Short facts about the geography of Yugoslavia

Location:

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Geographic coordinates:

44 00 N, 21 00 E

Map references:

Europe

Area:

total:  102,350 sq km land:  102,136 sq km water:  214 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than Kentucky

Land boundaries:

total:  2,246 km border countries:  Albania 287 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 527 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia (north) 241 km, Croatia (south) 25 km, Hungary 151 km, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 221 km, Romania 476 km

Coastline:

199 km

Maritime claims:

NA

Climate:

in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); central portion, continental and Mediterranean climate; to the south, Adriatic climate along the coast, hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall inland

Terrain:

extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills; to the southwest, extremely high shoreline with no islands off the coast

Elevation extremes:

lowest point:  Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point:  Daravica 2,656 m

Natural resources:

oil, gas, coal, antimony, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, gold, pyrite, chrome, hydropower, arable land

Land use:

arable land:  40% permanent crops:  0% permanent pastures:  20.7% forests and woodland:  17.3% other:  22% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:

NA sq km

Natural hazards:

destructive earthquakes

Environment - current issues:

pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube

Environment - international agreements:

party to:  Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified:  Biodiversity

Geography - note:

controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East; strategic location along the Adriatic coast

Source: World Factbook