Serbia (2006) | British Virgin Islands (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 29 districts (okrugov; singular - okrug), 1 capital city*
Serbia Proper: Belgrad*, Bor, Branicevo, Jablanica, Kolubara, Macva, Moravica, Nisava, Pcinja, Pirot, Podunavlje, Pomoravlje, Rasina, Raska, Sumadija, Toplica, Zajecar, Zlatibor Vojvodina Autonomous Province: Central Banat, North Backa, North Banat, South Backa, South Banat, Srem, West Backa Kosovo and Metojia Autonomous Province: Kosovo, Kosovska-Mitrovica, Kosovo-Pomoravlje, Pec, Prizren |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 22.4% (male 2,401; female 2,351)
15-64 years: 72.7% (male 7,962; female 7,509) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 565; female 484) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, maize, sugar beets, sunflower, beef, pork, milk | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
Airports | 39 (2006) | 3 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 16
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 23
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 12 (2006) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 88,361 sq km
land: 88,361 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the island of Anegada |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than South Carolina | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
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 each other as well as the invaders. The group headed by Josip TITO took full control of Yugoslavia upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government and its successors (he died in 1980) managed to steer their 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, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were recognized as independent states in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." These actions led to Yugoslavia being ousted from the UN in 1992, but Serbia continued its campaign until signing the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. In 1998-99, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Belgrade and the stationing of a NATO-led force (KFOR), 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 from the UN was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name of the Federal Republic 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, pending a determination by the international community of its future status. In 2002, the Serbian and Montenegrin components of Yugoslavia began negotiations to forge a looser relationship. In February 2003 lawmakers restructured the country into a loose federation of two republics called Serbia and Montenegro. The Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro included a provision that allowed either republic to hold a referendum after three years that would allow for their independence from the state union. In the spring of 2006, Montenegro took advantage of the provision to undertake a successful independence vote enabling it to secede on 3 June. Two days later, Serbia declared that it was the successor state to the union of Serbia and Montenegro. | First settled by the Dutch in 1648, the islands were annexed in 1672 by the English. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
Birth rate | - | 15.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $11.45 billion
expenditures: $11.12 billion; including capital expenditures $NA; note - figures are for Serbia and Montenegro; Serbian Statistical Office indicates that for 2006 budget, Serbia will have revenues of $7.08 billion (2005 est.) |
revenues: $121.5 million
expenditures: $115.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
Capital | name: Belgrade
geographic coordinates: 44 50 N, 20 30 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Road Town |
Climate | in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); in other parts, continental and Mediterranean climate (hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall) | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 80 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1990; note - a new draft constitution approved by Parliament on 30 September 2006 stresses that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia; the draft must still be approved by a national referendum | 1 June 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Serbia
conventional short form: Serbia local long form: Republika Srbija local short form: Srbija former: People's Republic of Serbia, Socialist Republic of Serbia |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | - | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $15.43 billion (including Montenegro) (2005 est.) | $36.1 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael C. POLT
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 note: there is a branch office in Pristina at 30 Nazim Hikmet 38000 Prstina, Kososvo; telephone: [381] (38) 549-516; FAX:[381] (38) 549-890 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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, New York |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | the final status of the Serbian province of Kosovo remains unresolved and several thousand peacekeepers from the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) have administered the region since 1999, with Kosovar Albanians overwhelmingly supporting and Serbian officials opposing Kosovo independence; the international community had agreed to begin a process to determine final status but contingency of solidifying multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo has not been satisfied; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement; Serbia and Montenegro delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections with Serbia along the Drina River remain in dispute | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2 billion pledged in 2001 to Serbia and Montenegro (disbursements to follow over several years; aid pledged by EU and US has been placed on hold because of lack of cooperation by Serbia in handing over General Ratco MLADIC to the criminal court in The Hague) | NA |
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 NATO airstrikes in 1999 left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. After the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government implemented stabilization measures and embarked on a market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, a down-sized 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. In November 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reschedule the country's $4.5 billion public debt and wrote off 66% of the debt. In July 2004, the London Club of private creditors forgave $1.7 billion of debt, just over half the total owed. Belgrade has made only minimal progress in restructuring and privatizing its holdings in major sectors of the economy, including energy and telecommunications. It has made halting progress towards EU membership and is currently pursuing a Stabilization and Association Agreement with Brussels. Serbia is also pursuing membership in the World Trade Organization. Unemployment remains an ongoing political and economic problem. The Republic of Montenegro severed its economy from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era; therefore, the formal separation of Serbia and Montenegro in June 2006 had little real impact on either economy. Kosovo's economy continues to transition to a market-based system and is largely dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are both accepted currencies in Kosovo. While maintaining ultimate oversight, UNMIK continues to work with the EU and Kosovo's local provisional government to accelerate economic growth, lower unemployment, and attract foreign investment to help Kosovo integrate into regional economic structures. The complexity of Serbia and Kosovo's political and legal relationships has created uncertainty over property rights and hindered the privatization of state-owned assets in Kosovo. Most of Kosovo's population lives in rural towns outside of the largest city, Pristina. Inefficient, near-subsistence farming is common.
note: economic data for Serbia currently reflects information for the former Serbia and Montenegro, unless otherwise noted; data for Serbia alone will be added when available |
The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, is expected to make the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the dollar as its currency since 1959. |
Electricity - consumption | NA | 39.1 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 12.05 billion kWh (excluding Kosovo; exported to Montenegro) (2004) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 11.23 billion kWh (excluding Kosovo; imports from Montenegro) (2004) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 33.87 billion kWh (excluding Kosovo and Montenegro) (2004) | 42 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: NA
highest point: Daravica 2,656 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Serb 66%, Albanian 17%, Hungarian 3.5%, other 13.5% (1991) | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
Exchange rates | new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - 58.6925 (2005) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Boris TADIC (since 11 July 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Vojislav KOSTUNICA (since 3 March 2004) cabinet: Federal Ministries act as cabinet elections: president elected by direct vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 27 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009); prime minister elected by the Assembly election results: Boris TADIC elected president in the second round of voting; Boris TADIC received 53% of the vote |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Tom MACAN (since 14 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 15 May 1995) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | 0 cu m | $6.2 million |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
Exports - partners | - | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
Fiscal year | - | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal stripes of red (top), blue, and white; charged with the coat of arms of Serbia shifted slightly to the hoist side | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $311 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 25.5% services: 57.9% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 6% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $16,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.9% for Serbia alone (excluding Kosovo) (2005 est.) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 44 00 N, 21 00 E | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
Geography - note | controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
Heliports | 4 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total: 177 km
paved: 177 km unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to money laundering | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center |
Imports | 0 cu m | $230 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | - | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
Imports - partners | - | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US |
Independence | 5 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.4% (2006 est.) | 4% (1985) |
Industries | sugar, agricultural machinery, electrical and communication equipment, paper and pulp, lead, transportation equipment | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
Infant mortality rate | - | 19.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15.5% (2005 est.) | 3.3% (2000) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD (suspended), IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | Caricom (associate), CDB, ECLAC (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court (nine justices with life tenure) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
Labor force | 2.961 million for Serbia (including Kosovo) (2002 est.) | 4,911 (1980) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 30%
industry: 46% services: 24% note: excluding Kosovo and Montenegro (2002) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,027 km
border countries: Albania 115 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 302 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia 241 km, Hungary 151 km, Macedonia 221 km, Montenegro 203 km, Romania 476 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA other: NA |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Serbian (official nationwide); Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Croatian (all official in Vojvodina); Albanian (official in Kosovo) | English (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | English law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (250 deputies elected by direct vote for a four-year term)
elections: last held 28 December 2003 (next to be held December 2007) election results: SRS 83, DSS 53, DS 37, G17 Plus 34, SPO-NS 22, SPS 22 |
unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, one member from each of 9 electoral districts, four at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - VIP 7, CCM 1, NDP 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74 years
male: 71 years female: 76 years |
total population: 75.85 years
male: 74.9 years female: 76.84 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.4% male: 98.9% female: 94.1% (2002 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Europe, between Macedonia and Hungary | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | note: see entry for Montenegro | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 70,285 GRT/6,946 DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Serbian Armed Forces (Vojska Srbije, VS): Serbian Land Forces (Kopnene Vojska, KoV), Air Force and Air Defense Force (Vozduhoplostvo i Protivozduhoplovna Odbrana, ViPO), naval force to be determined (2006) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $14.85 million | - |
National holiday | National Day, 27 April | Territory Day, 1 July |
Nationality | noun: Serb(s)
adjective: Serbian |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
Natural resources | oil, gas, coal, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, magnesium, pyrite, limestone, marble, salt, arable land | NEGL |
Net migration rate | - | 10.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,177 km; oil 393 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party or DS [Boris TADIC]; G17 Plus [Mladjan DINKIC is acting leader]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Vojislav SESELJ, but Tomislav NIKOLIC is acting leader]; Socialist Party of Serbia or SPS [vacant, but Ivica DACIC is head of the SPS Main Board]; New Serbia or NS [Velimir ILIC]; Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | NA |
Population | 9,396,411 (2002 census) | 21,272 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 30%
note: data covers the former Serbia and Montenegro (1999 est.) |
NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 2.16% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Road Town |
Radio broadcast stations | 153 (2001) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 9,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 4,135 km
standard guage: 4,135 km 1.435-m guage (electrified 1,195 km) (2005) |
0 km |
Religions | Serbian Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Protestant | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 2%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.17 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modernization of the telecommunications network has been slow as a result of damage stemming from the 1999 war and transition to a competitive market-based system; network was only 65% digitalized in 2005
domestic: teledensity remains below the average for neighboring states; GSM wireless service, available through two providers with national coverage, is growing very rapidly; best telecommunications service limited to urban centers international: country code - 381 |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: submarine cable to Bermuda |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,685,400 (2004) | 10,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.229 million (2005) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
Terrain | extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
Total fertility rate | 1.78 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 31.6%
note: unemployment is approximately 50% in Kosovo (2005 est.) |
3% (1995) |
Waterways | 587 km - primarily on Danube and Sava rivers (2005) | none |