Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the north and east, and North Macedonia to the southeast. It covers an area of 10,887 km2 (4,203 sq mi) and has a population of approximately 1.6 million. Kosovo has a varied terrain, with high plains along with rolling hills and mountains, some of which have an altitude over 2,500 m (8,200 ft). Its climate is mainly continental with some Mediterranean and alpine influences. Kosovo's capital and most populous city is Pristina; other major cities and urban areas include Prizren, Ferizaj, Gjilan and Peja.
Demographic features of the population of North Macedonia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Demographic features of the population of Albania include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects. The demography of Albania is monitored by the Institute of Statistics of Albania. The institute has performed demographic censuses since the 1920s. The latest census in Albania was performed in September 2023.
This article includes information on the demographic history of Kosovo.
Music of Kosovo is music that originates from Kosovo, a country in the Balkans. Kosovo's population is mainly Kosovo Albanians, also known as Kosovars, and there are various minority ethnic groups as well. Kosovan music is closely related to that of neighbouring Albania, as well as to that of countries in the former Yugoslavia.
The Albanians of Kosovo, also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo.
NorthKosovo ; also known as the Ibar Kolašin ; earlier Old Kolašin,, is a region in the northern part of Kosovo, generally understood as a group of four municipalities with ethnic Kosovo Serbs majority: North Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zvečan and Zubin Potok.
The flag of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo immediately following the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo on 17 February 2008. The flag design emerged from an international competition, organized by an informal group from the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government known as the Kosovo Unity Team, which attracted almost one thousand entries. The winning design was proposed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. It shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo, all on a blue field. The stars symbolize Kosovo's six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Romani, and Gorani.
Turks in Kosovo, also known as Kosovo Turks or Kosovan Turks, are the ethnic Turks who constitute a minority group in Kosovo. Kosovo Turks make up the majority of inhabitants in Mamusha but also form considerable communities in Pristina and Prizren.
Religion in Kosovo is separated from the state. The country's constitution establishes Kosovo as a secular state, that is, neutral in matters of religious beliefs, and where everyone is equal before the law and is guaranteed freedom of religion, belief, and conscience.
Kosovo–Turkey relations are the historic and current bilateral relations between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Turkey. Kosovo has an embassy in Ankara, whereas Turkey has an embassy in Pristina. Both nations are predominantly Muslim, have close cultural and military ties, and both have sought to join the European Union.
The Albanian diaspora are the ethnic Albanians and their descendants living outside of Albania, Kosovo, southeastern Montenegro, western North Macedonia, southeastern Serbia, northwestern Greece and Southern Italy.
The Albanians in Germany refers to the Albanian migrants in Germany and their descendants. They mostly trace their origins to Albania, Kosovo and to a lesser extent to North Macedonia and other Albanian-speaking territories in the Balkan Peninsula. Their exact number is difficult to determine as some ethnic Albanians hold German, Macedonian, Serbian or another Former Yugoslavian citizenship.
The Albanians in Switzerland are Albanian migrants in Switzerland and their descendants. They mostly trace their origins to Kosovo, North Macedonia and to a lesser extent to Albania and other Albanian-speaking territories in the Balkan Peninsula. Their exact number is difficult to determine as some ethnic Albanians hold citizenship of North Macedonia, Serbia or other former Yugoslav countries.
Over the course of the twentieth century, Kosovo experienced four major colonisation campaigns that aimed at altering the ethnic population balance in the region, to decrease the Albanian population and replace them with Serbs and Montenegrins. The colonisation programme begun in the early twentieth century between the kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro during the Balkan Wars and was later implemented by their successor state Yugoslavia at certain periods of time from the interwar era until 1999. Albanians formed the ethnic majority in the region when it became part of Yugoslavia in early twentieth century.
Kosovar civil society has had many incarnations since the early 1990s. It is a product of the occupation of the Kosovo province by the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia through 1999, then expanded when the Republic of Kosovo was under UNMIK and KFOR control, and now how it has evolved since the unilateral declaration of independence on February 17, 2008. It consists of the former civil society organizations from before the 1999 conflict, the local NGOs that came about post conflict, and the international NGOs that have either dispersed money or opened local branches within Kosovo.
The unification of Albania and Kosovo is a political idea, revived before and after Kosovo declared independence in 2008. This idea has been connected to the irredentist concept of Greater Albania. As of the 2021 estimate, approximately 97% of the population of Kosovo are ethnic Albanians.
The Kosovo Agency of Statistics monitors various demographic features of the population of Kosovo, such as population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Censuses, normally conducted at ten-year intervals, record the demographic characteristics of the population. The latest census started on 5th of April 2024 and according to the preliminary results, the Republic of Kosovo has 1,586,659 inhabitants, of which 795,046 are men (50.1%) and 791,614 are women (49.9%). The same year, US CIA World Factbook estimate put the country's population at 1,977,093. According to the first census conducted after the 2008 declaration of independence in 2011, the permanent population of Kosovo was 1,739,825.
The 2000 unrest in Kosovo was the result of the United Nations Interim Administration adopting Resolution 1244 on 10 June 1999. The unrest was fought between the Kosovo Force (KFOR), Kosovar Albanians, and Kosovar Serbs. It lasted somewhere from February 16, 2000 – June 6, 2000. An unknown number of Kosovar Albanians and Kosovar Serbs died along with an unknown number injured, while 1 Russian KFOR soldier died from shot wounds and UNMIK vehicles were burned during the unrest.
The Albanians in the Nordic countries refers to the Albanian migrants in Nordic countries such as Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Norway and Sweden and their descendants.
