SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO

Svetozar Marovic
President

(pronounced "SVET-oh-zahr MAAR-oh-vitch")

"By adopting European rules of living and political activities, we will make the best contribution to resolving problems in the region, such as the problem of Kosovo, which must be resolved strictly through dialogue and with the help of the international community….[T]he time of sabrerattling, ethnic conflicts and wars in the Balkans is definitely over."

Serbia and Montenegro is made up of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro, and is one of the five successor states to Tito's Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It borders on Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia to the west; Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; and Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the south, with a 100 km (62 mi) shoreline on the Adriatic Sea. Serbia and Montenegro covers an area of 102,350 sq km (39,517 sq mi).

Serbia and Montenegro's population was estimated at 10,656,929 in 2002. The major ethnic groups include 63% Serbs, 17% Albanians, 5% Montenegrins, 3% Hungarians, 3% Slavic Muslims, and 9% various other nationalities. The official language is Serbian, written with the Cyrillic alphabet. The population is Eastern Orthodox Christian (65%), with Muslim (19%) and Roman Catholic (4%) minorities.

The official currency in the Serb Republic is the new Yugoslav dinar . In Montenegro the euro is legal tender, and in Kosovo both the euro and the Yugoslav dinar are legal. The per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at US $2,370 in 2002.