Turkish holds official language status in the Municipality of Prizren, regardless of the size of the Turkish-speaking population. In Kosovo, Albanian and Serbian are the official languages at the national level, but Albanian is the predominant language in Kosovo, spoken by over 92% of the population. A 2020 research report funded by the EU shows that there is a limited scale of trust and overall contact between the major ethnic groups in Kosovo.
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Notably, the Albanian ethnic group constitutes over 92% of its population, highlighting the country's diverse cultural fabric. The country's population rose steadily over the 20th century and peaked at an estimated 2.2 million in 1998. The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) is the national security force of Kosovo commissioned with the task of preserving and safeguarding the country's territorial integrity, national sovereignty and the security interests of its population.
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A transitional dialect, the Torlak dialect, is considered to have developed later when the Serbo-Croat speakers expanded into the region in the late medieval period and came in contact with Bulgarian speakers. A pre-Slavic population in this territory served as a border zone between the early Serbs and Bulgarians which created a nixbet casino login division between the Serbo-Croat language and the Bulgarian-Macedonian one. The overwhelming presence of towns and municipalities in Kosovo with Slavic in their toponymy suggests that the Slavic migrations either assimilated or drove out population groups already living in Kosovo.
- According to the most recent census in 2024 by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, Kosovo’s population is 1,585,566.
- Kosovo is dominated by the services sector, accounting for 54% of GDP and employing approximately 56.6% of the population.
- In the second half of the 20th century, as a result of Serbian out-migration and higher Albanian birth rates, there was a dramatic shift in the ethnic composition of Kosovo.
- In the early 20th century Kosovo was incorporated into Serbia (later part of Yugoslavia).
- The majority of the Muslim population of Kosovo are ethnic Albanians, Turks, and Slavs such as Gorani and Bosniaks.
- Although the United States and most members of the European Union (EU) recognized Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, Serbia, Russia, and a significant number of other countries—including several EU members—did not.
Kosovo: A Glimpse Into a Unique Nation
The contemporary music artists Rita Ora, Dua Lipa and Era Istrefi are all of Albanian origin and have achieved international recognition for their music. Roots dating to the 5th century BC have been found in paintings on stones of singers with instruments. In 2014, Kosovo submitted their first film for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, with Three Windows and a Hanging directed by Isa Qosja. International exposure of Kosovan art was limited in the 1990s due to Slobodan Milošević's regime and the difficult circumstances during the struggle for independence. In 2006, the property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to difficulties in its management and conservation stemming from the region's political instability. In the Dukagjini region, at least 500 kullas were attacked, and most of them destroyed or otherwise damaged.
The movie Shok was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards in 2016. In 2010, Dokufest was voted as one of the 25 best international documentary festivals. Dokufest, an international documentary and short film festival, is the largest film event in Kosovo. Kosovafilm was reestablished after Yugoslav withdrawal from the region in June 1999 and has since been endeavoring to revive the film industry in Kosovo. One widely recognised musician from Prizren is guitarist Petrit Çeku, winner of several international prizes.
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Kosovar Albanians responded with a non-violent separatist movement, employing widespread civil disobedience and creation of parallel structures in education, medical care, and taxation, with the ultimate goal of achieving the independence of Kosovo. In 1989, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević, employing a mix of intimidation and political maneuvering, drastically reduced Kosovo's special autonomous status within Serbia and started cultural oppression of the ethnic Albanian population. At the same time Serbs and Montenegrins dominated the government, security forces, and industrial employment in Kosovo. Tensions between ethnic Albanians and the Yugoslav government were significant, not only due to ethnic tensions but also due to political ideological concerns, especially regarding relations with neighbouring Albania. An official investigation conducted by the Yugoslav government in 1964 recorded nearly 8,000 war-related fatalities in Kosovo between 1941 and 1945, 5,489 of them Serb or Montenegrin and 2,177 Albanian. A three-dimensional conflict ensued, involving inter-ethnic, ideological, and international affiliations.
- Following the Great Turkish War, a number of Serbs migrated northwards to Habsburg territories near the Danube and Sava rivers led by Serbian Patriarch Arsenije III Crnojević.
- Dokufest, an international documentary and short film festival, is the largest film event in Kosovo.
- As the country seeks to develop these sectors, it remains open to collaborations with international investors.
- Roots dating to the 5th century BC have been found in paintings on stones of singers with instruments.
- As of 29 October 2025, 117 UN states recognised its independence, including all of its immediate neighbours, with the exception of Serbia; 10 states have subsequently withdrawn that recognition.
- The government of Kosovo operates as a parliamentary republic, a structure designed to incorporate executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
Despite declining foreign assistance, the GDP has mostly grown since its declaration of independence. Pristina does not have any regional hospital and instead uses University Clinical Centre of Kosovo for health care services. Students from Kosovo performed very poorly on several PISA tests, and this result has sparked debates about the education system. According to the Ministry of Education, children who are not able to get a general education are able to get a special education (fifth phase).Higher education can be received in universities and other higher-education institutes. The third phase (high secondary education) consists of general education but also professional education, which is focused on different fields.
The warmest places are in the far south, near the border with Albania. It is a landlocked region in the center of the Balkans. In February 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. In the 13th century, Kosovo became part of Serbia. In the 10st century BC, it was annexed by the Roman Empire.
The Dukagjin Plain is drained by the southward-flowing Drini i Bardhë, or White Drin (Beli Drim). The Kosovo Plain is drained by the northward-flowing Sitnicë (Sitnica) River, a tributary of the Ibër (Ibar) River. The interior terrain comprises high plains and rolling hills; about three-fourths of the country lies between about 1,600 and 5,000 feet (500 and 1,500 metres) above sea level. Kosovo, about the same size as Jamaica or Lebanon, is the smallest country in the Balkans. A landlocked country, Kosovo is bordered by Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west, and Montenegro to the northwest. In the early 20th century Kosovo was incorporated into Serbia (later part of Yugoslavia).
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Following the Great Turkish War, a number of Serbs migrated northwards to Habsburg territories near the Danube and Sava rivers led by Serbian Patriarch Arsenije III Crnojević. In 1389, as the Ottoman Empire expanded northwards through the Balkans, Ottoman forces under Sultan Murad I met with a Christian coalition led by Moravian Serbia under Prince Lazar in the Battle of Kosovo. The First Bulgarian Empire acquired Kosovo by the mid-9th century, but Byzantine control was restored by the late 10th century. The Bulgarians that pushed westwards across modern Macedonia and eastern Serbia, until by the 850's had taken over Kosovo and were pressing on the border of Serbian Principality. Expansion of Slavs into the region is thought to have led to the spread of the Vlachs (Romanian and Aromanian) into other areas of the Balkans.
Additionally, 0.5% of population reported affiliation with other religions, 0.5% stated they have no religious belief, and 1.5% chose not to disclose their religious affiliation. In the 2024 census, 93.5% of the population of Kosovo were Sunni Muslims, 2.3% were Eastern Orthodox and 1.8% Roman Catholics. Kosovo's society is strongly secularised and is ranked first in Southern Europe and ninth in the world as free and equal for tolerance towards religion and atheism. At the municipal level, Turkish, Bosnian, and Romani may also be granted official status when a linguistic community constitutes at least 5% of the local population.