"text":"The central Balkans were part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires before ethnic Serbs migrated to the territories of modern Kosovo in the 7th century. During the medieval period, Kosovo became the center of a Serbian Empire and saw the construction of many important Serb religious sites, including many architecturally significant Serbian Orthodox monasteries. The defeat of Serbian forces at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 led to five centuries of Ottoman rule during which large numbers of Turks and Albanians moved to Kosovo. By the end of the 19th century, Albanians replaced Serbs as the dominant ethnic group in Kosovo. Serbia reacquired control over the region from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War of 1912. After World War II, Kosovo's present-day boundaries were established when Kosovo became an autonomous province of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (S.F.R.Y.). Despite legislative concessions, Albanian nationalism increased in the 1980s, which led to riots and calls for Kosovo's independence. The Serbs - many of whom viewed Kosovo as their cultural heartland - instituted a new constitution in 1989 revoking Kosovo's autonomous status. Kosovo's Albanian leaders responded in 1991 by organizing a referendum declaring Kosovo independent. Serbia undertook repressive measures against the Kosovar Albanians in the 1990s, provoking a Kosovar Albanian insurgency. ++ Beginning in 1998, Serbia conducted a brutal counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians (some 800,000 ethnic Albanians were forced from their homes in Kosovo). After international attempts to mediate the conflict failed, a three-month NATO military operation against Serbia beginning in March 1999 forced the Serbs to agree to withdraw their military and police forces from Kosovo. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) placed Kosovo under a transitional administration, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), pending a determination of Kosovo's future status. A UN-led process began in late 2005 to determine Kosovo's final status. The 2006-07 negotiations ended without agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, though the UN issued a comprehensive report on Kosovo's final status that endorsed independence. On 17 February 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared Kosovo independent. Since then, over 100 countries have recognized Kosovo, and it has joined numerous international organizations. In October 2008, Serbia sought an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality under international law of Kosovo's declaration of independence. The ICJ released the advisory opinion in July 2010 affirming that Kosovo's declaration of independence did not violate general principles of international law, UN Security Council Resolution 1244, or the Constitutive Framework. The opinion was closely tailored to Kosovo's unique history and circumstances. ++ Serbia continues to reject Kosovo's independence, but the two countries reached an agreement to normalize their relations in April 2013 through EU-facilitated talks and are currently engaged in the implementation process. Kosovo seeks full integration into the international community, and has pursued bilateral recognitions and eventual membership in international organizations, such as the UN, EU, and NATO."
"text":"Albania 112 km, Macedonia 160 km, Montenegro 76 km, Serbia 366 km"
}
},
"Coastline":{
"text":"0 km (landlocked)"
},
"Maritime claims":{
"text":"none (landlocked)"
},
"Climate":{
"text":"influenced by continental air masses resulting in relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall and hot, dry summers and autumns; Mediterranean and alpine influences create regional variation; maximum rainfall between October and December"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"flat fluvial basin at an elevation of 400-700 m above sea level surrounded by several high mountain ranges with elevations of 2,000 to 2,500 m"
"text":"pockets of agglomeration exist throughout the country, the largest being in the east in and around the capital of Pristina"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"the 41-km long Nerodimka River divides into two branches each of which flows into a different sea: the northern branch flows into the Sitnica River, which via the Ibar, Morava, and Danube Rivers ultimately flows into the Black Sea; the southern branch flows via the Lepenac and Vardar Rivers into the Aegean Sea"
"text":"Kosovan, a neutral term, is sometimes also used as a noun or adjective"
}
},
"Ethnic groups":{
"text":"Albanians 92.9%, Bosniaks 1.6%, Serbs 1.5%, Turk 1.1%, Ashkali 0.9%, Egyptian 0.7%, Gorani 0.6%, Roma 0.5%, other/unspecified 0.2%",
"note":{
"text":"these estimates may under-represent Serb, Roma, and some other ethnic minorities because they are based on the 2011 Kosovo national census, which excluded northern Kosovo (a largely Serb-inhabited region) and was partially boycotted by Serb and Roma communities in southern Kosovo (2011 est.)"
}
},
"Languages":{
"text":"Albanian (official) 94.5%, Bosnian 1.7%, Serbian (official) 1.6%, Turkish 1.1%, other 0.9% (includes Romani), unspecified 0.1%",
"text":"in municipalities where a community's mother tongue is not one of Kosovo's official languages, the language of that community may be given official status according to the 2006 Law on the Use of Languages (2011 est.)"
"text":"name derives from the Serbian \"kos\" meaning \"blackbird,\" an ellipsis (linguistic omission) for \"kosove polje\" or \"field of the blackbirds\""
"text":"previous 1974, 1990; latest (postindependence) draft finalized 2 April 2008, signed 7 April 2008, ratified 9 April 2008, entered into force 15 June 2008; amended several times, last in 2016 (2016); note - amendment 24, passed by the Assembly in March 2016, established the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Institution, a court established to try war crimes allegedly committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army in the late 1990s (2016)"
"text":"civil law system; note- the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) retains limited executive powers related to the investigation of such issues as war crimes"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
"text":"president indirectly elected by two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly for a 5-year term; if a candidate does not receive a two-third majority in the first two ballots, the candidate receiving a simple majority of votes in the third ballot is elected (eligible for a second term); election last held on 26 February 2016 (next to be held in 2021); prime minister indirectly elected by the Assembly"
"text":"Hashim THACI elected president; Assembly vote - Hashim THACI (PDK) 71, Rafet RAMA (PDK) 0 in the third round (10 votes invalid); Isa MUSTAFA (LDK) selected prime minister by the President in consultation with the LDK/PDK/PD/LB/PSHDK/PK coalition"
"text":"unicameral Assembly or Kuvendi i Kosoves/Skupstina Kosova (120 seats; 100 members directly elected by proportional representation vote with 20 seats reserved for ethnic minorities - 10 for Serbs and 10 for other ethnic minorities; members serve 4-year terms)"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held on 8 June 2014 (next expected to be held in June 2018)"
},
"election results":{
"text":"percent of vote by party/coalition - PDK/PD/LB/PSHDK/PK 30.4%, LDK 25.2%, VV 13.6%, AAK 9.5%, Serb List 5.2%, NISMA 5.2%, KDTP 1.0%, other 9.9%; seats by party/coalition - PDK/PD/LB/PSHDK/PK 37, LDK 30, VV 16, AAK 11, Serb List 9, NISMA 6, KDTP 2, VAKAT 2, other 7"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the court president and NA judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 7 judges)"
"text":"Supreme Court judges nominated by the Kosovo Judicial Council, a 13-member independent body staffed by judges and lay members, and also responsible for overall administration of Kosovo's judicial system; judges appointed by the president of the Republic of Kosovo; judges appointed until mandatory retirement age; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the Kosovo Assembly and appointed by the president of the republic to serve single, 9-year terms"
"text":"subordinate courts: Court of Appeals (organized into 4 departments: General, Serious Crime, Commercial Matters, and Administrative Matters; Basic Court (located in 7 municipalities, each with several branches)"
"text":"in March 2016, the Kosovo Assembly approved a constitutional amendment that establishes the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution; the court - to be located at the Hague in the Netherlands and expected to be in operation by the end of 2016 - will try alleged crimes by members of the Kosovo Liberation Army during the late 1990s; the court will be attached to each level of the Kosovo court system and consist of 4 Specialist Chambers with international judges and the Prosecutor's Office"
"text":"Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo or PSHDK [Uke BERISHA] ++ Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ] ++ Conservative Party of Kosovo or PK [Munir BASHA] ++ Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Isa MUSTAFA] ++ Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Kadri VESELI, acting chairman] ++ Initiative for Kosovo or NISMA [Fatmir LIMAJ] ++ Justice Party of Kosovo or PD [Ferid AGANI] ++ Movement for Self-Determination (Vetevendosje) or VV [Visar YMERI] ++ Movement for Unification or LB [Valon MURATI] ++ Serb List [Slavko SIMIC] ++ Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo or KDTP [Mahir YAGCILAR] ++ Vakat Coalition or VAKAT [Rasim DEMIRI]"
"text":"CiviKos Platform [Valdete IDRIZI] ++ Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedom (human rights) [Behxhet SHALA] ++ Group for Political and Legal Studies [Fisnik KORENICA] ++ KLA War Veterans Organization [Muharrem XHEMAJLI] ++ Kosova Women's Network [Igballe ROGOVA] ++ Kosovar Civil Society Foundation [Venera HAJRULLAHU] ++ Kosovo Democratic Institute [Ismet KRYEZIU] ++ Organization for Democracy, Anti-Corruption and Dignity Rise! [Arton DEMHASAJ, acting chairman] ++ Serb National Council (SNV) ++ Speak Up [Petrit ZOGAJ, executive director]"
"text":"Arberia/Dragodan, Nazim Hikmet 30, Pristina, Kosovo"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"use embassy street address"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[381] 38 59 59 3000"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[381] 38 549 890"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"centered on a dark blue field is the geographical shape of Kosovo in a gold color surmounted by six white, five-pointed stars arrayed in a slight arc; each star represents one of the major ethnic groups of Kosovo: Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Gorani, Roma, and Bosniaks"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"six, five-pointed, white stars; national colors: blue, gold, white"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Europe\""
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"no lyrics/Mendi MENGJIQI"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 2008; Kosovo chose to exclude lyrics in its anthem so as not to offend the country's minority ethnic groups"
"text":"Kosovo does not have a military force; the Kosovo Security Force was established in 2009 and maintains a non-military mandate in four core competencies: search-and-rescue, firefighting, demining, and hazardous material response (2015)"
"text":"Serbia with several other states protest the US and other states' recognition of Kosovo's declaration of its status as a sovereign and independent state in February 2008; ethnic Serbian municipalities along Kosovo's northern border challenge final status of Kosovo-Serbia boundary; several thousand NATO-led Kosovo Force peacekeepers under UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo authority continue to keep the peace within Kosovo between the ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority in Kosovo; Kosovo and Macedonia completed demarcation of their boundary in September 2008"
"text":"17,000 (primarily ethnic Serbs displaced during the 1998-1999 war fearing reprisals from the majority ethnic-Albanian population; a smaller number of ethnic Serbs, Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians fled their homes in 2004 as a result of violence) (2015)"
