The Republic of Kosovo is a country in the Balkans in
southeastern Europe. Kosovo declared itself independent in
February 2008. Previously, it was an autonomous province of
Serbia, located in southern Serbia. Because of conflict between
ethnic Albanians, who make up the majority of the people in
Kosovo, and ethnic Serbians, the region was administered by the
UN beginning in 1999. As of 2011, many countries, including
Serbia, still do not recognize Kosovo's independence. Kosovo is
4,212 square miles (10,908 square kilometers) in area. It is
mostly mountainous, particularly along the borders in the west
and south. Poljes are prominent geographical features in Kosovo.
A polje is a depression that is several miles across. It has
broad, flat floors and is surrounded by steep, limestone walls
Poljes form when rain and underground water dissolved limestone
along large vertical cracks. 2,153,139 people live in Kosovo.
92% are ethnic Albanians and 4% are Serbs. There are also
Gorani, Bosniaks, Turkish and Roma. The ca