Serbia and Montenegro (2003) | Sri Lanka (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 2 republics (republike, singular - republika); and 2 nominally autonomous provinces* (autonomn pokrajine, singular - autonomna pokrajina); Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia, Vojvodina* | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
note: in 1998 the Government of Sri Lanka proposed a merger of the former Northern and Eastern provinces; while this merger was never ratified, the Government treats North Eastern Province as a de facto singular administrative unit |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 19.3% (male 1,062,625; female 990,071)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 3,422,543; female 3,548,058) 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 696,716; female 935,761) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.1% (male 2,488,689/female 2,379,233)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 6,727,399/female 7,140,751) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 687,842/female 798,326) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish |
Airports | 45 (2002) | 16 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 19
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 26
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 12 (2002) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total: 102,350 sq km
land: 102,136 sq km water: 214 sq km |
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Kentucky | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Background | The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought themselves as well as the invaders. The group headed by Marshal TITO took full control upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government successfully steered its own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia all declared their independence in 1991; Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new "Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" (FRY) in 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." All of these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1999, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Serbia and the stationing of NATO, Russian, and other peacekeepers in Kosovo. Federal elections in the fall of 2000, brought about the ouster of MILOSEVIC and installed Vojislav KOSTUNICA as president. The arrest of MILOSEVIC in 2001 allowed for his subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. In 2001, the country's suspension was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name of Yugoslavia. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999, under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. In 2002, the Serbian and Montenegrin components of Yugoslavia began negotiations to forge a looser relationship. These talks became a reality in February 2003 when lawmakers restructured the country into a loose federation of two republics called Serbia and Montenegro. An agreement was also reached to hold a referendum in each republic in three years on full independence. | The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam formalized a cease-fire in February 2002, with Norway brokering peace negotiations. |
Birth rate | 12.74 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 15.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.9 billion
expenditures: $4.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $3.804 billion
expenditures: $5.469 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Belgrade; note - Podgorica is the judicial capital | name: Colombo
geographic coordinates: 6 56 N, 79 51 E time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) |
Climate | in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 199 km | 1,340 km |
Constitution | 4 February 2003 | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: Serbia and Montenegro
conventional short form: none local long form: Srbija i Crna Gora local short form: none |
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka local long form: Shri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di Janarajaya/Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu local short form: Shri Lamka/Ilankai former: Serendib, Ceylon |
Currency | new Yugoslav dinar (YUM); note - in Montenegro the euro is legal tender; in Kosovo both the euro and the Yugoslav dinar are legal (2002) | - |
Death rate | 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.2 billion (2001 est.) | $11.05 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William D. MONTGOMERY
embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade mailing address: 5070 Belgrade Place, Washington, DC 20521-5070 telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344 FAX: [381] (11) 361-8230 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert O. BLAKE, Jr.
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ivan VUJACIC
chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-0333 FAX: [1] (202) 332-3933 consulate(s) general: Chicago |
chief of mission: Ambassador Bernard GOONETILLEKE
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | the Albanian government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians outside its borders in the Kosovo region of Serbia and Montenegro while continuing to seek regional cooperation; several ethnic Albanian groups in Kosovo voice union with Albania; has delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute; in late 2002, Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia adopted an interim agreement to settle the disputed Prevlaka Peninsula, allowing the withdrawal of the UN monitoring mission (UNMOP), but discussions could be complicated by the inability of Serbia and Montenegro to come to an agreement on the economic aspects of the new federal union | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2 billion pledged in 2001 (disbursements to follow for several years) | $577 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the war in Kosovo have left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. Since the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government has implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's $4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in November 2001; it will write off 66% of the debt; a similar debt relief agreement on its $2.8 billion London Club commercial debt is still pending. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is moving toward local autonomy under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is dependent on the international community for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget. The complexity of Serbia and Montenegro political relationships, slow progress in privatization, and stagnation in the European economy are holding back the economy. Arrangements with the IMF, especially requirements for fiscal discipline, are an important element in policy formation. Severe unemployment remains a key political economic problem. | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of about 5.5% in the 1990s, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, by 1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 5% between 2002 and 2005. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. |
Electricity - consumption | 32.37 billion kWh (2001) | 6.796 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 446 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 3.33 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 31.71 billion kWh (2001) | 7.308 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 62.9%
hydro: 37.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Daravica 2,656 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Serb 62.6%, Albanian 16.5%, Montenegrin 5%, Hungarian 3.3%, other 12.6% (1991) | Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
Exchange rates | new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - official rate: 65 (2002), 10.0 (December 1998); black market rate: 14.5 (December 1998) | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Svetozar MAROVIC (since 7 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Dragisa PESIC (since 24 July 2001); Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub LABUS (since 25 January 2001) cabinet: Federal Ministries act as Cabinet elections: president elected by the Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 7 March 2003 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Svetozar MAROVIC elected president by the Parliament; vote was Svetozar MAROVIC 65, other 47 |
chief of state: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 19 November 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE (since 21 November 2005) holds the ceremonial title of prime minister
head of government: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 19 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 17 November 2005 (next to be held 2011) election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSE elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3% |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, food and live animals, raw materials | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish |
Exports - partners | Italy 32%, Germany 19.5%, Greece 7%, Austria 6.1%, France 4.6% (2002) | US 30.9%, UK 11.6%, India 7.3%, Belgium 4.8%, Germany 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and red | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $23.15 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 26%
industry: 36% services: 38% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 17.8%
industry: 27.6% services: 54.5% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 6% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 44 00 N, 21 00 E | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
Geography - note | controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes |
Heliports | 4 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 49,805 km
paved: 31,029 km (including 560 km of expressways) unpaved: 18,776 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to money laundering | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manufactured goods, chemicals, food and live animals, raw materials | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | Germany 19.4%, Italy 18%, Austria 8.5%, Slovenia 5.6%, Greece 4.4%, France 4.3%, Bulgaria 4.2%, Romania 4.1% (2002) | India 19.7%, China 9.9%, Singapore 7.2%, Iran 5.5%, Malaysia 4.6%, Hong Kong 4.5% (2005) |
Independence | 27 April 1992 (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY formed as self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or SFRY) | 4 February 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.7% (2002 est.) | 8.2% (2005 est.) |
Industries | machine building (aircraft, trucks, and automobiles; tanks and weapons; electrical equipment; agricultural machinery); metallurgy (steel, aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, antimony, bismuth, cadmium); mining (coal, bauxite, nonferrous ore, iron ore, limestone); consumer goods (textiles, footwear, foodstuffs, appliances); electronics, petroleum products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 16.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.57 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 13.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 19% (2002 est.) | 11.6% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, BIS, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 570 sq km | 7,430 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Federal Court or Savezni Sud; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts are elected by the Federal Assembly for nine-year terms
note: after the promulgation of the new Constitution, the Federal Court will have constitutional and administrative functions; it will have an equal number of judges from each republic |
Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 3 million (2001 est.) | 8.08 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 38%
industry: 17% services: 45% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,246 km
border countries: Albania 287 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km, Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 36.34%
permanent crops: 3.44% other: 60.22% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
Languages | Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Legal system | based on civil law system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (126 seats - 91 Serbian, 35 Montenegrin - filled by nominees of the two state parliaments for the first two years, after which the president will call for public elections
elections: last held 25 February 2003 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DOS 37, DLECG 19, DSS 17, ZP 14, SPS 12, SRS 8, SDP 5, SSJ 5, other 9 |
unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP (no longer in formal UPFA alliance) 45.6%, UNP 37.83%, TNA 6.84%, JHU 5.97%, SLMC 2.02%, UPF 0.54%, EPDP 0.27%, others 0.93%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, UNP dissident 1, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, JHU dissidents 2, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.97 years
male: 71.03 years female: 77.16 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 73.41 years
male: 70.83 years female: 76.12 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93% male: 97.2% female: 88.9% (1991) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | NA | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 22 ships (1000 GRT or over) 144,066 GRT/196,418 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 17, container 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 7 (Germany 5, UAE 2) registered in other countries: 5 (Panama 5) (2006) |
Military branches | Army (VJ) (including ground forces with border troops, naval forces, air and air defense forces) | Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $654 million (2002) | $606.2 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.6% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,579,620 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,077,660 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 81,547 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | National Day, 27 April | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
Nationality | noun: Serb(s); Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Serbian; Montenegrin |
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
Natural resources | oil, gas, coal, antimony, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, gold, pyrite, chrome, hydropower, arable land | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,177 km; oil 393 km (2003) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Opposition of Serbia or DOS (a coalition of many small parties including DSS) [leader NA]; Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Jozsef KASZA]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Dr. Ibrahim RUGOVA, president]; Democratic List for European Montenegro or DLECG [Milo DJUKANOVIC, Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Democratic Party or DS [collective interim leadership led by Cedomir JOVANOVIC]; Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Party of Serb Unity or SSJ [Borislav PELEVIC]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Tomislav NIKOLIC]; Serbian Socialist Party or SPS (former Communist Party and party of Slobodan MILOSEVIC) [Zoran ANDJELKOVIC, general secretary]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Rasim LJAJIC]; Together for Changes or ZP [leader NA] | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna or JVP [Somawansa AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sihala Urumaya or SU; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Ibrahim RUGOVA]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Group of 17 Independent Economists or G-17 [leader NA]; National Movement for the Liberation of Kosovo or LKCK [Sabit GASHI]; Otpor Student Resistance Movement [leader NA]; Political Council for Presevo, Meveda and Bujanovac or PCPMB [leader NA]; The People's Movement for Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI] | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups |
Population | 10,655,774
note: a census was taken in Serbia 1-15 April 2002 (July 2003 est.) |
20,222,240
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 30% | 22% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.07% (2003 est.) | 0.78% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bar, Belgrade, Kotor, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Tivat, Zelenika | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 113, FM 194, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | total: 4,059 km
standard gauge: 4,059 km 1.435-m gauge (1,364 km electrified) (2002) |
total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Orthodox 65%, Muslim 19%, Roman Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 11% | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; likely improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999)
domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low (1999) international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.017 million (1995) | 1.244 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 87,000 (1997) | 3.362 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | more than 771 (including 86 strong stations and 685 low-power stations, plus 20 repeaters in the principal networks; also numerous local or private stations in Serbia and Vojvodina) (1997) | 21 (1997) |
Terrain | extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
Total fertility rate | 1.77 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.84 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 32% (2002 est.) | 7.7% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 587 km
note: the Danube River, central Europe's connection to the Black Sea, runs through Serbia; since early 2000, a pontoon bridge, replacing a destroyed conventional bridge, has obstructed river traffic at Novi Sad; the obstruction is bypassed by a canal system, but the inadequate lock size limits the size of vessels which may pass; the pontoon bridge can be opened for large ships but has slowed river traffic (2001) |
160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2005) |