ABSTRACT
The credentials for EU membership of all the five new states that have proclaimed sovereignty in the former Yugoslavia since 1991 could hardly be worse: three languages, Slovenian, Serbo-Croat (divided by two distinct alphabets) and Macedonian, and three religions, Roman Catholic in the northwest, Orthodox in the southeast and Islam in many small pockets of territory (see Box 6.1). The heavy loss of life incurred in former Yugoslavia’s civil war and the massive destruction of property add to the complexity of this unfortunate part of the world. Beside Albania, however, Yugoslavia looks comparatively modern and developed. Albania has been characterised by atrocious material conditions and a growing, predominantly Muslim population, fed by a total fertility rate of three children per female, more than double that in neighbouring Greece and nearby Italy.
