Balkan peninsula

The Balkan Peninsula or the Balkans is a geographic name for a region of southeastern Europe, which is surrounded by the Black Sea to the east, by Aegean, Mediterranean and Ionian Sea to the south, and by the Adriatic Sea to the west. The region takes its name from the "Balkan" mountain range in Bulgaria and Serbia.

The countries that are included in the Balkan region are:

• Croatia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Serbia
• Montenegro
• Republic of Macedonia
• Bulgaria
• Albania
• Greece

Some other countries that only partially lie on the Balkan peninsula are sometimes included in the list of Balkan countries:

• Slovenia (southern part)
• Romania (southern part)
• Moldova (southern part)
• Turkey (European part)