World History Notes The Balkan Countries / 1 Europe’s Balkan Peninsula lies between the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. The Balkan Region include the countries of Romania, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslav Republics, and Albania.

World History Notes The Balkan Countries / 2 Romania sits on the northeastern edge of the Balkan Peninsula. The Carpathian Mountains take up about one-third of the country’s land area. A vast plateau covers central Romania.

World History Notes The Balkan Countries / 3 Romania’s economic activities include farming, manufacturing, and mining. The forested mountains and central plateau contain deposits of coal, petroleum, and natural gas.

World History Notes The Balkan Countries / 4 About 56 percent of Romania’s 21.6 million people live in towns and cities. Bucharest, the capital and largest city, has more than 2 million people. Many Romanians are Eastern Orthodox Christians.

World History Notes The Balkan Countries / 5 Bulgaria is located south of Romania with a population of 7.5 million. Their economy lies on both agriculture and manufacturing. Roses are grown in their fertile central valley for use in perfume manufacturing.

World History Notes The Balkan Countries / 6 The city of Sofia, with over 1 million people, is the capital and largest in Bulgaria. Bulgarians join vacationers from other countries at resorts on the Black Sea coast.

World History Notes The Balkan Countries / 7 The former Yugoslav republics used to be one large country called Yugoslavia. By the 1990s, five countries eventually emerged called Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Montenegro.

World History Notes The Balkan Countries / 8 Slovenia is the most peaceful and prosperous of the old Yugoslavia. It has the region’s highest standard of living. About 52 percent of the 2 million people live in towns and cities. Most are Roman Catholic.

World History Notes The Balkan Countries / 9 If you ask the people in the Balkans how they feel about the recent changes in their countries. The answers will vary, but should suggest that people’s feelings will depend on the situation in their particular country.