It is a member of both the UN and the OSCE, independent since May 2006. Neighbouring lands are Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania. The country shares 287 km of its border with Albania, 527 km with Bosnia and Herzegovina, 318 km with Bulgaria, 266 km with Croatia, 151 km with Hungary, 221 km with Macedonia, and 476 km with Romania Serbs (Slavs) settled the territory of today Serbia in the 6th and 7th century. Through the history, this territory was ruled among other, by Roman Empire, Byzantine, Turkish Ottoman Empire, Hungarian forces and Habsburgs. Stefan I  Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, rose to power in 1170 and started renewing the Serbian state in the Raška region.  The Byzantine emperor recognized him as Veliki Župan  of Raška. Stefan I Nemanja was succeeded by his middle son Stefan, whilst his first-born Vukan was given the rule of the Zeta region (present-day Montenegro). Important role on the territory of today Montenegro played the family Crnojević, the most prominent member of which was Ivan (1465-90). Ivan's son Đurađ Crnojević (1490-96) was the last ruler from this dynasty. Beginning with the Crnojević dynasty, Zeta was more often referred as Crna Gora (Montenegro.). Stefan Nemanja (son) was also known as “Prvovenčani” (First-Crowned) and he ruled from 1196-1227. Stefan I Nemanja's youngest son Rastko Nemanja became a monk and took the name of St. Sava and he won 1219 a recognition of an autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church. The next generation of Serbian rulers  were the sons of Stefan Prvovencani - Radoslav, Vladislav and Uros I. Uros I was succeeded by his son Dragutin. Later on, when Dragutin abdicated in favor of his younger brother Milutin. King Milutin was succeeded on the throne by his son Stefan, later dubbed Stefan Dečanski (who built the Visoki Dečani Monastery in today Kosovo). Under Stefan Dušan, who became king in 1331 and car in 1346, Serbia became the most powerful empire in the Balkan Peninsula. Serbia was noted for its high economic, social, and cultural level amog European states in that time. In 1389 the Turkish Ottoman Empire destroyed the Serbian power on the plain of Kosovo Polje, and the following years the Ottomans finally incorporated the rest of Serbia into the Empire. 1718 the Peace of Passarowitz (Požarevac). The liberation struggle of Serbia began in 1804, when Karađorđe(1752-1817)  led a rebellion that finally freed the pašaluk (province) of Belgrade from the Turks. The Treaty of Bucharest (1812) forced Turkish recognition of Serbian autonomy, but Russian preoccupation with Napoleon's invasion allowed the Turks to renew in Serbia. The following years were a constant fight between two Dynasties: Karađorđević and Obrenović. Miloš Obrenović, who in 1817 probably procured the assassination of his rival Karađorđe and became ruler in Serbia. Absolutist tendencies of Miloš Obrenović caused popular resentment and forced his abdication in 1839; his son, Mihailo shared the same fate. In 1842, Aleksandar Karađorđević took the throne.  Aleksandar Karađorđević ruled for 16 years till 1858. The Congress of Paris in 1856 placed Serbia under the collective guarantee of the European powers while continuing to acknowledge Turkish suzerainty. Miloš Obrenović returned to power in 1858, but died two years later. Miloš's son Mihailo Obrenović returned to the throne in 1860. In 1867 the last Turkish troops left Serbia. Upon the assassination of Mihailo in 1868, his cousin, Prince Milan Obrenović, succeeded. Milan, who was pro-western, granted more power to the Skupština (Parliament) and who was proclaimed as King of Serbia. The Congress of Berlin (1878) recognized Serbia's complete independence and increased its territory. The assassinations of King Aleksandar Obrenović (son of Milan Obrenović) and the queen in 1903 marked the end of the Obrenović dynasty. With the accession of Peter I, the Karađorđević dynasty fixed itself. Peter I restored the constitution of 1889 and in 1904 appointed as premier Nikola Pašić, leader of the strongly nationalist and pro-Russian party. The creating of a Balkan League (Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece) was to liberate the Balkan from both Austro-Hungarian and Turkish rule. When Gavrilo Prinicip, a Serbian nationalist assassinated in Sarajevo Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand in 1914, the Austrian-Hungarian empire declared war on Serbia, thus precipitating World War I. The Serbian troops and government were evacuated to Corfu, where in 1917 Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, and Montenegrin representatives proclaimed the union of South Slavs. In 1918 the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, headed by Peter I Karađorđević officially came into existence. On 3 October 1929 the country was formally named Kingdom Yugoslavia. Younger son of Petar I, Aleksandar I Karađorđević, since 1914 conducted royal duties instead of his ill father. He was King of Yugoslavia from 1921. to 1934. During his reign, Alexander ruled as dictator. He was assassinated in Marsei (France), on 9 October  1934. A board of three members ruled instead of the young Petar II Karađorđević, who became King in 1941. Montenegro was under the Vladikas from the Petrović dynasty (1697-1918): Danilo Petrović, the founder of the Petrović dynasty (1697-1735),  Sava Petrović (1735-1782), Vasilije Petrović (1750-1766),  Petar I Petrović, known also as Petar Cetinski (1782-1830), Petar II Petrović – Njegoš (1830-1851),  Prince Danilo (1852-1860) and King Nikola I, who was in family relations with Serbian King Petar I Karađorđevic (from 1860-1918).  1878, at the Congress of Berlin, Montenegro was recognised as an independent state. After World War II, with some smaller territorial changes the new Federative People’s Republic of Yugoslavia (latter Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) was formed. Yugoslavia became a state with six republics (one of which was Serbia, and one Montenegro) and was ruled by Josip Broz Tito. After he died in 1980, political and national conflicts within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) became stronger and stronger. Croatians’ and Slovenians´ dissatisfaction became greater with time because they supported the idea of SFRJ as a federation while Serbia supported the creation of a strong state controlled from Belgrade. Serbian nationalism grew under Slobodan Milošević in the mid-80s. The unilateral declaration of independence by Serbian territories in Croatia (Republika Srpska Krajina) and in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Republika Srpska), and the wars in Croatia and in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-1995), were supported by Belgrade. In the 90s there was also a conflict between the governments in Belgrade (Serbia) and Podgorica (Montenegro). The Belgrade political and military activities outside Serbia resulted in UN sanctions and international isolation of Serbia and Montenegro. The first conflicts in the province of Kosovo after World War II began in the 60s, but since the early 80s there have been constant conflicts between Serbs and Kosovo-Albanians. Pressure from Belgrade on Kosovo resulted in the 1999 NATO bombardment of Serbia and Montenegro. The era of Slobodan Milošević ended on 5 October 2000. After an extended period of UN economic sanctions, mismanagement of the economy by the Milošević regime, and damage to infrastructure and industry during the NATO 1999 air strikes, Serbia and Montenegro have been left with an economy only half the size it was in 1989. With the end of the Milošević regime, official normalisation between Belgrade and Podgorica began, resulting in the transformation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into a loose union called the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, founded in February 2003. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY - so named on 17 April 1992) was the self-proclaimed successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ). Each republic, Montenegro and Serbia, maintains its own central banks. A donor conference held in June 2001 raised USD 1.3 billion, earmarked for economic restructuring. An agreement rescheduling the country's USD 4.5 billion Paris Club government debts was concluded in 2001; 66% of the debts were written-off. The Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro (Skupština) is unicameral. Parliamentary elections were on 25 February 2003, with new elections scheduled for 2005, but they didn’t take place. Crime, corruption and political conflict are still enormous problems.

Kosovo (or in Serbian language Kosovo i Metohija, in Albanian language Kosova) is in all official/state documents in Serbia presented as a part of Serbia. However, since June 1999, Kosovo has been administered under the civil authority of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1244. This Resolution recognised the continuing sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (called Serbia-Montenegro since February 2003, whereas since 2006 Serbia and Montenegro are two independent states) over Kosovo, but also called for "substantial autonomy and meaningful self-administration for Kosovo". But, Kosovo is a de facto protectorate run by UN administration. The permanent status of Kosovo is yet to be resolved. While the Kosovo Albanian majority seeks independence from Serbia, the Serbian community in Kosovo and authorities in Belgrade maintain that the province should remain in Serbia.