a republic in SE Europe: declared a kingdom in 1882; precipitated World War I by the conflict with Austria; became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later called Yugoslavia) in 1918; with Montenegro formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia when the other constituent republics became independent in 1991–92; a Union of Serbia and Montenegro formed in 2003 and dissolved in 2006. The autonomous region of Kosovo (administered by the UN following the conflict of 1999) unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. Mountainous in the S, with the Danube plains in the N. Official language: Serbian. Religion: Serbian Orthodox majority, with Roman Catholic and Muslim minorities. Currencies: Serbian dinar and euro (in Kosovo). Capital: Belgrade. Pop: 7 007 043 (2017 est). Area: 88 361 sq km (34 109 sq miles)