2008 Kosovo declaration of independence in the context of "Pristina"

International governments are divided on the issue of recognition of the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, which was declared in 2008. The Government of Serbia does not diplomatically recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state, although the two countries have enjoyed normalised economic relations since 2020 and have agreed not to try to interfere with the other's accession to the European Union.

As of 29 October 2025, at least 109 out of 193 (56.5%) United Nations member states, 22 out of 27 (81.5%) European Union member states, 28 out of 32 (87.5%) NATO member states and 37 out of 57 (64.9%) Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member states have recognised Kosovo. In total, Kosovo has received 120 diplomatic recognitions by UN member states, however conflicts have arisen regarding the exact number of countries recognising Kosovo. Kosovo claims that the number of countries recognising its independence is 120, whilst Serbia claims the number is 84, stating that some countries have withdrawn recognition. Third party sources give the number of recognising countries as around 110.

The Kosovo Agency of Statistics (Albanian: Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës, ACK; Serbian: Agencija za statistiku Kosova) is the national statistics bureau of Kosovo.

It was officially established in 1948, but restarted working as an independent agency in 1999. After Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008, the ACK organized Kosovo's first population census in 2011. It is supported by international organizations and statistic agencies, like the OSCE, United Nations, etc. As of 2011, the bureau works within the Kosovo Prime Ministry framework.

Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo was a request in 2008 for an advisory opinion referred to the International Court of Justice by the United Nations General Assembly regarding the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence. The territory of Kosovo is the subject of a dispute between Serbia and the Republic of Kosovo established by the declaration. This was the first case regarding a unilateral declaration of independence to be brought before the court.

The court delivered its advisory opinion on 22 July 2010; by a vote of 10 to 4, it declared that "the adoption of the declaration of independence of 17 February 2008 did not violate general international law because international law contains no 'prohibition on declarations of independence', nor did the adoption of the declaration of independence violate UN Security Council Resolution 1244, since this did not describe Kosovo's final status, nor had the Security Council reserved for itself the decision on final status." Reactions to the decision were mixed, with most countries which already recognised Kosovo hailing the decision and saying it was "unique" and does not set a precedent; while many countries which do not recognise Kosovo said they would not be doing so as such recognition could set a precedent of endorsing secession in other places.

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari (Finnish: [ˈmɑrtːi (ˈoi̯ʋɑ ˈkɑleʋi) ˈɑhtisɑːri] , 23 June 1937 – 16 October 2023) was a Finnish politician and diplomat who was the president of Finland from 1994 to 2000. He was Finland's Ambassador to Tanzania from 1973 to 1977 and United Nations Commissioner for Namibia from 1977 to 1981. Noted for his international peace work, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.

Ahtisaari was a United Nations special envoy for Kosovo, charged with organizing the Kosovo status process negotiations. These negotiations aimed to resolve a long-running dispute in Kosovo, which later declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. In October 2008, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts". The Nobel statement said that Ahtisaari had played a prominent role in resolving serious and long-lasting conflicts, including ones in Namibia, Aceh (Indonesia), Kosovo and Serbia, and Iraq.

The administrative districts (Serbian: управни окрузи, romanized: upravni okruzi) of Serbia are deconcentrated coordination units of the central government, established under the 2005 Law on State Administration and implemented through government decrees. They are not administrative divisions, as the administrative divisions of Serbia are constitutionally defined units of self-governance or autonomy, but rather regional operational centers serving ministerial field offices (such as branches of inspection authorities). Each has a territorial remit matching a certain cluster of municipalities and cities (which are constitutionally and statutorily defined administrative divisions).

Originally instituted by a 1992 government decree, there are 29 administrative districts, with the City of Belgrade having similar status. Following the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, the districts created by the UNMIK-Administration were adopted by Kosovo. The Serbian government does not recognize these districts.

Kosovo is the birthplace of the Albanian nationalist movement which emerged as a response to the Eastern Crisis of 1878. In the immediate aftermath of the Russo-Ottoman war, the Congress of Berlin proposed partitioning Ottoman Albanian inhabited lands in the Balkans among neighbouring countries. The League of Prizren was formed by Albanians to resist those impositions. For Albanians those events have made Kosovo an important place regarding the emergence of Albanian nationalism. During the remainder of the late Ottoman period various disagreements between Albanian nationalists and the Ottoman Empire over socio-cultural rights culminated in two revolts within Kosovo and adjacent areas. The Balkan Wars (1912–13) ending with Ottoman defeat, Serbian and later Yugoslav sovereignty over the area generated an Albanian nationalism that has become distinct to Kosovo stressing Albanian language, culture, and identity within the context of secession from Serbia. Pan-Albanian sentiments are also present and historically have been achieved only once when part of Kosovo was united by Italian Axis forces to their protectorate of Albania during the Second World War.

Reincorporated within Yugoslavia, Albanian nationalism in Kosovo has drawn upon Kosovar folk culture and traditions which became imbued with theories of descent from ancient Illyrians and Dardanians stressing the purported precedence of Albanian settlement and rights to the area over the Serbs. Traditions of armed resistance by local Albanians to Serbian forces have existed since the interwar period resulting in various and protracted conflicts, ethnic cleansing and violence on both sides. The most recent was the Kosovo War (1999) between the guerilla fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and Yugoslav army who later were evicted from Kosovo through NATO military intervention. Placed under an international United Nations framework, Kosovar Albanians declared independence (2008) which is internationally recognised by some number of countries satisfying a main tenet of Kosovar Albanian nationalism. Albanian nationalism in Kosovo stresses a secular character sidelining religion.

The accession of Kosovo to the European Union (EU) is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Kosovo is currently recognized by the EU as a potential candidate for accession.

Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was enacted on 17 February 2008 by a vote of members of the Assembly of Kosovo. Independence has not been recognised by Serbia, or five out of 27 EU member states, and as a result the European Union itself refers only to "Kosovo", with an asterisked footnote containing the text agreed to by the Belgrade–Pristina negotiations: "This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence." This has not prevented Kosovo from continuing its EU enacted Stabilisation Tracking Mechanism (STM) programme, aiming to gradually integrate its national policies on legal, economic and social matters with the EU, so that at some point in the future Kosovo could qualify for EU membership.

United Nations Administered Kosovo refers to the period when the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo was directly responsible for the governance of Kosovo between 1999 and 2008. This period began on 10 June 1999 with the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and effectively ended on 17 February 2008 with the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo.