[ The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] considered the [[Rhodope Mountains]] to be the northern limit of the Peninsula of Haemus and the same limit applied approximately to the border between Greek and Latin use in the region (later called the [[Jireček Line]]).][{{Cite journal |jstor = 3063446|title = The Romans and the Greek Language|journal = The Classical Review|volume = 32|issue = 2|pages = 216–218|last1 = MacLeod|first1 = M. D.|year = 1982|doi = 10.1017/S0009840X00114982|s2cid = 161691285}}] However large spaces south of Jireček Line were and are inhabited by [[Vlachs]] ([[Aromanians]]), the Romance-speaking heirs of Roman Empire.[[[Thede Kahl|Kahl, Thede]] - "Istoria aromânilor", Editura Tritonic, București, 2006][A.N. Haciu – "Aromânii. Comerț, industrie, arte, expansiune, civilizație", ediția I, 1936; ediția a II-a, Editura Cartea Armână, Constanța, 2003, 598 p.; {{ISBN|973-8299-25-X}}]
The [[Bulgars]] and [[South Slavs|Slavs]] arrived in the sixth-century and began assimilating and displacing already-assimilated (through Romanization and Hellenization) older inhabitants of the northern and central Balkans.[''[https://books.google.com/books?id=f1F39vRlERAC&pg=PA125 Twenty Years of Balkan Tangle]''. Mary Edith Durham (2007). p. 125. {{ISBN|1-4346-3426-4}}] This migration brought about the formation of distinct [[ethnic groups]] amongst the South Slavs, which included the [[Bulgarians]], [[Croats]] and [[Serbs]] and [[Slovenes]].[{{cite book | last=Curta | first=Florin | title=Chapter 5 Migrations—Real and Imagined: Croats, Serbs, and Bulgars (600–800) | chapter=Migrations—Real and Imagined: Croats, Serbs, and Bulgars (600–800) | publisher=Brill | date=2019-06-25 | url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004395190/BP000013.xml | access-date=2023-11-23 | pages=65–77 | doi=10.1163/9789004395190_006 | isbn=978-90-04-39519-0 | s2cid=203297381 | archive-date=21 May 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521035636/https://brill.com/display/book/9789004395190/BP000013.xml | url-status=live }}][{{cite journal | last=Stanoyevich | first=Milivoy S. | title=The Ethnography of the Yugo-Slavs | journal=Geographical Review | publisher=[American Geographical Society, Wiley] | volume=7 | issue=2 | year=1919 | issn=0016-7428 | jstor=207774 | pages=91–97 | doi=10.2307/207774 | bibcode=1919GeoRv...7...91S | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/207774 | access-date=2023-11-23 | url-access=subscription | archive-date=23 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123045137/https://www.jstor.org/stable/207774 | url-status=live }}] Prior to the Slavic landing, parts of the western peninsula have been home to the [[Proto-Albanian language|Proto-Albanians]]. Including cities like [[Niš|Nish]], [[Štip|Shtip]], and [[Shkup]]. This can be proven through the development of the names, for example ''Naissos'' > ''Nish'' and ''Astibos'' > ''Shtip'' follow Albanian phonetic sound rules and have entered Slavic, indicating that Proto-Albanian was spoken in those cities prior to the Slavic invasion of the Balkans.[{{Cite book |last=Matzinger |first=Joachim |title=Der altalbanische Text Mbsuame e krështerë (Dottrina cristiana) des Lekë Matrënga von 1592 : eine Einführung in die albanische Sprachwissenschaft |date=2006 |publisher=J.H. Röll |isbn=3-89754-117-3 |location=Dettelbach |oclc=65166691}}][{{cite journal |last1=Geniş |first1=Şerife |last2=Maynard |first2=Kelly Lynne |title=Formation of a Diasporic Community: The History of Migration and Resettlement of Muslim Albanians in the Black Sea Region of Turkey |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |date=July 2009 |volume=45 |issue=4 |page=557 |doi=10.1080/00263200903009619}}][Katičić, Radoslav (1976). Ancient Languages of the Balkans. Mouton. p. 186. ISBN 9789027933157. "On the other hand Niš from Ναϊσσός, Štip from Ἄστιβος, Šar from Scardus, and Ohrid from Lychnidus presuppose the sound development characteristic for Albanian".][Curtis, Matthew Cowan (2012). ''Slavic-Albanian Language Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence'' (Thesis). The Ohio State University. p. 42.] [[Proto-Albanian language|Proto-Albanian]] speakers were Christianized under the [[Latin]] sphere of influence, specifically in the 4th century CE, as shown by the basic [[Christianity|Christian]] terms in Albanian, which are of [[Latin]] origin and entered Proto-Albanian before the [[Gheg Albanian|Gheg]]–[[Tosk Albanian|Tosk]] dialectal diversification.[{{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Kosovo: A Short History|year=1998|isbn=978-0-3304-1224-7|pages=36–38}}][{{cite book|first1=Bernd J.|last1=Fischer|first2=Oliver Jens|last2=Schmitt|title=A Concise History of Albania|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2022|isbn=9781009254908|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KbqVEAAAQBAJ|page=16}}]
===Middle Ages and Early modern period===
[[File:Southeastern Europe Late Ninth Century.png|thumb|240px|The Balkans in 850 AD]]
[[File:Hagia Sophia 81.JPG|thumb|The [[Hagia Sophia]], built in the 6th century [[Constantinople]] (now [[Istanbul]], Turkey) as an [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox cathedral]], later it became a mosque, then a museum, and now its both a mosque and a museum]]
[[File:Golubac Fortress (град Голубац).jpg|thumb|The [[Golubac Fortress]], built in the 14th century to overlook the strategically important [[Iron Gates]] gorge, was one of the many Balkan fortresses built in the Middle Ages to resist invading forces]]
During the [[Early Middle Ages]], The [[Byzantine Empire]] was the dominant state in the region, both military and culturally. Their cultural strength became particularly evident in the second half of the 9th century when the [[Population of the Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[christian missionaries|missionaries]] [[Cyril and Methodius]] managed to spread the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Byzantine variant]] of Christianity to the majority of the Balkans inhabitants who were [[pagan]] beforehand. Initially, it was adopted by the Bulgarians and Serbs, with the [[Romanians]] joining a bit later.[{{cite web | title=Roman Empire, Geography, Culture | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=1998-08-05 | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Balkans/In-the-Roman-Empire#ref43533 | access-date=2023-11-21 | archive-date=21 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121234331/https://www.britannica.com/place/Balkans/In-the-Roman-Empire#ref43533 | url-status=live }}] The lack of [[Old Church Slavonic]] terms in Albanian Christian terminology shows that the missionary activities during the [[Christianization of the Slavs]] did not involve Albanian-speakers; Christianity survived through the centuries and already become an important culoural element in their ethnic identity.[{{cite journal|last=Demiraj|first=Bardhyl|author-link=Bardhyl Demiraj|title=Rrënjë dhe degë të krishterimit ndër shqiptarë|journal=[[Hylli i Dritës]]|volume=2|place=Shkodër|year=2011|pages=58–78|language=Albanian|url=https://www.albanologie.uni-muenchen.de/downloads/publikationen-demiraj/rrenje-dhe-dege.pdf|archive-date=30 January 2025|access-date=15 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130135330/https://www.albanologie.uni-muenchen.de/downloads/publikationen-demiraj/rrenje-dhe-dege.pdf|url-status=live}} p. 71.]
Byzantine control over the Balkans weakened as a result of [[Slavic migrations to the Balkans|Slavic migrations]] and the emergence of the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] and the subsequent [[Byzantine–Bulgarian wars|string of disastrous defeats]] the Byzantine Empire suffered. Towards the end of the 10th century, however, the Empire mounted a counteroffensive against the [[Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria|weakened]] Bulgarians, culminating in the [[Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria|conquest of the Bulgarian Empire]] in 1018. The Byzantines lost power in the Balkans once again after the [[Uprising of Asen and Peter|resurgence of the Bulgarians in the late 12th century]] and the formation of the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]].{{CN|date=March 2026}} Profiting from the subsequent [[Sack of Constantinople|dissolution of the Byzantine Empire]], the Second Bulgarian Empire triumphed over its adversaries, becoming the dominating power in the region under its Emperor (Tsar) [[Ivan Asen II]]. As a result of internal conflicts, [[Mongol invasion of Bulgaria and Serbia|Mongol raids]] and the [[Reconquest of Constantinople|resurgence of the Byzantine Empire]], the Second Bulgarian Empire then declined once more following the death of Ivan Asen II. In the first half of the 14th century, both traditional great powers were eventually overshadowed by the ascent of Serbia under [[Stefan Dušan]], who created the [[Serbian Empire]].[{{cite web | title=Medieval, Orthodox, Balkan | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=1999-07-26 | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-second-Bulgarian-empire | access-date=2023-11-22 | archive-date=12 May 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512223818/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/The-second-Bulgarian-empire | url-status=live }}]
The [[Ottoman wars in Europe|Ottoman]] expansion in the region began in the second half of the 14th century, as the Byzantine Empire, already much reduced in territory, suffered [[Byzantine–Ottoman wars|several defeats]] from the Ottomans. In 1362, the Ottoman Turks conquered [[Adrianople]] (now [[Edirne]], Turkey), which became the Ottoman capital. At this point, the [[Fall of the Serbian Empire|Serbian Empire had started to disintegrate]], and was gradually incorporated into the Ottoman state following the [[Battle of Kosovo]] in 1389, and finally with the [[Siege of Smederevo (1459)|Siege of Smederevo]] in 1459. Bulgaria fell in 1396, with the [[Tsardom of Vidin|conquest of Vidin]], followed by the [[Fall of Constantinople|Byzantine Empire in 1453]], Bosnia in 1463, Herzegovina in 1482, and Montenegro in 1496. The conquest was made easier for the Ottomans due to existing divisions among the Orthodox peoples and by the even deeper rift that had existed at the time between the [[Eastern Christians|Eastern]] and [[Western Christians]] of Europe.[{{cite web | title=Ottoman Empire, Southeastern Europe, Conflict | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=1998-08-05 | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Balkans/The-Ottomans | access-date=2023-11-21 | archive-date=21 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121222330/https://www.britannica.com/place/Balkans/The-Ottomans | url-status=live }}]
The Albanians under [[Skanderbeg]]'s leadership resisted the Ottomans for a time (1443–1468) by using [[guerilla warfare]]. Skanderbeg's achievements, in particular the [[Battle of Albulena]] and the [[Siege of Krujë (1450)|First Siege of Krujë]] won him fame across Europe. The Ottomans eventually conquered the near entirety of the Balkans and reached central Europe by the early 16th century.[{{cite book|author=Jean W Sedlar|title=East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3o5lrvuwOVwC&pg=PA393|year=1994|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-97291-6|pages=393–|quote=A rare example of successful Christian resistance to the Turks in the 15th century, although in a fairly remote part of Europe, was provided by Skanderbeg, the Albanian mountain chieftain who became the leader of a national revolt. For over a quarter-century until his death in 1468, he led the Albanians in surprisingly effective guerrilla warfare against the Turkish occupiers.}}] Some smaller countries, such as [[Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro|Montenegro]] managed to retain some autonomy by managing their own internal affairs, since the territory was too mountainous to completely subdue.[Stephen Clissold (1966). ''A short history of Yugoslavia from earliest times to 1966'', chapter III] Another small country that retained its independence, both [[de facto]] and [[de jure]] in this case, was the [[Adriatic]] trading hub of [[Republic of Ragusa|Ragusa]] (now [[Dubrovnik]], Croatia).[{{cite book | last=Birnbaum | first=Marianna D. | title=Chapter 6. In business with Ragusa | publisher=Central European University Press | date=2018-11-06 | isbn=978-615-5053-79-5 | url=https://books.openedition.org/ceup/2138?lang=en | access-date=2023-11-21 | archive-date=21 November 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121222814/https://books.openedition.org/ceup/2138?lang=en | url-status=live }}]
By the end of the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire had become the controlling force in the region after expanding from Anatolia through [[Thrace]] to the Balkans. Many people in the Balkans place their greatest folk heroes in the era of either the onslaught or the retreat of the Ottoman Empire.[{{Cite journal|last=Wasti|first=Syed Tanvir|date=July 2004|title=The 1912–13 Balkan War and the Siege of Edirne|journal= Middle Eastern Studies|volume= 40| issue = 4|pages= 59–78|jstor=4289928|doi=10.1080/00263200410001700310|s2cid=145595992}}] As examples, for Greeks, [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]] and [[Theodoros Kolokotronis|Kolokotronis]]; and for Serbs, [[Miloš Obilić]], [[Lazar Hrebeljanović|Tsar Lazar]] and [[Karađorđe]]; for Albanians, George Kastrioti Skanderbeg; for [[ethnic Macedonians]], [[Nikola Karev]][Considered a Bulgarian in Bulgaria] and [[Goce Delčev]];[''[https://books.google.com/books?id=c00jmTrjzAoC&pg=PA652 An economic and social history of the Ottoman Empire]''. Suraiya Faroqhi, Donald Quataert (1997). [[Cambridge University Press]]. p. 652. {{ISBN|0-521-57455-2}}]
Most of the Balkan nation-states emerged during the 19th and early 20th centuries as they gained independence from the Ottoman or [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg]] empires: Greece in 1821, Serbia and Montenegro in 1878, Romania in 1881, Bulgaria in 1908 and Albania in 1912.
===Recent history===
[[File:Balkans Animation 1800-2008.gif|thumb|Modern political history of the Balkans from 1796 onwards]]
====World wars====
In 1912–1913, the [[First Balkan War]] broke out when the nation-states of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro united in an [[Balkan League|alliance]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]]. As a result of the war, almost all remaining European territories of the [[Ottoman Empire]] were captured and partitioned among the allies. Ensuing events also led to the creation of an independent [[Albania]]n state. Bulgaria insisted on its status quo territorial integrity, divided and shared by the Great Powers next to the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)]] in other boundaries and on the pre-war Bulgarian-Serbian agreement. Bulgaria was provoked by the backstage deals between its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on the allocation of the spoils at the end of the First Balkan War. At the time, Bulgaria was fighting at the main Thracian Front. Bulgaria marks the beginning of [[Second Balkan War]] when it attacked them. The Serbs and the Greeks repulsed single attacks, but when the Greek army invaded Bulgaria together with an unprovoked Romanian intervention in the back, Bulgaria collapsed. The Ottoman Empire used the opportunity to recapture [[Eastern Thrace]], establishing its new western borders that still stand today as part of modern Turkey.
[[World War I]] was sparked in the Balkans in 1914 when members of [[Young Bosnia]], a revolutionary organization with predominantly Serb and pro-Yugoslav members, [[assassination in Sarajevo|assassinated]] the Austro-Hungarian heir [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]] in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital, [[Sarajevo]]. That caused a war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, which—through the existing [[Allies of World War I|chains of alliances]]—led to the World War I. The Ottoman Empire soon joined the [[Central Powers]] becoming one of the three empires participating in that alliance. The next year Bulgaria joined the [[Central Powers]] attacking Serbia, which was successfully fighting Austria-Hungary to the north for a year. That led to Serbia's defeat and the intervention of the [[Allies of World War I|Entente]] in the Balkans which sent an expeditionary force to establish a new [[Macedonian front|front]], the third one of that war, which soon also became static. The participation of Greece in the war three years later, in 1918, on the part of the Entente finally altered the balance between the opponents leading to the collapse of the common German-Bulgarian front there, which caused the exit of Bulgaria from the war, and in turn, the end of World War I and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[''Encyclopedia of World War I'', Spencer Tucker, Priscilla Mary Roberts, p. 242]
Between the two wars, in order to maintain the geopolitical status quo in the region after the end of World War I, the [[Balkan Pact]], or Balkan Entente, was formed by a treaty between [[Second Hellenic Republic|Greece]], [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]], Turkey and [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] on 9 February 1934 in [[Athens]].[{{Cite web|title=Balkan Entente {{!}} Europe [1934]|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Balkan-Entente|access-date=2021-08-31|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}]
With the start of the [[World War II]], all Balkan countries, with the exception of Greece, were allies of [[Nazi Germany]], having bilateral military agreements or being part of the [[Axis Pact]]. [[Kingdom of Italy|Fascist Italy]] expanded the war in the Balkans by using its protectorate Albania to [[Greco-Italian War|invade Greece]]. After repelling the attack, the Greeks counterattacked, invading Italy-held Albania and causing Nazi Germany's intervention in the Balkans to help its ally.[''Europe in Flames'', J. Klam, 2002, p. 41] Days before the German invasion, a successful ''[[coup d'état]]'' in Belgrade by neutral military personnel seized power.[Russia's life-saver, Albert Loren Weeks, 2004, p. 98]
Although the new government reaffirmed its intentions to fulfill its obligations as a member of the Axis,{{sfn|Schreiber|Stegemann|Vogel|1995|p=484}} Germany, with Bulgaria, invaded both Greece and Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia immediately disintegrated when those loyal to the Serbian King and the Croatian units mutinied.{{sfn|Schreiber|Stegemann|Vogel|1995|p=521}} Greece resisted, but, after two months of fighting, collapsed and was occupied. The two countries were partitioned between the three Axis allies, Bulgaria, Germany and Italy, and the [[Independent State of Croatia]], a puppet state of Italy and Germany.
During the occupation, the population suffered considerable hardship due to repression and starvation, to which the population reacted by creating a mass resistance movement.[''Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation'', Mark Mazower, 1993] Together with the early and extremely heavy winter of that year (which caused hundreds of thousands of deaths among the poorly fed population), the German invasion had disastrous effects in the timetable of the [[Operation Barbarossa|planned invasion in Russia]] causing a significant delay,[''Hermann Goring: Hitler's Second-In-Command,'' Fred Ramen, 2002, p. 61] which had major consequences during the course of the war.[The encyclopedia of codenames of World War II#Marita, Christopher Chant, 1986, pp. 125–126]
Finally, at the end of 1944, the Soviets entered Romania and Bulgaria forcing the Germans out of the Balkans. They left behind a region largely ruined as a result of wartime exploitation.
====Cold War====
During the [[Cold War]], most of the countries on the Balkans were governed by communist governments. Greece became the first battleground of the emerging Cold War. The [[Truman Doctrine]] was the US response to the [[Greek Civil War|civil war]], which raged from 1944 to 1949. This civil war, unleashed by the [[Communist Party of Greece]], backed by communist volunteers from neighboring countries (Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia), led to massive American assistance for the non-communist Greek government. With this backing, Greece managed to defeat the partisans and, ultimately, remained one of the two only non-communist countries in the region with Turkey.
However, despite being under communist governments, [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] (1948) and [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania|Albania]] (1961) fell out with the Soviet Union. Yugoslavia, led by Marshal [[Josip Broz Tito]] (1892–1980), first propped up then rejected the idea of merging with Bulgaria and instead sought closer relations with the West, later even spearheaded, together with India and Egypt the [[Non-Aligned Movement]]. Albania on the other hand gravitated toward Communist [[China]], later adopting an [[isolationism|isolationist]] position.
On 28 February 1953, Greece, Turkey and Yugoslavia signed the treaty of Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation in [[Ankara]] to form the [[Balkan Pact (1953)|Balkan Pact of 1953]]. The treaty's aim was to deter [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] expansion in the Balkans and eventual creation of a joint military staff for the three countries. When the pact was signed, Turkey and Greece were members of the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization|NATO]], while Yugoslavia was a non-aligned communist state. With the Pact, Yugoslavia was able to indirectly associate itself with NATO. Though it was planned for the pact to remain in force for 20 years, it dissolved in 1960.[{{cite web |title=Balkan Pact of 1953 |url=https://www.tarihiolaylar.com/tarihi-olaylar/balkan-pakti-1953-225 |access-date=5 September 2021 |archive-date=7 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407004128/https://www.tarihiolaylar.com/tarihi-olaylar/balkan-pakti-1953-225 |url-status=dead }}]
As the only non-communist countries, Greece and Turkey were (and still are) part of [[NATO]] composing the southeastern wing of the alliance.
====Post–Cold War====
In the 1990s, the transition of the regions' ex-Eastern bloc countries towards democratic free-market societies went peacefully. While in the non-aligned [[Yugoslavia]], [[Yugoslav Wars|Wars between the former Yugoslav republics]] broke out after Slovenia and Croatia held free elections and their people voted for independence on their respective countries' referendums. Serbia, in turn, declared the dissolution of the union as unconstitutional and the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] unsuccessfully tried to maintain the status quo. Slovenia and Croatia declared independence on 25 June 1991, which prompted the [[Croatian War of Independence]] in Croatia and the [[Ten-Day War]] in Slovenia. The Yugoslav forces eventually withdrew from Slovenia in 1991 while the war in Croatia continued [[Operation Storm|until late 1995]]. The two were followed by Macedonia and later Bosnia and Herzegovina, with [[Bosnian War|Bosnia being the most affected]] by the fighting. The wars prompted the United Nations' intervention and [[NATO intervention in Bosnia|NATO]] ground and air forces [[1995 NATO bombing campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina|took action against Serb forces]] in Bosnia and Herzegovina and [[1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia|FR Yugoslavia]] (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro).
[[File:Former Yugoslavia 2008.PNG|upright=1.15|thumb|State entities on the former territory of [[Yugoslavia]], 2008]]
From the dissolution of Yugoslavia, six states achieved internationally recognized sovereignty: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and [[Serbia]]; all of them are traditionally included in the Balkans which is often a controversial matter of dispute. In 2008, while under UN administration, Kosovo [[2008 Kosovo declaration of independence|declared independence]] (according to the official Serbian policy, Kosovo is still an internal autonomous region). In July 2010, the [[International Court of Justice]], ruled that the declaration of independence was legal.[{{cite news|title=Kosovo independence declaration deemed legal|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-serbia-kosovo-idUSTRE66L01720100722|access-date=16 February 2014|newspaper=Reuters|date=22 July 2010|archive-date=23 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123052614/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-serbia-kosovo-idUSTRE66L01720100722|url-status=live}}] Most UN member states recognise Kosovo. After the end of the wars a [[Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević|revolution]] broke in Serbia and [[Slobodan Milošević]], the Serbian communist leader (elected president between 1989 and 2000), was overthrown and handed for a trial to the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|International Criminal Tribunal]] for crimes against the [[International Humanitarian Law]] during the Yugoslav wars. Milošević died of a heart attack in 2006 before a verdict could have been released. Ιn 2001 an [[Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia|Albanian uprising]] in [[North Macedonia|Macedonia]] (North Macedonia) forced the country to give local autonomy to the [[Albanians in Macedonia|ethnic Albanians]] in the areas where they predominate.
With the dissolution of [[Yugoslavia]], an issue emerged over the name under which the former (federated) republic of Macedonia would internationally be recognized, between the new country and Greece. Being the [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonian part of Yugoslavia]] (see [[Vardar Macedonia]]), the federated republic under the Yugoslav identity had the name [[Socialist Republic of Macedonia|(Socialist) Republic of Macedonia]] on which it declared its sovereignty in 1991. Greece, having a large homonymous region (see [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]]), opposed the usage of the name as an indication of a nationality and ethnicity. Thus dubbed [[Macedonia naming dispute]] was resolved under UN mediation in the June 2018 [[Prespa agreement]] was reached, which saw the country's renaming into North Macedonia in 2019.
Balkan countries control the direct [[European route|land routes]] between Western Europe and South-West Asia ([[Asia Minor]] and the Middle East). Since 2000, all Balkan countries are friendly towards the EU and the US.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.unodc.org/southeasterneurope/|title=UNODC South Eastern Europe|website=www.unodc.org|access-date=2019-06-17|archive-date=18 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618073430/http://www.unodc.org/southeasterneurope/|url-status=live}}]
Greece has been a member of the EU since 1981, while [[Slovenia]] is a member since 2004, Bulgaria and Romania are members since 2007, and [[Croatia]] is a member since 2013. In 2005, the EU decided to start accession negotiations with candidate countries; Turkey, and [[North Macedonia]] were accepted as candidates for EU membership. In 2012, Montenegro started [[Accession of Montenegro to the European Union|accession negotiations]] with the EU. In 2014, [[Albania]] is an [[Accession of Albania to the European Union|official candidate]] for accession to the EU. In 2015, Serbia was expected to start [[Accession of Serbia to the European Union|accession negotiations]] with the EU, however this process has been stalled over the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state by existing EU member states.[{{cite web|url=https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/serbia-must-accept-kosovo-independence-to-join-eu-gabriel|title=Serbia must accept Kosovo independence to join EU – Gabriel|date=16 February 2018|access-date=29 January 2019|archive-date=23 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523073624/https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/serbia-must-accept-kosovo-independence-to-join-eu-gabriel|url-status=live}}]
Greece and Turkey have been [[NATO]] members since 1952. In March 2004, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia have become members of NATO. As of April 2009,[[http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_52902.htm Ceremony marks the accession of Albania to NATO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911104736/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_52902.htm |date=11 September 2012 }}, NATO – News, 7 April 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2009.] Albania and Croatia are members of NATO. [[Montenegro]] joined in June 2017.[{{cite web|url=https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2017/04/20/darmanovic-montenegro-becomes-eu-member-in-2022/|title=Darmanović: Montenegro becomes EU member in 2022 – European Western Balkans|first=EWB|last=Archives|date=20 April 2017|access-date=23 July 2017|archive-date=23 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823121617/https://europeanwesternbalkans.com/2017/04/20/darmanovic-montenegro-becomes-eu-member-in-2022/|url-status=live}}] The most recent member state to be added to NATO was [[North Macedonia]] on 27 March 2020.
Almost all other countries have expressed a desire to join the EU, NATO, or both at some point in the future.[{{cite news | title=The Western Balkans – Fact Sheets on the European Union | website=European Parliament | url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/168/the-western-balkans | access-date=2021-06-25 | archive-date=12 November 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112060353/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/168/the-western-balkans | url-status=live }}]
==Economy==
{{Update|date=September 2021}}
[[File:Sveti Stefan (06).jpg|thumb|A view towards [[Sveti Stefan]] in Montenegro, [[Tourism in Montenegro|tourism]] makes up a significant portion of the [[Montenegrin economy]][{{cite web | title=Tourism | website=International Trade Administration | date=2022-08-06 | url=https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/montenegro-tourism-0 | access-date=2023-11-23 | archive-date=13 December 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231213020706/https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/montenegro-tourism-0 | url-status=live }}]]]
[[File:Belgrade iz balona.jpg|thumb|A view above [[Belgrade]] in Serbia, which is the capital of Serbia and a major [[industrial city]] that accounts for a large component of the [[Serbian economy]][{{cite web | last=Ralev | first=Radomir | title=Moody's completes periodic review of three Serbian cities | website=SeeNews | date=2021-11-03 | url=https://seenews.com/news/moodys-completes-periodic-review-of-three-serbian-cities-759653 | access-date=2023-11-23}}]]]
[[File:Pargapanorama.jpg|thumb|A view towards [[Parga]] in Greece; [[Tourism in Greece|tourism]] plays a crucial role in the [[Greek economy]][{{cite web | title=For a Sustainable Tourism Industry | website=Ελληνική Δημοκρατία - Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών | date=2023-11-23 | url=https://www.mfa.gr/usa/en/about-greece/tourism/for-sustainable-tourism-industry.html | access-date=2023-11-23 | archive-date=13 December 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213234113/http://www.mfa.gr/usa/en/about-greece/tourism/for-sustainable-tourism-industry.html | url-status=live }}]]]
[[File:Historical peninsula and modern skyline of Istanbul.jpg|thumb|A view towards European part of Istanbul, which plays an important part for the [[Turkish economy]]]]
[[File:Вишеградска ћуприја са Андрићградом 2.jpg|thumb|A view towards [[Andrićgrad]] and [[Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge]] in Bosnia and Herzegovina; [[Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina|tourism]] is a rapidly growing sector of the [[Bosnian economy]][{{cite web | title=FACT SHEET: Developing Sustainable Tourism (Turizam) in Bosnia and Herzegovina | website=U.S. Agency for International Development | date=2023-03-10 | url=https://www.usaid.gov/bosnia-and-herzegovina/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-developing-sustainable-tourism-turizam-bosnia-and-herzegovina#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20the%20country%20had,and%20hampered%20the%20sector%27s%20development. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330020537/https://www.usaid.gov/bosnia-and-herzegovina/fact-sheets/fact-sheet-developing-sustainable-tourism-turizam-bosnia-and-herzegovina#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20the%20country%20had,and%20hampered%20the%20sector%27s%20development. | url-status=dead | archive-date=30 March 2023 | access-date=2023-11-24}}]]]
[[File:Dubrovnik june 2011..JPG|thumb|A view of [[Dubrovnik]] in Croatia; [[Tourism in Croatia|tourism]] contributes substantially to the [[Croatian economy]][{{cite web | title=OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2022 | website=OECD iLibrary | url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/98e4b3dd-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/98e4b3dd-en#:~:text=Tourism%20plays%20a%20major%20role,of%20employment%20fall%20to%205.9%25. | access-date=2023-11-23 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}]]]
Currently, all of the states are republics, but until World War II all countries were monarchies. Most of the republics are [[Parliamentary republic|parliamentary]], excluding Romania and Bosnia which are [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]]. All the states have [[open economy|open]] [[market economy|market economies]], most of which are in the upper-middle-income range ($4,000–12,000 p.c.), except [[Croatia]], Romania, Greece, and [[Slovenia]] that have [[High income economy|high income economies]] (over $12,000 p.c.), and are classified with very high [[Human Development Index|HDI]], along with Bulgaria, in contrast to the remaining states, which are classified with high HDI. The states from the former [[Eastern Bloc]] that formerly had [[planned economy]] system and Turkey mark gradual economic growth each year. The gross domestic product per capita is highest in Slovenia (over $29,000), followed by Croatia[{{cite web | url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April/weo-report?c=960,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2021&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 | title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects | author=[[IMF]] | access-date=25 May 2023 | archive-date=11 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411195641/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April/weo-report?c=960,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2021&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 | url-status=live }}] and Greece (~$20,000), Romania, Bulgaria (over $11,000), Turkey, Montenegro, Serbia (between $10,000 and $9,000), and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia (~$7,000) and Kosovo ($5,000).[{{Cite web |title=GDP per capita (current US$) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD |access-date=2022-08-19 |website=World Bank Open Data |archive-date=1 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701072201/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD |url-status=live }}] The [[Gini coefficient]], which indicates the level of difference by monetary welfare of the layers, is on the second level at the highest monetary equality in Albania, Bulgaria, and Serbia, on the third level in Greece, Montenegro and Romania, on the fourth level in North Macedonia, on the fifth level in Turkey, and the most unequal by Gini coefficient is Bosnia at the eighth level which is the penultimate level and one of the highest in the world. The unemployment is lowest in Romania and Bulgaria (around 5%), followed by Serbia and Albania (11–12%), Turkey, Greece, Bosnia, North Macedonia (13–16%), Montenegro (~18%), and Kosovo (~25%).[{{Cite web |title=Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?view=chart |access-date=2022-08-19 |website=World Bank Open Data |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430113409/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?view=chart |url-status=live }}]
As nations in the Western Balkans opened up to private investment in the 1990s, newly created enterprises (mostly [[Small and medium-sized enterprises|SMEs]]) fueled regional economic development by facilitating the transition from a massive [[State ownership|state-owned structure]] to a [[market economy]].[{{Cite book |doi=10.2867/828282 |url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20230344-the-impact-of-the-eibs-intermediated-lending-to-businesses-in-the-western-balkans |title=The impact of the EIB's intermediated lending to businesses in the Western Balkans |date=2023-12-18 |publisher=European Investment Bank |isbn=978-92-861-5651-9 |language=EN |doi-access=free |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240214205204/https://www.eib.org/en/publications/20230344-the-impact-of-the-eibs-intermediated-lending-to-businesses-in-the-western-balkans |archive-date= 14 February 2024 |author1=European Investment Bank. }}][{{Cite web |title=The Western Balkans in Transition |url=https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/pages/publication15155_en.pdf |work=Occasional Paper |publisher=European Commission |date=May 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227121631/https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/pages/publication15155_en.pdf |archive-date= 27 December 2023 }}] SMEs now account for 99% of all active businesses, up to 81% of total value created, and 72% of total employment in the Western Balkans.[{{Cite web |title=Economic Growth in the Western Balkans To Accelerate in 2024, Albeit Slowly and Unevenly |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/10/19/economic-growth-in-the-western-balkans-to-accelerate-in-2024-albeit-slowly-and-unevenly |date=October 19, 2023 |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=World Bank |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231227121631/https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/10/19/economic-growth-in-the-western-balkans-to-accelerate-in-2024-albeit-slowly-and-unevenly|archive-date= 2023-12-27 }}] At the end of 2023, the macroeconomic environment in the Western Balkans indicates that risks are increasing, threatening to worsen the financial imbalance. Recent survey findings give conflicting data on enterprises' funding circumstances. While supply has fallen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and interest rate increasers, it has showed progressive recovery.[{{Cite web |title=Western Balkans Regular Economic Report – No. 22: Beyond the Crises |date=Fall 2022 |publisher=World Bank |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099010110192229651/pdf/P17947808ec26c001094ac004a1b5d70a2a.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227121631/https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099010110192229651/pdf/P17947808ec26c001094ac004a1b5d70a2a.pdf |archive-date= 27 December 2023 }}]
===Regional organizations===
{{See also|Black Sea#Trans-sea cooperation}}
{| style="width:500px"
|-
|[[File:Southeast European Cooperation Process Map.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Southeast European Cooperation Process]] (SEECP) member states]] || [[File:SP for SEE members.png|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe]] {{legend|#ff7f40|members}}{{legend|#00ff00|observers}} {{legend|#007fff|supporting partners}}]]
|-
|[[File:SECI members.png|right|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Southeast European Cooperative Initiative]] (SECI) {{legend|#ff7f40|members}} {{legend|#00ff00|observers}}]] || [[File:BSEC members.png|right|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Black Sea Economic Cooperation]] (BSEC) {{legend|#ff7f40|members}} {{legend|#00ff00|observers}}]]
|}
==Statistics==
{| class=wikitable style="margin:auto; border-collapse:collapse;"
|-
!
! [[Albania]]
! [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
! [[Bulgaria]]
! [[Croatia]]
! [[Greece]]
! [[Kosovo]]
! [[Montenegro]]
! [[North Macedonia]]
! [[Romania]]
! [[Serbia]]
! [[Slovenia]]
! [[Turkey]]
|-
! Flag
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Albania|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Bosnia and Herzegovina|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Bulgaria|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Croatia|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Greece|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Kosovo|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Montenegro|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|North Macedonia|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Romania|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Serbia|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Slovenia|size=45px}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Flagicon|Turkey|size=45px}}
|-
! Coat of arms
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Coat of arms|Albania|size=45px|text=none}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Coat of arms|Bosnia and Herzegovina|size=45px|text=none}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Coat of arms of Bulgaria.svg|Bulgaria|45px]]
| style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Coat of arms of Croatia.svg|Croatia|45px]]
| style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Coat of arms of Greece.svg|Greece|45px]]
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Coat of arms|Kosovo|size=45px|text=none}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg|Montenegro|45px]]
| style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Coat of arms of North Macedonia.svg|North Macedonia|45px]]
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Coat of arms|Romania|size=45px|text=none}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Coat of arms|Serbia|size=35px|text=none}}
| style="text-align:center;" | {{Coat of arms|Slovenia|size=45px|text=none}}
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
! Capital
| [[Tirana]]
| [[Sarajevo]]
| [[Sofia]]
| [[Zagreb]]
| [[Athens]]
| [[Pristina]]
| [[Podgorica]]
| [[Skopje]]
| [[Bucharest]]
| [[Belgrade]]
| [[Ljubljana]]
| [[Ankara]]
|-
! Independence
| 28 November 1912
| 3 March 1992
| 5 October 1908
| 26 June 1991
| 25 March 1821
| 17 February 2008
| 3 June 2006
| 17 November 1991
| 9 May 1878
| 5 June,
2006
| 25 June,
1991
| 29 October,
1923
|-
! Head of state
| [[Bajram Begaj]]
| [[Željka Cvijanović]]
[[Željko Komšić]]
[[Denis Bećirović]]
| [[Iliana Iotova]]
| [[Zoran Milanović]]
| [[Konstantinos Tasoulas]]
| [[Vjosa Osmani]]
| [[Jakov Milatović]]
| [[Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova]]
| [[Nicușor Dan]]
| [[Aleksandar Vučić]]
| [[Nataša Pirc Musar]]
| [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]]
|-
! Head of government
| [[Edi Rama]]
| [[Borjana Krišto]]
| [[Rumen Radev]]
| [[Andrej Plenković]]
| [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]]
| [[Albin Kurti]]
| [[Milojko Spajić]]
| [[Hristijan Mickoski]]
| [[Ilie Bolojan]]
| [[Đuro Macut]]
| [[Janez Janša]]
| Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
|-
! Population (2023)[{{cite web | title=Population on 1 January | website=European Commission | url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/TPS00001/default/table?lang=en | access-date=2023-12-03 | archive-date=24 December 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224094645/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tps00001/default/table?lang=en | url-status=live }}]
| {{decrease}} 2,761,785
| {{decrease}} 3,502,550
| {{decrease}} 6,447,710
| {{decrease}} 3,850,894
| {{decrease}} 10,394,055
| {{decrease}} 1,798,188
| {{decrease}} 616,695
| {{decrease}} 1,829,954
| {{decrease}} 19,051,562
| {{decrease}} 6,664,449[Without Kosovo and Metohija]
| {{increase}} 2,116,792
| {{increase}} 85,279,553
|-
! Area
| 28,749 km2
| 51,197 km2
| 111,900 km2
| 56,594 km2
| 131,957 km2
| 10,908 km2
| 13,812 km2
| 25,713 km2
| 238,391 km2
| 77,474 km2[{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2026/04/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=49&pr.y=10&sy=2017&ey=2021&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=914%2C943%2C963%2C918%2C962%2C960%2C968%2C942%2C961%2C174%2C186%2C967&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a= |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2026 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |access-date=17 April 2026}}]
| {{increase}} $15.418 bln
| {{decrease}} $20.106 bln
| {{increase}} $66.250 bln
| {{decrease}} $60.702 bln
| {{decrease}} $214.012 bln
| {{increase}} $8.402 bln
| {{decrease}} $5.424 bln
| {{increase}} $12.672 bln
| {{increase}} $243.698 bln
| {{increase}} $55.437 bln
| {{increase}} $54.154 bln
| {{increase}} $774.708 bln
|-
! GDP ([[Purchasing power parity|PPP]], 2026)[{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tessi190&plugin=1 |title=Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey |publisher=[[Eurostat]] |website=ec.europa.eu/eurostat |access-date=21 December 2019 |archive-date=20 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320064533/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tessi190&plugin=1 |url-status=live }}]
| 29.0 {{color|green|low}} (2012)[{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=AL |title=Gini index - Albania |publisher=[[World Bank]] Open Data |access-date=21 December 2019 |archive-date=19 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219015726/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=AL |url-status=live }}]
| 33.0 {{color|darkorange|medium}} (2011)[{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=BA |title=GINI index (World Bank estimate) – Bosnia and Herzegovina |publisher=[[World Bank]] Open Data |access-date=21 December 2019 |archive-date=9 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009110929/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI%3Flocations%3DBA |url-status=live }}]
| {{decreasePositive}} 39.6 {{color|darkorange|medium}}
| {{decreasePositive}} 29.7 {{color|green|low}}
| {{decreasePositive}} 32.3 {{color|darkorange|medium}}
| {{increaseNegative}} 29.0 {{color|green|low}} (2017)[{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=XK |title=GINI index (World Bank estimate) – Kosovo |publisher=[[World Bank]] Open Data |access-date=21 December 2019 |archive-date=19 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419083513/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI%3Flocations%3DXK |url-status=live }}]
| {{increaseNegative}} 36.7 {{color|darkorange|medium}} (2017)
| {{decreasePositive}} 31.9 {{color|darkorange|medium}}
| {{increaseNegative}} 35.1 {{color|darkorange|medium}}
| {{decreasePositive}} 35.6 {{color|darkorange|medium}}
| {{decreasePositive}} 23.4 {{color|green|low}}
| {{increaseNegative}} 43.0 {{color|darkorange|medium}}
|-
! [[List of countries by Human Development Index|HDI]] (2023)[{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/indicators/137506 |title=Human Development Index (HDI) |publisher=[[Human Development Report|HDRO (Human Development Report Office)]] [[United Nations Development Programme]] |website=hdr.undp.org |access-date=11 May 2025 |archive-date=27 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160627101948/http://hdr.undp.org/en/indicators/137506 |url-status=live }}]
| {{increase}} 0.810 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.804 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.845 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.889 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.908 {{color|green|high}}
| 0.739
{{color|green|high}} (2016)
| {{increase}} 0.862 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.815 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.845 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.833 {{color|green|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.931 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.853 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
|-
! [[List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI|IHDI]] (2023)[{{cite web |title=Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI) |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/indicators/138806 |website=hdr.undp.org |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme|UNDP]] |access-date=11 May 2025 |archive-date=25 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625120421/http://hdr.undp.org/en/indicators/138806 |url-status=live }}]
| {{increase}} 0.705 {{color|green|high}}
| {{increase}} 0.689 {{color|orange|medium}}
| {{increase}} 0.748 {{color|green|high}}
| {{increase}} 0.828 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.825 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{steady}} N/A
| {{increase}} 0.771 {{color|green|high}}
| {{increase}} 0.723 {{color|green|high}}
| {{increase}} 0.758 {{color|green|high}}
| {{increase}} 0.772 {{color|green|high}}
| {{increase}} 0.885 {{color|darkgreen|very high}}
| {{increase}} 0.708 {{color|green|high}}
|-
! Internet [[Country code top-level domain|TLD]]
| .al
| .ba
| .bg
| .hr
| .gr
| Doesn't have
| .me
| .mk
| .ro
| .rs
| .si
| .tr
|-
! [[List of country calling codes|Calling code]]
| +355
| +387
| +359
| +385
| +30
| +383[As Kosovo*]
| +382
| +389
| +40
| +381
| +386
| +90
|}
==Demographics==
{{Redirect|Balkanite|the genus|Balkanites{{!}}''Balkanites''}}
The region is inhabited by [[Albanians]], [[Aromanians]], [[Bulgarians]], [[Bosniaks]], [[Croats]], [[Gorani people|Gorani]], [[Greeks]], [[Istro-Romanians]], [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]], [[Hungarians]], [[Megleno-Romanians]], [[Montenegrins]], [[Serbs]], [[Slovenes]], [[Romanians]], [[Turkish people|Turks]], and other ethnic groups which present minorities in certain countries like the [[Romani People|Romani]] and [[Ashkali]].[{{cite encyclopedia |title=Balkans |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50325/Balkans |access-date=2019-08-21 |quote=The Balkans are usually characterized as comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia—with all or part of each of those countries located within the peninsula. Portions of Greece and Turkey are also located within the geographic region generally defined as the Balkan Peninsula, and many descriptions of the Balkans include those countries too. Some define the region in cultural and historical terms and others geographically, though there are even different interpretations among historians and geographers... Generally, the Balkans are bordered on the northwest by Italy, on the north by Hungary, on the north and northeast by Moldova and Ukraine, and on the south by Greece and Turkey or the Aegean Sea (depending on how the region is defined)... For discussion of physical and human geography, along with the history of individual countries in the region, see Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey. Area 257,400 square miles (666,700 square km). Pop. (2002 est.) 59,297,000.}}]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%"
|-
! State !! Population (2023)[{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/TPS00001/default/table?lang=en|title=Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table|work=europa.eu|access-date=10 August 2023|archive-date=24 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224094645/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tps00001/default/table?lang=en|url-status=live}}]!! Density/km2 (2018)[{{Cite web|url=http://statisticstimes.com/demographics/countries-by-population-density.php|title=Countries by Population Density 2019|website=statisticstimes.com|access-date=25 August 2019|archive-date=26 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926222139/http://statisticstimes.com/demographics/countries-by-population-density.php|url-status=live}}]!! Life expectancy (2018)[{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html|work=CIA: The World Factbook|title=Country Comparison: Life Expectancy at Birth|access-date=20 January 2016|archive-date=29 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229134543/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html|url-status=dead}}]
|-
|{{flagu|Albania}}
|2,402,113
|84
|78.3 years
|-
|{{flagu|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
|3,502,550
|69
|77.2 years
|-
|{{flagu|Bulgaria}}
|6,447,710
|64
|79.9 years
|-
|{{flagu|Croatia}}
|3,850,894
|73
|78.2 years
|-
|{{flagu|Greece}}
|10,394,055
|82
|80.1 years
|-
|{{flagu|Kosovo}}
|1,585,566
|145
|77.7 years
|-
|{{flagu|Montenegro}}
|623,633
|45
|76.4 years
|-
|{{flagu|North Macedonia}}
|1,829,954
|81
|76.2 years
|-
|{{flagu|Romania}}
|19,051,562
|82
|76.3 years
|-
|{{flagu|Serbia}}
|6,664,449
|90
|76.5 years
|-
|{{flagu|Slovenia}}
|2,116,792
|102
|80.3 years
|-
|{{flagu|Turkey}}
| 11,929,013[{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/|title=Turkey's Population |access-date=10 December 2020}}]{{ref label|European Turkey|c}}
|101
|78.5 years
|}
===Religion===
[[File:AtlBalkrelig.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Map showing religious denominations]]
The region is a meeting point of [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Sunni Islam]] and [[Roman Catholicism]].[{{cite book | first=Robin |last=Okey | title=Taming Balkan Nationalism | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2007}}] Eastern Orthodoxy is the majority religion in both the Balkan Peninsula and the Balkan region, The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and [[Southeastern Europe]].{{sfn|Ware|1993|p=8}} A variety of different traditions of each faith are practiced, with each of the Eastern Orthodox countries having its own national church, except for Montenegro. A part of the population in the Balkans defines itself as irreligious.
Islam has a significant history in the region where Muslims make up a large percentage of the population. A 2013 estimate placed the total Muslim population of the Balkans at around eight million.[{{Cite book |last1=Clayer |first1=Nathalie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSlBjwEACAAJ |title=Europe's Balkan Muslims: A New History |last2=Bougarel |first2=Xavier |date=2017 |publisher=[[Hurst Publishers]] |isbn=978-1-84904-659-6 |pages=2–4}}] Islam is the largest religion in nations like Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo with significant minorities in Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro. Smaller populations of Muslims are also found in Romania, Serbia and Greece.[{{cite web|title=Field Listing: Religions|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/fields/401.html|publisher=CIA|access-date=23 February 2019|archive-date=16 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016203251/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/fields/401.html|url-status=dead}}]
! Religious minorities of these territories[[https://web.archive.org/web/20090126185330/http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=59 European Jewish Congress – Bosnia-Herzegovina], Accessed 15 July 2008.] Sephardi Jews used to have a large presence in the city of [[Thessaloniki]], and by 1900, some 80,000, or more than half of the population, were Jews.[{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/30/thessalonikis-jews-we-cant-let-this-be-forgotten-if-its-forgotten-it-will-die|title=Thessaloniki's Jews: 'We can't let this be forgotten; if it's forgotten, it will die'|last=Jones|first=Sam|date=30 July 2020|work=The Guardian|archive-date=10 June 2024|access-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610022755/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/30/thessalonikis-jews-we-cant-let-this-be-forgotten-if-its-forgotten-it-will-die|url-status=live}}] The Jewish communities in the Balkans suffered immensely during [[World War II]], and the vast majority were killed during the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]]. An exception were the [[Bulgarian Jews]] who [[Boris III of Bulgaria]] sent to forced labor camps instead of Nazi concentration camps. Almost all of the few survivors have emigrated to the (then) newly founded state of Israel and elsewhere.[{{cite web |title=Bulgaria |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/bulgaria |website=Holocaust Encyclopedia |access-date=13 July 2023 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613232557/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/bulgaria |url-status=live }}] Almost no Balkan country today has a significant Jewish minority.
===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of the Balkans}}
{{Further|Balkan sprachbund}}
[[File:Ernst-Ravenstein-Balkans-Ethnic-Map-1880.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Ethnic map of the Balkans (1880)]]
[[File:Balkans ethnic map (1992).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Ethnic map of the Balkans (1992)]]
[[File:Transhumance ways of the Vlachs.jpeg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Transhumance]] ways of the Romance-speaking [[Vlachs|Vlach]] shepherds in the past]]
The Balkan region today is a very diverse ethnolinguistic region, being home to multiple [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] and [[Romance languages]], as well as [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Turkic languages|Turkish]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] and others. [[Romani language|Romani]] is spoken by a large portion of the [[Romani people|Romanis]] living throughout the Balkan countries. Throughout history, many other ethnic groups with their own languages lived in the area, among them [[Thracians]], [[Illyrians]], [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], [[Celts]] and various [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]]. All of the aforementioned languages from the present and from the past belong to the wider [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] language family, with the exception of the Turkic languages (e.g., [[Turkish language|Turkish]] and [[Gagauz language|Gagauz]]) and Hungarian.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! State !!Most spoken language[{{cite web|title=Field Listings: Languages|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/402.html|publisher=CIA|access-date=30 November 2020|archive-date=20 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420180739/https://www.cia.gov/Library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/402.html|url-status=dead}}]
! Linguistic minorities[{{cite web|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/03/22/guncel/agun.html|title=Türkiye'nin yüzde 85'i 'anadilim Türkçe' diyor|publisher=Milliyet.com.tr|access-date=25 June 2021|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225063519/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/03/22/guncel/agun.html|url-status=live}}]
| 12% [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], 3% other and unspecified[{{Cite web |title=World Bank Open Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/ |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=World Bank Open Data |archive-date=26 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526025607/https://data.worldbank.org/ |url-status=live }}][{{Cite web |title=Urbanization in Kosovo: Building inclusive & sustainable cities |url=https://unhabitat.org/kosovo#:~:text=The%20percentage%20of%20the%20total,for%20Spatial%20Planning,%202018). |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=unhabitat.org |archive-date=17 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617142152/https://unhabitat.org/kosovo#:~:text=The%20percentage%20of%20the%20total,for%20Spatial%20Planning,%202018). |url-status=live }}]
{{wide image|Istanbul panorama and skyline.jpg|750px|Panoramic view of Istanbul}}
A list of largest cities:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! City !! Country !!data-sort-type="number"| Agglomeration !!data-sort-type="number"| City proper !! Year
|-
| [[Istanbul]]{{ref label|reference name B|b|b}} || {{TUR}} || 10,097,862 || 10,097,862 || 2019[{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/istanbul/|title=Istanbul Population |access-date=1 December 2020}}]
|-
| [[Athens]] || {{GRE}} || 3,753,783 || 664,046 || 2018[{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Greece-Agglo.html|title=Greece: Regions and Agglomerations|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=18 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418034341/http://citypopulation.de/Greece-Agglo.html|url-status=live}}]
|-
| [[Bucharest]] || {{ROU}} ||2,272,163 || 1,887,485 || 2018[{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Romania.html|title=Romania: Counties and Major Cities|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=18 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418193322/http://www.citypopulation.de/Romania.html|url-status=live}}]
|-
| [[Sofia]] || {{BUL}} || 1,995,950 || 1,313,595 || 2018[{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Bulgaria-Cities.html|title=Bulgaria: Major Cities|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=31 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531095827/http://www.citypopulation.de/Bulgaria-Cities.html|url-status=live}}]
|-
| [[Belgrade]] || {{SRB}} || 1,659,440 || 1,119,696 || 2018[[http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga20.pdf Statistical Officeof the Republic of Serbia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191241/http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga20.pdf |date=14 July 2014 }} p. 32]
|-
| [[Zagreb]] || {{CRO}} || 1,217,150 || 767,131 || 2021[{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/croatia/cities/ |title=Croatia: Counties and Major Cities |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-date=21 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521153548/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/croatia/cities/ |url-status=live }}]
|-
| [[Thessaloniki]] || {{GRE}} ||1,012,297 || 325,182 || 2018[{{cite web|url=https://citypopulation.de/Albania-Cities.html|title=Albania: Prefectures and Major Cities – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts|website=citypopulation.de}}]
|-
| [[Ljubljana]] || {{SLO}} || 573,209 || 292,988 || 2018[{{cite web|url=http://www.rralur.si/sl/regija/osebna-izkaznica|title=Osebna izkaznica – RRA LUR|work=rralur.si|date=24 February 2020|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327154601/http://www.rralur.si/sl/regija/osebna-izkaznica|url-status=live}}]
|-
| [[Sarajevo]] || {{BIH}} || 555,210 || 275,524 || 2013[{{cite web |url=http://www.popis.gov.ba/popis2013/doc/RezultatiPopisa_BS.pdf |title=Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Final Results |date=2013 |publisher=Agencija za statistiku Bosne i Hercegovine |access-date=28 July 2021 |archive-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014093505/http://www.popis.gov.ba/popis2013/doc/RezultatiPopisa_BS.pdf |url-status=live }}]
|-
| [[Skopje]] || {{NMK}} || 506,926 || 444,800 || 2018[{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Macedonia.html|title=Macedonia|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110114741/http://citypopulation.de/Macedonia.html|url-status=live}}]
|-
| [[Constanța]] || {{ROU}} || 425,916 || 283,872 || 2018[{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/edirne/|title=Edirne Population|access-date=30 November 2020|archive-date=1 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201011042/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/edirne/|url-status=live}}]
|-
| [[Cluj-Napoca]] || {{ROU}} || 411,379 || 324,576 || 2018[{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/admin/TR213__k%C4%B1rklareli/|title=Kırklareli Population |access-date=1 December 2020}}]
|-
| [[Timișoara]] || {{ROU}} || 356,443 || 319,279 || 2018[{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Serbia-Cities.html |title=Serbia: Regions, Districts and Major Cities |access-date=9 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108005723/http://www.citypopulation.de/Serbia-Cities.html |archive-date=8 November 2015}}]
|-
|[[Tekirdağ]]
|{{TUR}}
|215,558
|186,421
|2022[{{cite web |title=Tekirdağ Population |url=https://www.nufusune.com/suleymanpasa-ilce-nufusu-tekirdag |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250304092446/https://www.nufusune.com/suleymanpasa-ilce-nufusu-tekirdag |archive-date=4 March 2025 |access-date=30 November 2020}}]
|-
|[[Split, Croatia|Split]]
|{{CRO}}
|325,600
|161,312
|2021[{{cite book|last1=Crampton|title=The Balkans Since the Second World War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z9AFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT14|isbn=978-1317891161|year=2014|publisher=Routledge }}] It is home to two-thirds of the city's 15,519,267 inhabitants.[{{cite web |url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/european-foreign-policy/foreign-policy/western-balkans-summit/|title=Western Balkans Summit|access-date=11 August 2015 |author=Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs|author-link=Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs}}][{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/western-balkans/|title=Western Balkans – Trade – European Commission|work=europa.eu|access-date=4 November 2013|archive-date=25 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325135533/https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/western-balkans/|url-status=live}}][{{cite book|editor=Zoltan Hajdu|others=Ivan Illes, Zoltan Raffay|title=Southeast-Europe: state borders, cross-border relations, spatial structures|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ajvwx3OSE2AC&pg=PA141|access-date=18 October 2014|year=2007|publisher=Centre for Regional Studies|isbn=978-963-9052-65-9|page=141|chapter=The European integration and regional policy of the West Balkans}}][{{cite web|url=http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.western-balkans|title=European Economic and Social Committee – Western Balkans|work=European Economic and Social Committee|access-date=12 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006203429/http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.western-balkans|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=dead}}][{{Cite web |title=Austrian Foreign Ministry – The Western Balkans – A Priority of Austrian Foreign Policy |url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/foreign-policy/europe/western-balkans.html |access-date=5 November 2013 |archive-date=5 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105024449/http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/foreign-policy/europe/western-balkans.html |url-status=live }}][{{cite web|url=http://www.wbif.eu/Stakeholders|title=WBIF – Western Balkans Investment Framework – Stakeholders|access-date=12 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006122624/http://www.wbif.eu/Stakeholders|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=dead}}][{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/western-balkans/|title=European Commission – Trade – Countries and regions – Western Balkans|access-date=12 September 2014|archive-date=25 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325135533/https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/western-balkans/|url-status=live}}][{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/balkans_communication/western_balkans_communication_050308_en.pdf|title=Western Balkans: Enhancing the European Perspective|publisher=Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council|date=5 March 2008|access-date=8 April 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080409004701/http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/balkans_communication/western_balkans_communication_050308_en.pdf| archive-date= 9 April 2008|url-status=live}}]
|}
{| style="margin-left:13px; line-height:150%"
|align="right" valign="top"|e.
|{{note|furtherreading2}}See:[{{cite book|title=Endgame in the Balkans: Regime Change, European Style|first=Elizabeth|last=Pond|publisher=Brookings Institution|location=Washington, D.C.|year=2006|page=[https://archive.org/details/endgameinbalkans00eliz/page/5 5]|isbn=978-0-8157-7160-9|url=https://archive.org/details/endgameinbalkans00eliz|url-access=registration|quote=western balkans minus slovenia.}}][{{cite web|url=http://eeas.europa.eu/western_balkans/index_en.htm|title=European Union External Action – EU relations with the Western Balkans|access-date=12 September 2014|archive-date=6 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906180359/http://eeas.europa.eu/western_balkans/index_en.htm|url-status=live}}][{{cite web|url=http://www.internationales-buero.de/en/2114.php|title=Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany – Western Balkan Countries|author=Redaktion: PT-DLR|access-date=12 September 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006141017/http://www.internationales-buero.de/en/2114.php|url-status=dead}}]