Serbia and Montenegro Information

Religion and language are the distinguishing factors of ethnic groups in Serbia and Montenegro. They are traditionally Orthodox Christians and speak Serbian though in different variants. Muslims, also called Bosniaks, form a slight majority in the Sandžak region, an area that straddles the southwestern border.

Education is compulsory from ages 7 to 14 and both primary and secondary education is free. A large percentage of Serbia and Montenegro's population is still engaged in agriculture. Families tend to be small and nuclear, consisting of parents and a small number of children. While some rural people still wear traditional outfits, most Yugoslavs dress in contemporary Western-style clothing. Favored foods include a variety of grilled meats and bread. Desserts range from Turkish-style baklava to Viennese-style tortes. The national drink of Serbia is a plum brandy called šljivovica, while Montenegrins drink a clear grape brandy. Locally produced wines are also popular and they are highly regarded. The nation's per capita rate of tobacco consumption is among the highest in the world. Sports attract a wide following, and national basketball and soccer teams rank highly internationally.

The flag of Serbia and Montenegro has three equal horizontal bands of blue at the top, white in the middle and red at the bottom.
Please click here to view the Flag of Serbia Montenegro Flag

The Orthodox Church had a major influence on the early development of the arts of Serbia and Montenegro. Both states emerged from the Byzantine Empire, for which Orthodox Christianity was the state religion, and Byzantine influences appear in the country's many beautiful monasteries, including some that hold magnificent frescoes and icons. Serbian and Montenegrin art suffered when the Ottomans annexed Serbia and reduced Montenegro to a collection of mountain strongholds from the 15th to the 19th century. Western artistic movements began influencing artists and architects in Serbia and Montenegro during 19th and 20th centuries. Socialist Realism was also a force after Yugoslavia emerged from World War II in 1945 as a Communist state. Religion was discouraged during the Communist period, but since Communism's collapse in 1990 many new churches have opened. Other cultural development has been uneven since the collapse of Yugoslavia.

Literature gained great importance in the 19th century. Ivo Andric, a Yugoslav novelist who wrote The Bridge on the Drina (1945), set in Bosnia, won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1961. Serbia and Montenegro have lively contemporary music industries. A type of Serbian neofolk music is popular among rural people and workers. Serbian rock groups are popular and creative. Yugoslav films were among the best produced in Communist Eastern Europe, and they are still highly regarded internationally.

The economy has suffered a lot because of the war in Kosovo, but the government has implemented stabilization measures and embarked on an aggressive market reform program. The smaller republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. Kosovo, while technically still part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia and Montenegro) according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, is moving toward local autonomy under United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and is dependent on the international community for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are official currencies, and UNMIK collects taxes and manages the budget.