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General Information
Serbia is a land-locked country on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. The north of the country is flat while the central part and southern parts are hilly or mountainous. The majority of the people are Serbs and the official language is Serbian. The country’s capital is Belgrade.
Serbia has a population of approximately 8 million, 1.2 million of whom live in Belgrade. The eastern part of the country is the least densely populated region. Serbia is a multinational country, the majority of its population being of Serbian nationality, but there are also Hungarian, Albanian, Slovak, Romanian, Bulgarian and other ethnic minorities. The official language is Serbian, which is a Slavic language. Though the traditional Serbian alphabet is the Cyrillic, the Latin is also in use. The alphabet has 30 letters and is phonetic, which means that each letter represents one sound. A dictionary will be essential for you during the year. Excellent English-Serbian, French-Serbian, German-Serbian or Russian-Serbian dictionaries can be bought at reasonable prices, as well as a number of others.
Serbia takes up the northern part of the Balkan Peninsula and the Southern part of the Panonian Plain. It is bordered by Hungary to the north, Romania and Bulgaria to the east, Macedonia to the south, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro to the west and Albania to the southwest. Serbia’s capital is Belgrade, which is also the largest city, and other major cities and towns are Novi Sad, Niš, Kragujevac, and Subotica. The north of Serbia is very flat, the central part of the country called Šumadija is hilly, while there are some high mountains in the south, the most popular being Kopaonik known for its ski resorts. The country abounds in rivers, and the longest European river Danube flows through Serbia, linking it to both Central Europe and the Black Sea. Over a quarter of the territory is covered by forests, while national parks take up 10%.
The climate is continental with cold winters and hot, humid summers, though it has been affected by the global climate change. Average summer temperatures in July and August are around 32°C, though they may exceed 40 °C, while the usual winter temperatures range between 5°C and -5°C, or colder in the mountains. It rains in spring and autumn and summer showers are quite common.
The economy in Serbia is based on metal processing, agriculture, mining, etc. Serbia exports metals, food, drinks and crops.
The Republic of Serbia is a member of United Nations, Council of Europe, Group of Nine, International Monetary Fund, International Olympic Committee, World Trade Organization, Partnership for Peace, World Health Organisation, etc.
