Climate: Its climate is temperate continental, with a gradual transition between the four seasons of the year.

Relief: Serbia is referred to as the crossroads of Europe. The international roads and railways passing down its river valleys make up the shortest link between Western and Central Europe, on the one side, and the Middle East, Asia and Africa, on the other. Hence the geopolitical importance of its territory, these roads follow the course of the valley of the river Morava, splitting in two near the city of Nis. One track follows the valleys of the rivers Southern Morava and Vardar to Thessalonica; the other, the river Nisava to Sofia and Istanbul. Serbian rivers belong to the basins of the Black, Adriatic and Aegean Seas. Three of them, the Danube, Sava and Tisa, are navigable. The longest river is the Danube, which has always been important for Serbia. With the commissioning of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in September 1992, the Black Sea and the near and far eastern ports have come much nearer to Europe. Serbia is linked to the Adriatic Sea and Montenegro via Belgrade-Bar railway. Northern Serbia is mainly flat, while its central and southern areas consist of highlands and mountains. The flatlands are mainly in Vojvodina. Of its mountains 15 reach heights of over 2,000meters, the highest being Djeravica in the Prokletija range (2,656 m). The length of Serbia’s border is 2,397km. To the East, Serbia borders with Bulgaria, to the North East, with Romania, to the North with Hungary, to the West with Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to the South with Albania and Macedonia.


Population: The ethnic population of the Republic of Serbia is heterogeneous, which resulted from the country’s turbulent past. The majority of the population of Serbia are Serbs, but another 37 nationalities also live on its territory. All citizens have equal rights and responsibilities and enjoy full ethnic equality. The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia guarantees the rights to minorities, in accordance with the highest international standards. The last 2002 census puts the population of Serbia at 7,498,001 excluding Kosovo-Metohija, which is 92,3% of the population of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Serbs make up 82,86% of the population, Hungarians 3.91%, Bosnians 1,82%, followed by Roma population 1.44%, Croats 0,94%, Albanians 0,82%, Slovaks 0,79%, Vlachs 0,53%, Romanians 0,46%, Bulgarians 0,27%, etc.

Language: The official language in Serbia and Montenegro is Serbian - one of the south Slavic languages. Officially the Cyrillic alphabet is used, and the Latin alphabet is also very much in use. Both are taught at school. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet has 30 letters - one letter for every sound, which makes it quite unique compared to the other alphabets. The languages and alphabets of the ethnic minorities are in use in the areas they live in. Foreigners can rely on English to communicate with the locals, and on German French and Russian to a lesser extent.

Religion: The main religion of Serbia is Christian Orthodox, the faith of the Serbian people. The Serbian Orthodox Church, which has been autonomous since 1219, has played an important role in the development and preservation of the Serbian national identity. The Romanian, Bulgarian and the majority of the Roma population are also Christian Orthodox. Beside the Christian Orthodox population, there are also other religious communities in Serbia: Islamic, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and others.