"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":"population clusters 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"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Kosovo, a neutral term, is sometimes also used as a noun or adjective as in Kosovo Albanian, Kosovo Serb, Kosovo minority, or Kosovo citizen"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> these estimates may under-represent Serb, Romani, 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 Romani communities in southern Kosovo"
"text":"Albanian (official) 94.5%, Bosnian 1.7%, Serbian (official) 1.6%, Turkish 1.1%, other 0.9% (includes Romani), unspecified 0.1%; note - 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<br><br><strong>note:</strong> these estimates may under-represent Serb, Romani, and some other ethnic minority languages 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 Romani communities in southern Kosovo (2011 est.)"
"text":"Libri i fakteve boterore, burimi i pazevendesueshem per informacione elementare (Albanian)<br><br>Knjiga svetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"Muslim 95.6%, Roman Catholic 2.2%, Orthodox 1.5%, other 0.1%, none 0.1%, unspecified 0.6% (2011 est.)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> these estimates may under-represent Serb, Romani, 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 Romani communities in southern Kosovo"
"text":"air pollution (pollution from power plants and nearby lignite mines take a toll on people's health); water scarcity and pollution; land degradation"
},
"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"
"text":"name derives from the Serbian \"kos\" meaning \"blackbird,\" an ellipsis (linguistic omission) for \"kosove polje\" or \"field of the blackbirds\""
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Pristina (Prishtine, Prishtina)"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"42 40 N, 21 10 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
"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; note - amendment 24, passed by the Assembly in August 2015, established the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Institution, referred to as the Kosovo Specialist Chamber or \"Specialist Court,\" to try war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other crimes under Kosovo law committed during and immediately after the Kosovo War (1998-2000)"
"text":"proposed by the government, by the president of the republic, or by one fourth of Assembly deputies; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, including two-thirds majority vote of deputies representing non-majority communities, followed by a favorable Constitutional Court assessment; amended several times, last in 2020"
"text":"civil law system; note - the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) retained limited executive powers within the Kosovo judiciary for complex cases from 2008 to 2018"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of Kosovo"
"text":"president indirectly elected by at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly for a 5-year term; if a candidate does not attain a two-thirds threshold in the first two ballots, the candidate winning a simple majority vote in the third ballot is elected (eligible for a second term); election last held on 3-4 April 2021 (next to be held in 2026); prime minister indirectly elected by the Assembly"
"text":"<em>2021:</em> Vjosa OSMANI-Sadriu elected president in the third ballot; Assembly vote - Vjosa OSMANI-Sadriu (Guxo!) 71 votes; Albin KURTI (LVV) elected prime minister; Assembly vote - 67-30<br><br><em>2016:</em> Hashim THACI elected president in third ballot; Assembly vote - Hashim THACI (PDK) 71 votes; Ramush HARADINAJ (AAK) elected prime minister; Assembly vote - 61 votes"
"text":"unicameral Assembly or Kuvendi i Kosoves/Skupstina Kosova (120 seats; 100 members directly elected by open-list 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 14 February 2021 (next to be held in 2025)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - LVV 50%, PDK 16.9%, LDK 12.7%, AAK 7.1%, Serb List 5.1%, other 8.2%; seats by party - LVV 58, PDK 19, LDK 15, Serb List 10, AAK 8, other 10; composition as of December 2021 - men 79, women 41, percent of women 34.2%"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 18 judges and organized into Appeals Panel of the Kosovo Property Agency and Special Chamber); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 7 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"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"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"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)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> in August 2015, the Kosovo Assembly approved a constitutional amendment that established the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution, also referred to as the Kosovo Specialist Chambers or \"Special Court\"; the court, located at the Hague in the Netherlands, began operating in late 2016 and has jurisdiction to try crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other crimes under Kosovo law that occurred in the 1998-2000 period"
"text":"Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]<br>Ashkali Party for Integration or PAI [Bekim ARIFI]<br>Civic Initiative for Freedom, Justice, and Survival [Milan DABIC]<br>Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Lumir ABDIXHIKU]<br>Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Memli KRASNIQI]<br>New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo or IRDK [Elbert KRASNIQI]<br>New Democratic Party or NDS [Emilja REDZEPI]<br>Progressive Movement of Kosovar Roma or LPRK [Erxhan GALJUSI]<br>Romani Initiative [Gazmend SALIJEVCI]<br>Self-Determination Movement (Lëvizja Vetevendosje or Vetevendosie) or LVV or VV [Albin KURTI]<br>Serb List or SL [Goran RAKIC]<br>Social Democratic Union or SDU [Duda BALJE]<br>Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo or KDTP [Fikrim DAMKA]<br>Unique Gorani Party or JGP [Adem HODZA]<br>Vakat Coalition or VAKAT [Bahrim SABANI]"
"text":"centered on a dark blue field is a gold-colored silhouette of Kosovo 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",
"text":"small-but-growing European economy; non-EU member but unilateral euro user; very high unemployment, especially youth; vulnerable reliance on diaspora tourism services, curtailed by COVID-19 disruptions; unclear public loan portfolio health"
"text":"Kosovo has benefited from financial and regulatory assistance as part of the EU pre-accession process; the telecom sector has been liberalized, and legislation has aligned the sector with the EU’s revised regulatory framework; infrastructure development includes WiMax and other municipal wireless internet services; digitalization of TV broadcasting; network upgrades include a 5G roll-out in the coming years (2022 )"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"the KSF is equipped with small arms and light vehicles and has relied on limited amounts of donated equipment from several countries, particularly Turkey and the US (2023)"
"text":"service is voluntary; must be over the age of 18 and a citizen of Kosovo; upper age for enlisting is 30 for officers, 25 for other ranks, although these may be waived for recruits with key skills considered essential for the KSF<br> (2023)"
"text":"the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) has operated in the country as a peace support force since 1999; KFOR is responsible for providing a safe and secure environment and ensuring freedom of movement for all citizens, as well as assisting in developing the Kosovo Security Force; it numbers about 3,700 troops from 27 countries (2023)"
"text":"Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T"
"text":"<p>NATO-led Kosovo Force peacekeepers under UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo authority continue to ensure a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all Kosovo citizens</p> <p><em>Kosovo-Albania</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Kosovo-Montenegro</em>: their 2015 demarcation agreement was ratified by Montenegro in December 2015 and by Kosovo in March 2018, but the actual demarcation has not been completed; as of March 2021, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin KURTI said that after the new Montenegrin government is formed, he would broach the subject of reopening the agreement</p> <p>Kosovo-North Macedonia: Kosovo and North Macedonia completed demarcation of their boundary in September 2008; both countries ratified the demarcation documents onOctober 17, 2009, after high-level consultations resolved the disputed section of border around Debelde/Tanusevci</p> <p><em>Kosovo-Serbia</em>: Serbia with several other states protest the US’s and other countries’ 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; Kosovo’s and Serbia’s temporary agreement on license plates expired on 21 April 2022; the two countries are meeting on 13 May to reach a permanent agreement</p> <p></p>"
"text":"16,000 (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) (2021)"
