People

The Yugoslavs (i.e., South Slavs) consist of five ethnic groups—Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, and Montenegrins—and the Bosnian Muslims. Closely related linguistically, they are separated by historical and cultural factors that ultimately led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Serbs dominate the present Republic of Yugoslavia, but ethnic Albanians form a large minority (in Kosovo) and there are smaller groups of Montenegrins and of Hungarians (in Vojvodina). The official language is Serbo-Croatian, which is written with the Cyrillic alphabet. The vast majority of Yugoslavs belong to the Orthodox Eastern Church; there is a significant Muslim population in Kosovo and the Sanjak region and some Catholics, particularly among the Hungarian population. There are universities in Belgrade, Niš, and Novi Sad.

Land

Yugoslavia

Economy

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press.

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