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CITIZEN EXCHANGES –
YOUTH PROGRAMS DIVISION
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American Serbia & Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange (A-SMYLE)

Country Information on Serbia and Montenegro

Today Serbia and Montenegro are two independent countries, located in the Balkan region in southeast Europe. Previously both Serbia and Montenegro were members of the former Yugoslavia. In April 1992, Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (F.R.Y.) and in February 2003, the F.R.Y. became Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics with a federal level parliament. However, in June 2006, Montenegro declared its independence and soon after, the Serbian parliament stated that the Republic of Serbia was the continuity of the state union, and changed the name of the country from Serbia and Montenegro to the Republic of Serbia.

Serbia, officially known as the Republic of Serbia, has a population of 7,478,820 (not including Kosovo; 2002 census). Its capital city is Belgrade and its president is Boris Tadic. Ethnically the country is 83% Serbian, with smaller populations of Hungarian, Bosnian, Roma, Montenegrin, Albanian, and other nationalities. The main religions are Serbian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Muslim, and Protestant. The GDP per capita is $3,273 and 30% of the population lives below the poverty line. Main cities include Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Pancevo, Uzice, Subotica, Novi Pazar, and Bor. Vojvodina is an autonomous province in Serbia and Kosovo is under United Nations administration.

Montenegro has a population of 630,548 (2004 census) and is located between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia. The capital of the Republic of Montenegro is Podgorica, which is also the largest city. The president of Montenegro is Filip Vujanovic. Major ethnic groups are Montenegrin, 43%; Serbian, 32%; Bosniak, 8%; Albanian, 5%; Muslim, 5%; Croatian, 1%, and Roma, .5%. The main religions are Orthodox, Muslim, and Roman Catholic. Montenegro has a GDP per capita at $3,284 and 12% of the population lives below the poverty line. Besides Podgorica, the other main cities are Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Herceg Novi, Kotor, Niksic, Pljevlja, Tivat, and Ulcinj.

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