Kosovo

parliamentary republic

name: Pristina (Prishtine, Prishtina) geographic coordinates: 42 40 N, 21 10 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the town takes its name from the river; the origin of the river's name is unclear but could come from a pre-Slavic language

chief of state: President Vjosa OSMANI-Sadriu (since 4 April 2021) head of government: Acting Prime Minister Albin KURTI (since 15 April 2025) cabinet: Cabinet elected by the Assembly election/appointment process: president indirectly elected for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term) by at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly; if a candidate does not reach this threshold in the first two ballots, the candidate winning a simple majority vote in the third ballot is elected; prime minister indirectly elected by the Assembly most recent election date: 3-4 April 2021 election results: 2021: Vjosa OSMANI-Sadriu elected president in third ballot; Assembly vote - Vjosa OSMANI-Sadriu (Guxo!) 71 votes; Albin KURTI (LVV) elected prime minister; Assembly vote - 67 for, 30 against 2017: Ramush HARADINAJ (AAK) elected prime minister; Assembly vote - 61 for, 1 abstention, 0 against (opposition boycott) 2016: Hashim THACI elected president in third ballot; Assembly vote - Hashim THACI (PDK) 71 votes expected date of next election: 2026 note: Prime Minister Albin KURTI resigned on 15 April 2025; a replacement has not yet been selected

legislature name: Assembly (Kuvendi i Kosoves/Skupstina Kosova) legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 120 (all directly elected) electoral system: proportional representation scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 4 years most recent election date: 2/14/2021 parties elected and seats per party: Self-Determination Movement (LVV) (58), Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) (19), Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) (15), Serb List (10), Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) (8), other (10) percentage of women in chamber: 34% expected date of next election: 2025 note: 20 seats reserved for ethnic minorities -- 10 for Serbs and 10 for other minorities

highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 18 judges and organized into Appeals Panel of the Kosovo Property Agency and Special Chamber); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 7 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the Kosovo Judicial Council, a 13-member independent body staffed by judges and lay members, and also responsible for overall administration of Kosovo's judicial system; judges appointed by the president of the Republic of Kosovo; judges appointed until mandatory retirement age; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the Kosovo Assembly and appointed by the president of the republic to serve single, 9-year terms subordinate courts: Court of Appeals (organized into 4 departments: General, Serious Crime, Commercial Matters, and Administrative Matters); Basic Court (located in 7 municipalities, each with several branches) note: in 2015, the Kosovo Assembly approved a constitutional amendment that established the Kosovo Relocated Specialist Judicial Institution, also referred to as the Kosovo Specialist Chambers or "Special Court"; the court, located at the Hague in the Netherlands, began operating in 2016 and has jurisdiction to try crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other crimes under Kosovo law that occurred in the 1998-2000 period

history: previous 1974, 1990; latest (post-independence) draft finalized 2 April 2008, signed 7 April 2008, ratified 9 April 2008, entered into force 15 June 2008 amendment process: proposed by the government, by the president of the republic, or by one fourth of Assembly deputies; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, including two-thirds majority vote of deputies representing non-majority communities, followed by a favorable Constitutional Court assessment

FIFA, IBRD, IDA, IFC, IMF, IOC, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OIF (observer)

1.5% of GDP (2024 est.) 1.3% of GDP (2023 est.) 1.1% of GDP (2022 est.) 1.1% of GDP (2021 est.) 1% of GDP (2020 est.)

Kosovo Security Force (KSF; Forca e Siguris s Kosov s or FSK): Land Force, National Guard (2025) note: the Kosovo Police are under the Ministry of Internal Affairs

any citizen of Kosovo over the age of 18 is eligible to serve in the Kosovo Security Force; upper age for enlisting is 30 for officers, 25 for other ranks, although these may be waived for recruits with key skills considered essential for the KSF (2025)

the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) was established in 2009 as a small (1,500 personnel), lightly armed disaster response force; the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) was charged with assisting in the development of the KSF and bringing it up to standards designated by NATO; the KSF was certified as fully operational by the North Atlantic Council in 2013, indicating the then 2,200-strong KSF was entirely capable of performing the tasks assigned under its mandate, which included non-military security functions that were not appropriate for the police, plus missions such as search and rescue, explosive ordnance disposal, control and clearance of hazardous materials, firefighting, and other humanitarian assistance tasks in 2019, Kosovo approved legislation that began a process to transition the KSF by 2028 into a professional military (the Kosovo Armed Forces) led by a General Staff and comprised of a Land Force, a National Guard, a Logistics Command, and a Doctrine and Training Command; it would have a strength of up to 5,000 with about 3,000 reserves; at the same time, the KSF s mission was expanded to include traditional military functions, such as territorial defense and international peacekeeping; the KSF s first international mission was the deployment of a small force to Kuwait in 2021 the NATO-led KFOR has operated in the country as a peace support force since 1999; in addition to assisting in the development of the KSF, KFOR is responsible for providing a safe and secure environment and ensuring freedom of movement for all citizens; as of 2025, it had approximately 4,700 troops from more than 30 countries (2025)

$25.019 billion (2024 est.) $23.962 billion (2023 est.) $23.025 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$16,400 (2024 est.) $14,200 (2023 est.) $13,000 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

4.4% (2024 est.) 4.1% (2023 est.) 4.3% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

1.6% (2024 est.) 4.9% (2023 est.) 11.6% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

19.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

$4.156 billion (2023 est.) $3.579 billion (2022 est.) $3.138 billion (2021 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$7.362 billion (2023 est.) $6.661 billion (2022 est.) $6.128 billion (2021 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

revenues: $1.951 billion (2020 est.) expenditures: $2.547 billion (2020 est.)

mineral mining, construction materials, base metals, leather, machinery, appliances, foodstuffs and beverages, textiles

wheat, corn, berries, potatoes, peppers, fruit; dairy, livestock; fish

total: 1,977,093 (2024 est.) male: 1,017,992 female: 959,101

0.73% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 22.7% (male 233,010/female 216,304) 15-64 years: 68.9% (male 712,403/female 649,932) 65 years and over: 8.4% (2024 est.) (male 72,579/female 92,865)

14.16 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 73.1 years (2024 est.) male: 71 years female: 75.5 years

Albanians 92.9%, Bosniaks 1.6%, Serbs 1.5%, Turk 1.1%, Ashkali 0.9%, Egyptian 0.7%, Gorani 0.6%, Romani 0.5%, other/unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.) note: these estimates may under-represent Serb, Romani, and some other ethnic minorities because they are based on the 2011 Kosovo national census, which excluded northern Kosovo (a largely Serb-inhabited region) and was partially boycotted by Serb and Romani communities in southern Kosovo

Albanian (official) 94.5%, Bosnian 1.7%, Serbian (official) 1.6%, Turkish 1.1%, other 0.9% (includes Romani), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.) major-language sample(s): Libri i fakteve boterore, burimi i pazevendesueshem per informacione elementare (Albanian) Knjiga svetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. note: these estimates may under-represent Serb, Romani, and other ethnic minority languages because they are based on the 2011 Kosovo national census, which excluded northern Kosovo (a largely Serb-inhabited region) and was partially boycotted by Serb and Romani communities in southern Kosovo

Muslim 95.6%, Roman Catholic 2.2%, Orthodox 1.5%, other 0.1%, none 0.1%, unspecified 0.6% (2011 est.) note: these estimates may under-represent Serb, Romani, and some other ethnic minorities because they are based on the 2011 Kosovo national census, which excluded northern Kosovo (a largely Serb-inhabited region) and was partially boycotted by Serb and Romani communities in southern Kosovo

nickel, lead, zinc, magnesium, lignite, kaolin, chrome, bauxite

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

IDPs: 15,582 (2024 est.)

2 (2025)

total: 437 km (2020)

total subscriptions: 593,000 (2022 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 35 (2022 est.)

percent of population: 89% (2018 est.)