33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

15 RELIGION Justin Dodge There is no official religion in Kosovo, although the country is predominantly Muslim as the majority of Albaniansa re Muslim. Many of the ethnic Serbs a re Orthodox Islam (the name of the religion, whose followers are called Muslims) is a monotheistic religion, whose holy book is called the Qur'an. The Qur'an is believed to be the word of God spoken through the prophet Muhammad from 609-632 CE (Common Era is preferred over AD (Anno Domini or "year of the Lord") since the Islamic world doesn't believe Jesus was the messiah). Islam believes Muhammad was the last prophet sent to earth by God, the last in a long line of prophets, which includes Moses, Abraham, and Jesus among others. Muslims follow five pillars of their faith: testimony, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and pilgrimage. These pillars, and other tenants of their faith, can give great structure to their lives as some foods, like pork, are forbidden and every Muslim is expected to pray five times a day. However, the level of participation in each of these pillars and to what degree Islam influences an individual's life varies from person to person and community to community. Islam: 95,6% , Christians (catholic) 2,2%, Christians (orthodox) 1,5%. Other 0,06% ECONOMY CIA World Kosovo's economy has shown progress in transitioning to a market -based system and maintaining macroeconomic stability, but it is still highly dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. Remittances from the diaspora - located mainly in Germany, Switzerland, and the Nordic countries - are estimated to account for about 17% of GDP and international donor assistance accounts for approximately 10% of GDP. With international assistance, Kosovo has been able to privatize a majority of its state -owned enterprises. Kosovo's citizens are the second poorest in Europe, after Moldova, with a per capita GDP (PPP) of $9,600 in 2016. An unemployment rate of 33%, an d a youth unemployment rate near 60%, in a country where the average age is 26, encourages emigration and fuels a significant informal, unreported economy. Emigration remains challenging, however, because Kosovo lacks visa-free travel to the EU. Most of Ko sovo's population lives in rural towns outside of the capital, Pristina. Inefficient, near -subsistence farming is common - the result of small plots, limited mechanization, and a lack of technical expertise. Kosovo enjoys lower labor costs than the rest of the region. However, high levels of corruption, little contract enforcement, and unreliable electricity supply have discouraged potential investors. The official currency of Kosovo is the euro, but the Serbian dinar is also used illegally in Serb majority communities. Kosovo's tie to the euro has helped keep core inflation low. Minerals and metals production - including lignite, lead, zinc, nickel, chrome, aluminum, magnesium, and a wide variety of construction materials - once the backbone of industry, ha s declined because of aging equipment and insufficient investment, problems exacerbated by competing and unresolved ownership claims of Kosovo‘s largest mines. A limited and unreliable electricity supply is a major impediment to economic development, but K osovo has received technical assistance to help improve the sector‘s performance. In 2012, Kosovo