Country Profiles

Central & Eastern Europe

Albania

Albania is located in the western part of the Balkan peninsula. It borders the former Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro) and Kosova in the north and the east, (FYR of) Macedonia in the east, and Greece in the south. It has access to the Adriatic and Ionian Seas in the west. From the Strait of Otranto, Albania is less than 100 km (60 miles) from Italy. The country covers a total of 28,000 squared kilometers (11,000 squared miles) and its population is 3.3 million.  read full article »

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina has long been the crossroads of many civilizations and cultures. It is these centuries of cultural diversity that has melded Bosnia and Herzegovina into one of the most fascinating, interesting and beautiful countries in Europe.   read full article »

Bulgaria

The Republic of Bulgaria is a republic in the southeast of Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north along the river Danube.  read full article »

Croatia

The Republic of Croatia is a crescent shaped country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. In recent history, it was a republic in the SFR Yugoslavia, but it achieved independence in 1991. It is a candidate for membership of the European Union.  read full article »

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The republic borders Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. Historic Prague (Czech: Praha), a major tourist attraction, is its capital and largest city. The country is composed of two older regions, Bohemia and Moravia, and part of a third one, Silesia. As of May 1, 2004, it is a member state of the European Union.  read full article »

Estonia

The Republic of Estonia is a country in Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the north. Estonia has land borders with its fellow Baltic state, Latvia, to the south, with Russia to the east, and maritime border with Finland to the north.  read full article »

Hungary

The Republic of Hungary (Magyar Köztársaság) or Hungary (Magyarország) is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. It is known locally as the Country of the Magyars.  read full article »

Latvia

The Republic of Latvia, or Latvia, is a country in Northern Europe. Latvia has land borders with its two fellow Baltic states — Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south — and Russia and Belarus to the east. In the west Latvia shares a maritime border with Sweden.  read full article »

Lithuania

The Republic of Lithuania is a republic in Northeastern Europe. One of the three Baltic States along the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with fellow Baltic State Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland to the south, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the southwest.  read full article »

Macedonia

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe with an area of around 67,000 square kilometres and a population of 4.65 million. The territory corresponds to the basins of (from west to east) the Aliakmon, Vardar/Axios and Strymon rivers (of which the Vardar drains by far the largest area) and the plains around Thessaloniki and Serrai (also known as Saloniki and Serres, respectively).  read full article »

Poland

The Republic of Poland, a country in Central Europe, lies between Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and Russia to the north.   read full article »

Romania

Romania is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Ukraine and Moldova in the northeast, Hungary in the west and Serbia and Bulgaria to the south along the Danube river. Romania has a stretch of sea coast on the Black Sea and the eastern and southern Carpathians mountains run through its center.  read full article »

Serbia & Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro is the name of the union of Serbia and Montenegro, two former Yugoslav republics united since 2003 in a loose confederation. It is located on the west-central Balkan Peninsula.  read full article »

Slovakia

Slovakia is a landlocked republic in Central Europe. It borders the Czech Republic in the northwest, Poland in the north, Ukraine in the east, Hungary in the south, and Austria in the southwest.  read full article »

Slovenia

The Republic of Slovenia is a coastal sub-Alpine country in south central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north.  read full article »