Beginning in March 1999, a three-month NATO military operation against Serbia forced the Serbian withdrawal of military and police forces from Kosovo, which has been seeking independence lead by its Albanian nationalist population. On 17 February 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared Kosovo independent. Since then, over 100 countries have recognized Kosovo, and it has joined numerous international organizations. Kosovo is a parliamentary republic with a civil law system.
Kosovo has 38 municipalities in terms of administrative regions.
Economically, Kosovo is one of the poorest regions in Europe. Minerals and metals production - including lignite, lead, zinc, nickel, chrome, aluminum, magnesium, and a wide variety of construction materials - once the backbone of industry, has declined because of aging equipment and insufficient investment, problems exacerbated by competing and unresolved ownership claims of Kosovo’s largest mines. In June 2009, Kosovo joined the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as well as the Central Europe Free Trade Area (CEFTA) in 2006.
Source: CIA World Factbook - Kosovo
