SERBIA (Jugoslavia), formerly an independent kingdom of eastern Europe; bounded N. by Austria-Hungary, from which it is separated by the Save and the Danube; E. by Bulgaria; W. by Albania and Montenegro; S. by Greece; area, 42,098 square miles; pop. about 5,000,000. Capital, Belgrade; pop. (1919) 120,000. The surface of Serbia is ele vated and is traversed by ramifications of the Carpathians in the N. E., of the Balkans in the S. E., and of the Dinaric Alps in the W. The summits seldom exceed 3,000 feet, though the highest reaches 6,325. The whole surface be longs to the basin of the Danube, which receives the drainage partly directly, and partly by the frontier rivers Save, augmented by the Drin and the Timok, but chiefly by the Morava, which flows through the center of the kingdom. The climate is somewhat rigorous in the ele vated districts, but mild in the valleys and plains. There are extensive forests and uncultivated wastes, the forest area being 42 per cent. of the total area.
Serbia is essentially an agricultural country, and each peasant cultivates his own freehold. These holdings range in size from 10 to 30 acres. Of the entire area of land, about 21 per cent. is un der cultivation. The chief agricultural products are wheat, barley, oats, maize, rye and beetroot. Tobacco is also grown and the product in 1919 was 15.000 tons.
Silk culture is also carried on exten sively, and before the World War about 35,000 persons were employed in this industry. The total production of wheat is about 25,000,000 cwt. annually. The mineral resources are considerable, al though they have not been developed. They include coal, iron, copper, ore, gold and cement. In Idria are well-known quicksilver mines which produce about 130,000 tons yearly. The milling of flour is one of the most important in dustries, and before the World War there were 50 large flour mills in the country. Other industries are the brew ing and distilling of liquors, weaving, tanning, boot making, carpet weaving, pottery and iron work. Statistics of commerce are not available for recent dates. Before the World War the im ports were about £4,000,000 and the ex ports about £3,000,000 annually. There
are about 1,000 miles of railway. The railway systems were practically de stroyed during the war. The chief bank is the National Bank of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, with a nominal capital of 50,000,000 dinars.
The State religion is the Serbian Orthodox. There are also a large num ber of Roman Catholics, especially in the newly acquired territories.
Education is compulsory and, in pri mary schools, free. There are about 20 secondary schools and a number of theological, normal and special schools. Belgrade University, founded in 1838, had in 1920 7,250 students and 80 in structors. In the same year the Uni versity of the Serbs, Croats and Slo venes was established at Lioublina. The government has a military academy and 5 schools for non-commissioned officers.
The army was reorganized in 1916, following the invasion of Serbia. Dur ing the war over 750,000 men served in the armies, exclusive of 70,000 Jugo-Slav volunteers. The total losses in killed and missing amounted to about 370,000. The army was demobilized following the armistice of 1919, and was succeeded by the new army of Jugoslavia. Mili tary service is compulsory and universal. The Serbian language, formerly often called the Illyrian, is a melodious Sla vonic dialect closely allied to the Bul garian and Slovenian, and forms with them the southern Slavonic group. Sev eral collections of patriotic Serbian songs have been published, and both Goethe and Grimm have acknowledged the ex cellence of Serbian poetry. In prose literature, however, little has been pro duced besides theological and religious works. The present constitution of Serbia dates from 1903. The Slovenes, Croats, Dalmatians and Bosnians de dared their independence in 1918, after the Austrian revolution. On Dec. 29, 1918, the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed, with Crown Prince Alexander as regent. The government was an hereditary monarchy, and the people were represented by an elected legislative assembly called the skup shtina.