The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia borders Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. The southern half of Serbia is mountainous and thickly forested, whilst the north is dominated by flat, fertile farmland. Belgrade, the capital of the new Federal Republic, lies on the Danube. Montenegro is a small mountainous region on the Adriatic coast north of Albania. Serbia is the largest of the republics. Belgrade is the capital of Serbia and the nation. Many of the buildings are post-World War II. Well worth a visit is the Palace of Princess Ljubica (1831) with a good collection of period funiture. Skadarlija is the 19th-century Bohemian quarter with cafes, street dancers, singers and open-air theatres. Montenegro is at the southern end of Yugoslavia’s coast, an area of spectacular mountain ranges with villages perched like eagles’ nests on high peaks. The port, Kotor, features a bustling, picturesque old city quarter. National dishes include pihtije (jellied pork or duck) and raznjici (skewered meat). There is a wide range of nightlife in all the main cities and resorts, including bars, nightclubs, cinemas and theatres.

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia comprises Serbia (including the provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina) with 88,361 sq km (39,449 sq miles) and Montenegro with 13,812 sq km (5331 sq miles). These two were respectively the largest and smallest of the republics which made up the former Yugoslavia. The country officially covers 102,173 sq km (39,448 sq miles), or 40 per cent of the territory of the former federation (255,804 sq km/98,766 sq miles).

Together, Serbia and Montenegro have an estimated total population of 10,629,400 (1999).

104 per sq km.

Belgrade (Beograd). Population: 1,168,454 (1991).

Roughly rectangular in shape and on a major European communications axis north–west and south–east, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia borders Hungary to the north, Romania to the northeast, Bulgaria to the southeast, the Kosovo region and Albania to the south, Bosnia-Herzegovina to the west and Croatia to the northwest. The province of Kosovo, now administered by the UN, is in the south, and shares borders with Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic) and Albania. Serbia is dominated by the flat, fertile farmland of the Danube and Tisza valleys. The scenery varies from rich Alpine valleys, vast fertile plains and rolling green hills to bare, rocky gorges as much as 1140m (3800ft) deep, thick forests and gaunt limestone mountain regions. Belgrade, the capital, lies on the Danube. Montenegro is a small mountainous region on the Adriatic coast north of Albania, bordering on Bosnia-Herzegovina to the west. Its small Adriatic coastline comprises the main ports of Bar and those in the Gulf of Kotor.

Federal Republic since 1992. First gained independence as the ‘Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes’ in 1918 from the Austro-Hungarian Empire; renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. Head of State: President Vojislav Kostunica since 2000. Head of Government: Prime Minister Dragisa Pesic since 2001. The Kosovo region is now administered by the UN.

The official language is Serbian, which uses the Cyrillic script. Albanian and Hungarian are also spoken in the autonomous regions of Kosovo and Vojvodina respectively.

Majority Eastern Orthodox Serbs, with a large Muslim ethnic Albanian minority (especially in the province of Kosovo), a Roman Catholic ethnic Serbian minority (mainly located in the province of Vojvodina) and a small Jewish community.

GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

220 volts AC, 50Hz.

IDD is available. Country code: 381. Outgoing international code: 99.

GSM 900/1800 networks provide coverage in main towns. Network operators include Mobtel (website: www.mobtel.com), Mobilna Telefonija Sribje (website: www.telekom.yu), Monet (website: www.monetcg.com) and Promonte (website: www.promonte.com).

Transmissions are available to and from Western Europe.

ISPs include Infosky (website: www.infosky.net). Internet cafes can be found in the main urban centres.

Postal services within Serbia are reasonably good.

The main local newspapers and magazines, in decreasing order of circulation, are Politika (Belgrade), Vecernje Novosti (Belgrade) and Politika Ekspres (Belgrade).

From time to time these change.

MHz

17.64

12.10

9.410

6.195

MHz

15.21

11.82

9.760

1.197

CNN is also available via satellite (Astra) in a number of Belgrade and Montenegrin (Adriatic Coast) hotels.