Balkans

The Balkans, or the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographic and historical region in Southeast Europe. Boundaries are not fixed; commonly cited limits run from the Danube in the north to the Aegean and Mediterranean in the south, and from the Adriatic and Ionian seas in the west to the Black Sea in the east. The core area includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, while parts of Croatia, Romania, and Turkey are sometimes described as Balkan in broader definitions.

The region is largely mountainous, with ranges such as the Balkan Mountains, Dinaric Alps, Rhodope, and Pindus. It contains coastlines along the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean, and Black Seas, and major rivers including the Danube, Sava, Morava, Vardar, and Struma. The climate ranges from Mediterranean to continental, and the area hosts diverse flora and fauna.

Historically, the Balkans have been a crossroads of civilizations. Ancient Greece and Rome left legacies, followed by Byzantine and Ottoman rule. In the 20th century the region experienced the Balkan Wars, the World Wars, and the breakup of Yugoslavia. Today it is ethnically and linguistically diverse, with Orthodox, Muslim, and Catholic communities and languages such as Albanian, Greek, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian, Romanian, Turkish, and Romani.

The region plays a strategic role in European politics and economy, with ongoing efforts toward regional cooperation, potential European Union accession, tourism along coastlines, and energy and transport corridors.