Kosovo in limbo

Fifteen years after Kosovo, a former

province of Serbia, declared

independence, the country is still

striving for global recognition. Kosovo

and Serbia both seek to join the

European Union but must first

normalize their relations.

European

Union

Breakup of Yugoslavia

Former

Yugoslavia

Formed in 1918 after World War I,

Yugoslavia united various Balkan

territories into one sovereign state.

The country dissolved after

communism collapsed in Europe. The

first republics left the federation in

1991. Since then, wars and violence

have claimed 140,000 lives.

Cultural crossroads

Centuries of shifting rule under the

Muslim Ottoman Empire, Christian

Austro-Hungarian Empire, and secular

communist regime influenced where

the religions are dominant in the

Balkans. Kosovo’s nearly 1.8 million

people are overwhelmingly ethnic

Albanian and Muslim.

Majority religion

Sunni Islam

Eastern Orthodoxy

(Christianity)

Roman Catholicism

(Christianity)

Rosemary Wardley, NGM Staff; Brandon Shypkowski

Sources: Florian Bieber, University of Graz, Austria; Todd M. Johnson and Brian J. Grim,

Eds., World Religion Database; Kosovo Agency of Statistics; Statistical Office of the

Republic of Serbia; Statistical Office of Montenegro; Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and

Herzegovina; Croatian Bureau of Statistics; Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office

Kosovo in limbo

Fifteen years after Kosovo, a former

province of Serbia, declared

independence, the country is still

striving for global recognition. Kosovo

and Serbia both seek to join the

European Union but must first

normalize their relations.

Breakup of Yugoslavia

Formed in 1918 after World War I,

Yugoslavia united various Balkan

territories into one sovereign state.

The country dissolved after

communism collapsed in Europe. The

first republics left the federation in

1991. Since then, wars and violence

have claimed 140,000 lives.

Cultural crossroads

Centuries of shifting rule under the

Muslim Ottoman Empire, Christian

Austro-Hungarian Empire, and secular

communist regime influenced where

the religions are dominant in the

Balkans. Kosovo’s nearly 1.8 million

people are overwhelmingly ethnic

Albanian and Muslim.

Majority religion

Sunni Islam

Eastern Orthodoxy

(Christianity)

Roman Catholicism

(Christianity)

Rosemary Wardley, NGM Staff

Brandon Shypkowski

Sources: Florian Bieber, University of Graz,

Austria; Todd M. Johnson and Brian J.

Grim, Eds., World Religion Database;

Kosovo Agency of Statistics; Statistical

Office of the Republic of Serbia; Statistical

Office of Montenegro; Agency for

Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Croatian Bureau of Statistics; Republic of

Slovenia Statistical Office