cite book |last=Jelavich |first=Charles and Jelavich, Barbara, eds. |title=The Balkans in Transition: Essays on the Development of Balkan Life and Politics Since the Eighteenth Century |year=1963 |publisher=]}} | |||
| * {{cite book | last=Kitsikis | first=Dimitri | authorlink=Dimitri Kitsikis | title=La montée du national-bolchevisme dans les Balkans. Le retour à la Serbie de 1830 | publisher=Avatar | location=Paris | year=2008}} | |||
| * Lampe, John R., and Marvin R. Jackson; ''Balkan Economic History, 1550–1950: From Imperial Borderlands to Developing Nations'' Indiana University Press, 1982 | |||
| * Király, Béla K., ed. ''East Central European Society in the Era of Revolutions, 1775–1856.'' 1984 | |||
| * {{cite book |last=Komlos |first=John |authorlink=John Komlos |title=Economic Development in the Habsburg Monarchy and in the Successor States |series=East European Monographs No. 28 |date=15 October 1990 |publisher=East European Monographs |location= |isbn=978-0-88033-177-7}} | |||
| * {{cite book |last=Mazower |first=Mark |authorlink=Mark Mazower |title=The Balkans: A Short History |series=] |year=2000 |publisher=] |location=New York |isbn=0-679-64087-8}} | |||
| * {{cite book |last=Stavrianos |first=L. S. |authorlink=L. S. Stavrianos |others=with Traian Stoianovich |title=The Balkans since 1453 |date=1 May 2000 |origyear=1958 |publisher=NYU Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8147-9766-2}} | |||
| * {{cite book |last=Stoianovich |first=Traian |title=Balkan Worlds: The First and Last Europe |date=September 1994 |series=Sources and Studies in World History |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |location=New York |isbn=978-1-56324-032-4}} | |||
| == External links == | |||
| {{commons category|Balkans}} | |||
| {{Wikivoyage|Balkans}} | |||
| {{Wiktionary}} | |||
| {{Wikiquote}} | |||
| {{Wikisource1911Enc|Balkan Peninsula}} | |||
| * —news coverage on Southeastern Europe | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| {{Balkan Countries}} | |||
| {{Europe topics (small)|state=autocollapse}} | |||
| {{Countries of Europe}} | |||
| {{Regions of the world}} | |||
| {{Authority control}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
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