Serbia

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Not to be confused with Republika Srpska.
For other uses, see Serbia (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 44N 21E
Republic of Serbia
????????? ??????
Republika Srbija
Flag
Coat of arms
Anthem:
???? ??????/Bo e pravde
God of Justice
MENU0:00
Location of Serbia (green) and the disputed territory of Kosovo (light green)in
Europe (dark grey).
Location of Serbia (green) and the disputed territory of Kosovo (light green)
in Europe (dark grey).
Capital
and largest city
Belgrade
4448'N 2028'E
Official languages
Serbian
Ethnic groups (2011[1])
83% Serbs
4% Hungarians
2% Roma
2% Bosniaks
9% others
(excluding Kosovo)
Demonym Serbian
Government
Unitary parliamentary
constitutional republic
President
Tomislav Nikolic
Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic
Assembly President
Maja Gojkovic
Legislature
National Assembly
Formation
Medieval state late 8th century
Kingdom/Serbian Empire 1217/1346
Fall of Central Serbiaa 1459 (1537 de jure)[2]
Principality of Serbia 1817
De jure independence
1878
Unification
1912 1918
Independent republic
2006
Area
Including Kosovo
88,361 km2 (113th)
34,116 sq mi
Excluding Kosovo
77,474 km2 (29,913 sq mi)[3]
Population
2016 estimate 7,041,599[4]
Density 92.8/km2 (112th)
211/sq mi
GDP (PPP)
2016 estimate
Total $100.180 billion[5] (78th)
Per capita
$14,047 (excluding Kosovo)[5] (83rd)
GDP (nominal) 2016 estimate
Total $37.740 billion[5] (86th)
Per capita
$5,267 (excluding Kosovo)[5] (88th)
Gini (2013)
38[6]
medium 72nd

HDI (2014)
Steady 0.771[7]
high 66th
Currency
Serbian dinar (RSD)
Time zone
CET (UTC+1)
Summer (DST)
CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on the right
Calling code
+381
ISO 3166 code RS
Internet TLD
.rs
.???
a.
Belgrade, Macva and Vojvodina were conquered by Ottomans between 1521 1556
Serbia (Listeni/'s??rbi?/, Serbian: ?????? / Srbija, IPA: [sr?bija]), officially
the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: ????????? ?????? / Republika Srbija), is a sov
ereign state situated at the crossroads between Central and Southeast Europe, co
vering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. Serbia
is landlocked and borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east
; Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro to the west; it al
so claims a border with Albania through the disputed territory of Kosovo. The ca
pital of Serbia, Belgrade, is one of the largest cities in Southeast Europe. Ser
bia numbers around 7 million residents.[8]
Following the Slavic migrations to the Balkans from the 6th century onwards, Ser
bs established several states in the early Middle Ages. The Serbian Kingdom obta
ined recognition by Rome and Constantinople in 1217; it reached its peak in 1346
as a relatively short-lived Serbian Empire. By the mid-16th century, the entire
modern-day Serbia was annexed by the Ottomans, at times interrupted by the Habs
burg Empire, which started expanding towards Central Serbia since the end of the
17th century, while maintaining foothold in northern Serbia. In the early 19th
century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the region's fir
st constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory.[9] Follow
ing disastrous casualties in World War I, and the subsequent unification of the
Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina with Serbia, the country co-founded Yugoslavia w
ith other South Slavic peoples, which would exist in various political formation
s until the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s, which had devastating effects for the re
gion. As a result, Serbia formed a union with Montenegro in 1992, which broke ap
art in 2006, when Serbia again became an independent country. In 2008 the parlia
ment of Kosovo, Serbia's southern province with an Albanian ethnic majority, dec
lared independence, with mixed responses from the international community.
Serbia is a member of the UN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC, and CEFTA. As a membership c
andidate,[10] Serbia is currently negotiating its EU accession.[11][12] The coun
try is acceding to the WTO[13] and is a militarily neutral state. Serbia is an u
pper-middle income economy[14] with dominant service sector, followed by the ind
ustrial sector and agriculture. The country ranks high in Social Progress Index
(45th)[15] as well as Global Peace Index (46th),[16] relatively high in Human De
velopment Index (66th).[17] and an economically moderately free country (77th).[
18]
Contents [hide]
1
Geography
1.1
Climate
1.2
Hydrology
1.3
Environment
2
History
2.1
Early history
2.2
Middle Ages
2.3
Ottoman and Habsburg rule
2.4
Revolution and independence
2.5
Balkan Wars, World War I and the First Yugoslavia
2.6
World War II and the Second Yugoslavia
2.7
Breakup of Yugoslavia and political transition
3
Politics

3.1
Foreign relations
3.2
Military
3.3
Administrative divisions
4
Demographics
4.1
Religion
4.2
Language
5
Economy
5.1
Agriculture
5.2
Industry
5.3
Energy
5.4
Transport
5.5
Telecommunications
5.6
Tourism
6
Education and science
7
Culture
7.1
Art
7.2
Literature
7.3
Music
7.4
Theatre and cinema
7.5
Media
7.6
Cuisine
7.7
Sports
8
Public holidays
9
See also
10
References
11
External links
Geography
Main article: Geography of Serbia
Topographic map of Serbia.
Located at the crossroads between Central[19][20][14] and Southern Europe, Serbi
a is found in the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. Serbia lies between
latitudes 41 and 47 N, and longitudes 18 and 23 E. The country covers a total of 88,
361 km2 (including Kosovo), which places it at 113th place in the world; with Ko
sovo excluded, the total area is 77,474 km2,[3] which would make it 117th. Its t
otal border length amounts to 2,027 km (Albania 115 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 3
02 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia 241 km, Hungary 151 km, Macedonia 221 km, Monten
egro 203 km and Romania 476 km).[3] All of Kosovo's border with Albania (115 km)
, Macedonia (159 km) and Montenegro (79 km)[21] are under control of the Kosovo
border police.[22] Serbia treats the 352 km long border between Kosovo and Centr
al Serbia as an "administrative line"; it is under shared control of Kosovo bord
er police and Serbian police forces, and there are 11 crossing points.[23]
The Pannonian Plain covers the northern third of the country (mainly Vojvodina a
nd Macva) while the easternmost tip of Serbia extends into the Wallachian Plain.
The terrain of central part of the country, with the region of umadija at its he
art, consists chiefly of hills traversed by the rivers. Mountains dominate the s
outhern third of Serbia. Dinaric Alps stretch in the west and the southwest foll
owing the flow of the rivers Drina and Ibar. Carpathian Mountains and Balkan Mou
ntains stretch in north south direction in the eastern Serbia.[24]
Ancient mountains in the southeast corner of the country belong to Rilo-Rhodope
Mountain system. Elevation ranges from the Mid or peak of the Balkan Mountains at
2,169 metres (7,116 feet) (highest peak in Serbia, excluding Kosovo) to the lowe
st point of just 17 metres (56 feet) near the Danube river at Prahovo.[25] Inclu
ding Kosovo the highest point is eravica, Prokletije (2.656 m), the largest lake
is the erdap Lake (163 square kilometres or 63 square miles) and the longest rive
r passing through Serbia the Danube (587.35 kilometres or 364.96 miles).
Climate
Main article: Climate of Serbia
Yvette storm 2014.

The climate of Serbia is under the influences of the landmass of Eurasia and Atl
antic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. With mean January temperatures around 0 C (32 F
), and mean July temperatures of 22 C (72 F), it can be classified into humid subt
ropical climate.[26] In the north, the climate is more continental, with cold wi
nters, and hot, humid summers along with well distributed rainfall patterns. In
the south, summers and autumns are drier, and winters are relatively cold, with
heavy inland snowfall in the mountains.
Differences in elevation, proximity to the Adriatic Sea and large river basins,
as well as exposure to the winds account for climate variations.[27] Southern Se
rbia is subject to Mediterranean influences.[28] However, the Dinaric Alps and o
ther mountain ranges contribute to the cooling of most of the warm air masses. W
inters are quite harsh in the Pe ter plateau, because of the mountains which encir
cle it.[29] One of the climatic features of Serbia is Ko ava, a cold and very squa
lly southeastern wind which starts in the Carpathian Mountains and follows the D
anube northwest through the Iron Gate where it gains a jet effect and continues
to Belgrade and can spread as far south as Ni .[30]
The average annual air temperature for the period 1961 1990 for the area with an a
ltitude of up to 300 m (984 ft) is 10.9 C (51.6 F). The areas with an altitude of
300 to 500 m (984 to 1,640 ft) have an average annual temperature of around 10.0
C (50.0 F), and over 1,000 m (3,281 ft) of altitude around 6.0 C (42.8 F).[31] The
lowest recorded temperature in Serbia was -39.5 C (-39.1 F) on 13 January 1985, Ka
rajukica Bunari in Pe ter, and the highest was 44.9 C or 112.8 F, on 24 July 2007, r
ecorded in Smederevska Palanka.[32]
Serbia is one of few European countries with very high risk exposure to the natu
ral hazards (earthquakes, storms, floods, droughts).[33] It is estimated that po
tential floods, particularly in areas of Central Serbia, threaten over 500 large
r settlements and an area of 16,000 square kilometers.[34] The most disastrous w
ere the floods in May 2014, when 57 people died and a damage of over a 1.5 billi
on euro was incited.[35]
Hydrology
Main articles: List of rivers of Serbia and List of lakes of Serbia
Vlasina Lake is the highest and largest artificial lake in Serbia
Almost all of Serbia's rivers drain to the Black Sea, by way of the Danube river
. The Danube, the second largest European river, passes through Serbia with 588
kilometers (21% of its overall length) and represents the largest source of fres
h water. It is joined by its biggest tributaries, the Great Morava (longest rive
r entirely in Serbia with 493 km of length), Sava and Tisza rivers.[36] One nota
ble exception is the Pcinja which flows into the Aegean.
Due to configuration of the terrain, natural lakes are sparse and small; most of
them are located in the lowlands of Vojvodina, like the aeolian lake Palic or n
umerous oxbow lakes along river flows (like Zasavica and Carska Bara). However,
there are numerous artificial lakes, mostly due to hydroelectric dams, the bigge
st being erdap (Iron Gates) on the Danube with 163 km2 on the Serbian side (a tot
al area of 253 km2 is shared with Romania) as well as the deepest (with maximum
depth of 92 m); Perucac on the Drina, and Vlasina. The largest waterfall, Jelova
rnik, located in Kopaonik, is 71 m high.[37] Abundance of relatively unpolluted
surface waters and numerous underground natural and mineral water sources of hig
h water quality presents a chance for export and economy improvement; however, m
ore extensive exploitation and production of bottled water began only recently.
Environment
See also: List of protected natural resources in Serbia
The griffon vulture is protected species in Serbia.
With 29.1% of its territory covered by forest, Serbia is considered to be a midd
le-forested country, compared on a global scale to world forest coverage at 30%,
and European average of 35%. The total forest area in Serbia is 2,252,000 h? (1
,194,000 h? or 53% are state-owned, and 1,058,387 h? or 47% are privately owned)
or 0.3 ha per inhabitant.[38] The most common trees are oak, beech, pines and f
irs.

Serbia is a country of rich ecosystem and species diversity

covering only 1.9% o
f the whole European territory Serbia is home to 39% of European vascular flora,
51% of European fish fauna, 40% of European reptile and amphibian fauna, 74% of
European bird fauna, 67% European mammal fauna.[39] Its abundance of mountains
and rivers make it an ideal environment for a variety of animals, many of which
are protected including wolves, lynx, bears, foxes and stags.
Mountain of Tara in western Serbia is one of the last regions in Europe where be
ars can still live in absolute freedom.[40] Serbia is also home to about 380 spe
cies of bird, including the imperial eagle, the great bustard, the corn crake an
d the Madagascar pochard. In Carska Bara, there are over 300 bird species on jus
t a few square kilometers.[41] Uvac Gorge is considered one of the last habitats
of the griffon vulture in Europe.[42]
There are 377 protected areas of Serbia, encompassing 4,947 square kilometers or
6.4% of the country. The "Spatial plan of the Republic of Serbia" states that t
he total protected area should be increased to 12% by 2021.[39] Those protected
areas include 5 national parks (erdap, Tara, Kopaonik, Fru ka Gora and ar Mountain),
15 nature parks, 15 "landscapes of outstanding features", 61 nature reserves, a
nd 281 natural monuments.[37]
Air pollution is a significant problem in Bor area, due to work of large copper
mining and smelting complex, and Pancevo where oil and petrochemical industry is
based.[43] Some cities suffer from water supply problems, due to mismanagement
and low investments in the past, as well as water pollution (like the pollution
of the Ibar River from the Trepca zinc-lead combinate, affecting the city of Kra
ljevo, or the presence of natural arsenic in underground waters in Zrenjanin).
Poor waste management has been identified as one of the most important environme
ntal problems in Serbia and the recycling is a fledgling activity, with only 15%
of its waste being turned back for reuse.[44] The 1999 NATO bombing caused seri
ous damage to the environment, with several thousand tons of toxic chemicals sto
red in targeted factories and refineries released into the soil and water basins
.
History
Main article: History of Serbia
Early history
Main articles: Prehistoric sites in Serbia and Roman heritage in Serbia
Vinca culture figure, 4000 4500 BC.
Approximately 8,500 years ago, during the Neolithic, the Starcevo, and Vinca cul
tures existed in or near modern-day Belgrade and dominated the Balkans, (as well
as parts of Central Europe and Asia Minor).[45][46] Two important local archeol
ogical sites from this era, Lepenski Vir and Vinca-Belo Brdo, still exist near t
he banks of the Danube.
During the Iron Age, Thracians, Dacians, and Illyrians were encountered by the A
ncient Greeks during their expansion into the south of modern Serbia in the 4th
century BC; the northwesternmost point of Alexander the Great's empire being the
town of Kale-Kr evica.[47] The Greek influx was followed shortly after by the Cel
tic tribe of Scordisci, who settled throughout the area in the 3rd century BC. T
he Scordisci formed their own tribal state in this area, and built several forti
fications, including their state capital at Singidunum (present-day Belgrade) an
d Naissos (present-day Ni ).
Felix Romuliana built by Emperor Galerius 298 AD, UNESCO World Heritage Site of
Serbia.
The Romans conquered much of the territory in the 2nd century BC. In 167 BC the
Roman province of Illyricum was established; the remainder was conquered around
75 BC, forming the Roman province of Moesia Superior; the modern-day Srem region
was conquered in 9 BC; and Backa and Banat in 106 AD after the Dacian wars. As
a result of this, contemporary Serbia extends fully or partially over several fo
rmer Roman provinces, including Moesia, Pannonia, Praevalitana, Dalmatia, Dacia
and Macedonia. The chief towns of Upper Moesia (and wider) were: Singidunum (Bel
grade), Viminacium (now Old Kostolac), Remesiana (now Bela Palanka), Naissos (Ni )

, and Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica), the latter of which served as a Roman cap
ital during the Tetrarchy.[48] Seventeen Roman Emperors were born in the area of
modern-day Serbia, second only to contemporary Italy.[49] The most famous of th
ese was Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor, who issued an edict
ordering religious tolerance throughout the Empire.
When the Roman Empire was divided in 395, most of Serbia remained under the East
ern Roman Empire, while its western parts were included in the Western Roman Emp
ire. By the early 6th century, Southern Slavs were present throughout the Byzant
ine Empire in large numbers.[50]
Middle Ages
Main article: Serbia in the Middle Ages
Principality of Serbia, around 950.
The Serbs in the Byzantine world lived in the so-called Slav lands, lands initia
lly out of Byzantine control and independent.[51] The Vlastimirovic dynasty esta
blished the Serbian Principality in the 8th century. In 822, the Serbs "inhabite
d the greater part of Dalmatia",[52] and Christianity was adopted as the state r
eligion in c. 870.[53] In the mid-10th century the state had emerged into a trib
al confederation that stretched to the shores of the Adriatic Sea by the Neretva
, the Sava, the Morava, and Skadar.[54]
Coronation of Du an I as East Roman Emperor in 1346.
The state disintegrated after the death of the last known Vlastimirid ruler; the
Byzantines annexed the region and held it for a century, until 1040 when the Se
rbs under the leadership of what would become the Vojislavljevic dynasty revolte
d in Duklja, a maritime region.[55] In 1091, the Vukanovic dynasty established t
he Serbian Grand Principality, based in Ra ka (Rascia).[55] The two-halves were re
united in 1142.[56] In 1166, Stefan Nemanja assumed the throne, marking the begi
nning of a prospering Serbia, henceforth under the rule of the Nemanjic dynasty.
[57] Nemanja's son Rastko (posth. Saint Sava), gained autocephaly for the Serbia
n Church in 1217 and authored the oldest known constitution, and at the same tim
e Stefan the First-Crowned established the Serbian Kingdom.[58] Medieval Serbia
reached its peak during the reign of Stefan Du an, who took advantage of the Byzan
tine civil war and doubled the size of the state by conquering territories to th
e south and east at the expense of Byzantium, reaching as far as the Peloponnese
, also being crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks along the way. The Battle of Ko
sovo against the rising Ottoman Empire in 1389 marks a turning point and is cons
idered as a beginning of the fall of the medieval Serbian state. The magnate fam
ilies Lazarevic and Brankovic ruled the suzerain Serbian Despotate afterwards (i
n the 15th and 16th centuries). After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans
in 1453 and the Siege of Belgrade, the Serbian Despotate fell in 1459 following
the siege of the provisional capital of Smederevo. By 1455, central Serbia was
completely conquered by the Ottoman Empire.[59] After repelling Ottoman attacks
for over 70 years, Belgrade finally fell in 1521, opening the way for Ottoman ex
pansion into Central Europe. Vojvodina, as a part of Habsburg Empire, resisted O
ttoman rule until well into the 16th century.
Ottoman and Habsburg rule
Main articles: Ottoman Serbia, Habsburg Serbia and Great Migrations of the Serbs
Principality of Serbia, the Habsburg Vojvodina and Ottoman-held south around 185
0
After the loss of independence to the Kingdom of Hungary and the Ottoman Empire,
Serbia briefly regained sovereignty under Jovan Nenad in the 16th century. Thre
e Habsburg invasions and numerous rebellions constantly challenged Ottoman rule.
One famous incident was the Banat Uprising in 1595, which was part of the Long
War between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs.[60] The area of modern Vojvodina end
ured a century-long Ottoman occupation before being ceded to the Habsburg Empire
at the end of the 17th century under the Treaty of Karlowitz.
In all Serb lands south of the rivers Danube and Sava, the nobility was eliminat
ed and the peasantry was enserfed to Ottoman masters, while much of the clergy f

led or were confined to the isolated monasteries. Under the Ottoman system, Serb
s, as Christians, were considered an inferior class of people and subjected to h
eavy taxes, and a small portion of the Serbian populace experienced Islamisation
. The Ottomans abolished the Serbian patriarchate (1459), but reestablished it i
n 1557, providing for limited continuation of Serbian cultural traditions within
the empire.[61][62]
Great Migrations of the Serbs known as the Great Exodus, refers mainly to two la
rge migrations of Serbs from the Ottoman Empire to the Habsburg Monarchy.
As the Great Serb Migrations depopulated most of southern Serbia, the Serbs soug
ht refuge across the Danube River in Vojvodina to the north and the Military Fro
ntier in the west, where they were granted rights by the Austrian crown under me
asures such as the Statuta Wallachorum of 1630. The ecclesiastical center of the
Serbs also moved northwards, to the Metropolitanate of Sremski Karlovci, as the
Patriarchate of Pec was once-again abolished by the Ottomans in 1766.[63] Follo
wing several petitions, the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I formally granted Serbs
who wished to leave the right to their autonomous crownland.[64]
In 1717 1739, Austrian Empire regained the rule in Central Serbia and formed the "
Kingdom of Serbia". Apart from Vojvodina and Northern Belgrade which were absorb
ed into the Habsburg Empire, Central Serbia was also included into the Austrian
territory in 1688 1692 and 1788 1793.
Revolution and independence
Main articles: Serbian Revolution, Principality of Serbia and Kingdom of Serbia
See also: Serbian Vojvodina and May Overthrow
Battle of Mi ar, a high point of Serbian Revolution in 1806, with a decisive Serbi
an victory over the Ottomans
The Serbian Revolution for independence from the Ottoman Empire lasted eleven ye
ars, from 1804 until 1815.[65] The revolution comprised two separate uprisings w
hich gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire that eventually evolved towards ful
l independence (1835 1867).[66][67] During the First Serbian Uprising, led by Duke
Karadorde Petrovic, Serbia was independent for almost a decade before the Ottom
an army was able to reoccupy the country. Shortly after this, the Second Serbian
Uprising began. Led by Milo Obrenovic, it ended in 1815 with a compromise betwee
n Serbian revolutionaries and Ottoman authorities.[68] Likewise, Serbia was one
of the first nations in the Balkans to abolish feudalism.[69] The Convention of
Ackerman in 1826, the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 and finally, the Hatt-i Shari
f, recognized the suzerainty of Serbia. The first Serbian Constitution was adopt
ed on 15 February 1835.[70][71]
Following the clashes between the Ottoman army and Serbs in Belgrade in 1862, an
d under pressure from the Great Powers, by 1867 the last Turkish soldiers left t
he Principality, making the country de facto independent. By enacting a new cons
titution without consulting the Porte, Serbian diplomats confirmed the de facto
independence of the country. In 1876, Serbia declared war on the Ottoman Empire,
proclaiming its unification with Bosnia.
May Assembly in 1848, Sremski Karlovci, led to foundation of Serbian Vojvodina
The formal independence of the country was internationally recognized at the Con
gress of Berlin in 1878, which formally ended the Russo-Turkish War; this treaty
, however, prohibited Serbia from uniting with Bosnia by placing the latter unde
r Austro-Hungarian occupation, alongside the occupation of Sanjak of Novi Pazar.
[72] From 1815 to 1903, the Principality of Serbia was ruled by the House of Obr
enovic, save for the rule of Prince Aleksandar Karadordevic between 1842 and 185
8. In 1882, Serbia became a Kingdom, ruled by King Milan I. The House of Karador
devic, descendants of the revolutionary leader Karadorde Petrovic, assumed power
in 1903 following the May Overthrow. In the north, the 1848 revolution in Austr
ia led to the establishment of the autonomous territory of Serbian Vojvodina; by
1849, the region was transformed into the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Te
meschwar.
Balkan Wars, World War I and the First Yugoslavia

Main articles: Balkan Wars, Serbian Campaign of World War I and Kingdom of Yugos
lavia
In the course of the First Balkan War in 1912, the Balkan League defeated the Ot
toman Empire and captured its European territories, which enabled territorial ex
pansion into Ra ka and Kosovo. The Second Balkan War soon ensued when Bulgaria tur
ned on its former allies, but was defeated, resulting in the Treaty of Bucharest
. In two years, Serbia enlarged its territory by 80% and its population by 50%;[
73] it also suffered high casualties on the eve of World War I, with around 20,0
00 dead.[74] Austria-Hungary became wary of the rising regional power on its bor
ders and its potential to become an anchor for unification of all South Slavs, a
nd the relationship between the two countries became tense.
Nikola Pa ic, Prime Minister during World War I
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28 June 1914 in Sara
jevo by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Young Bosnia organization, led to Austr
ia-Hungary declaring war on Serbia.[75] In defense of its ally Serbia, Russia mo
bilized its troops, which resulted in Austria-Hungary's ally Germany declaring w
ar on Russia. The retaliation by Austria-Hungary against Serbia activated a seri
es of military alliances that set off a chain reaction of war declarations acros
s the continent, leading to the outbreak of World War I within a month.[76] Serb
ia won the first major battles of World War I, including the Battle of Cer and B
attle of Kolubara
marking the first Allied victories against the Central Powers
in World War I.[77]
Despite initial success, it was eventually overpowered by the Central Powers in
1915. Most of its army and some people retreated into exile to Greece and Corfu,
where they recovered, regrouped and returned to the Macedonian front to lead a
final breakthrough through enemy lines on 15 September 1918, liberating Serbia a
nd defeating the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Bulgaria.[78] Serbia, with its camp
aign, was a major Balkan Entente Power[79] which contributed significantly to th
e Allied victory in the Balkans in November 1918, especially by helping France f
orce Bulgaria's capitulation.[80] Serbia was classified as a minor Entente power
.[81]
Serbia's casualties accounted for 8% of the total Entente military deaths; 58% (
243,600) soldiers of the Serbian army perished in the war.[82] The total number
of casualties is placed around 700,000,[83] more than 16% of Serbia's prewar siz
e,[76] and a majority (57%) of its overall male population.[84][85][86] As the A
ustro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, the territory of Syrmia united with Serbia on
24 November 1918, followed by Banat, Backa and Baranja a day later, thereby brin
ging the entire Vojvodina into the Serb Kingdom. On 26 November 1918, the Podgor
ica Assembly deposed the House of Petrovic-Njego and united Montenegro with Serbi
a. On 1 December 1918, Serbian Prince Regent Alexander of Serbia proclaimed the
Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes under King Peter I of Serbia.
King Peter was succeeded by his son, Alexander, in August 1921. Serb centralists
and Croat autonomists clashed in the parliament, and most governments were frag
ile and short-lived. Nikola Pa ic, a conservative prime minister, headed or domina
ted most governments until his death. King Alexander changed the name of the cou
ntry to Yugoslavia and changed the internal divisions from the 33 oblasts to nin
e new banovinas. The effect of Alexander's dictatorship was to further alienate
the non-Serbs from the idea of unity.[87]
King Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander was assassinated in Marseille, during an official visit in 1934 by Vla
do Chernozemski, member of the IMRO. Alexander was succeeded by his eleven-yearold son Peter II and a regency council was headed by his cousin, Prince Paul. In
August 1939 the Cvetkovic Macek Agreement established an autonomous Banate of Cro
atia as a solution to Croatian concerns.
World War II and the Second Yugoslavia
Main articles: World War II in Yugoslavia and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugo
slavia
See also: Invasion of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation of Serbia, and World War II pe

rsecution of Serbs
German soldiers escorting people from Kragujevac and its surrounding area to be
executed.
In 1941, in spite of Yugoslav attempts to remain neutral in the war, the Axis po
wers invaded Yugoslavia. The territory of modern Serbia was divided between Hung
ary, Bulgaria, Independent State of Croatia and Italy (greater Albania and Monte
negro), while the remaining part of Serbia was placed under German Military admi
nistration, with Serbian puppet governments led by Milan Acimovic and Milan Nedi
c. The occupied territory was the scene of a civil war between royalist Chetniks
commanded by Dra a Mihailovic and communist partisans commanded by Josip Broz Tit
o. Against these forces were arrayed Axis auxiliary units of the Serbian Volunte
er Corps and the Serbian State Guard. Draginac and Loznica massacre of 2,950 vil
lagers in Western Serbia in 1941 was the first large execution of civilians in o
ccupied Serbia by Germans, with Kragujevac massacre and Novi Sad Raid of Jews an
d Serbs by Hungarian fascists being the most notorious, with over 3,000 victims
in each case.[88][89][90] After one year of occupation, around 16,000 Serbian Je
ws were murdered in the area, or around 90% of its pre-war Jewish population. Ma
ny concentration camps were established across the area. Banjica concentration c
amp was the largest concentration camp, with primary victims being Serbian Jews,
Roma, and Serb political prisoners.[91]
The Axis puppet state of the Independent State of Croatia committed large-scale
persecution and genocide of Serbs, Jews, and Roma.[92] The estimate of the Unite
d States Holocaust Memorial Museum indicates that between 320,000 and 340,000 et
hnic Serb residents of Croatia, Bosnia and northern Serbia were murdered during
the Usta e genocide campaign;[93] the same figures are supported by the Jewish Vir
tual Library.[94] Official Yugoslav sources used to estimate more than 700,000 v
ictims, mostly Serbs.[95] The Jasenovac memorial so far lists 82,085 names kille
d at the this concentration camp alone,[96] out of around 100,000 estimated vict
ims (75% of whom were of Serbian origin).[97] Out of roughly 1 million casualtie
s in all of Yugoslavia up until 1944,[98][99] around 250,000 were citizens of Se
rbia of different ethnicities.[100]
President of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito with Eliza
beth II, Belgrade, 1972.
The Republic of U ice was a short-lived liberated territory established by the Par
tisans and the first liberated territory in World War II Europe, organized as a
military mini-state that existed in the autumn of 1941 in the west of occupied S
erbia. By late 1944, the Belgrade Offensive swung in favour of the partisans in
the civil war; the partisans subsequently gained control of Yugoslavia.[101] Fol
lowing the Belgrade Offensive, the Syrmian Front was the last major military act
ion of World War II in Serbia.
The victory of the Communist Partisans resulted in the abolition of the monarchy
and a subsequent constitutional referendum. A one-party state was soon establis
hed in Yugoslavia by the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, between 60,000 and
70,000 people were killed in Serbia during the communist takeover.[102] All oppo
sition was suppressed and people deemed to be promoting opposition to socialism
or promoting separatism were imprisoned or executed for sedition. Serbia became
a constituent republic within the SFRY known as the Socialist Republic of Serbia
, and had a republic-branch of the federal communist party, the League of Commun
ists of Serbia. Serbia's most powerful and influential politician in Tito-era Yu
goslavia was Aleksandar Rankovic, one of the "big four" Yugoslav leaders, alongs
ide Tito, Edvard Kardelj, and Milovan ilas.[103] Rankovic was later removed from
the office because of the disagreements regarding Kosovo's nomenklatura and the
unity of Serbia.[103] Rankovic's dismissal was highly unpopular amongst Serbs.[1
04] Pro-decentralization reformers in Yugoslavia succeeded in the late 1960s in
attaining substantial decentralization of powers, creating substantial autonomy
in Kosovo and Vojvodina, and recognizing a Yugoslav Muslim nationality.[104] As
a result of these reforms, there was a massive overhaul of Kosovo's nomenklatura
and police, that shifted from being Serb-dominated to ethnic Albanian-dominated

through firing Serbs on a large scale.[104] Further concessions were made to th

e ethnic Albanians of Kosovo in response to unrest, including the creation of th
e University of Pristina as an Albanian language institution.[104] These changes
created widespread fear amongst Serbs of being treated as second-class citizens
.[105]
Breakup of Yugoslavia and political transition
Main articles: Breakup of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav Wars, Kosovo War and Republic of
Serbia (1992 2006)
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and territories of Serb breakaway states (Republi
ka Srpska and Republika Srpska Krajina) during the Yugoslav wars (1991 95).
In 1989, Slobodan Milo evic rose to power in Serbia. Milo evic promised a reduction
of powers for the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina, where his allies
subsequently took over power, during the Anti-bureaucratic revolution.[106] Thi
s ignited tensions with the communist leadership of the other republics, and awo
ke nationalism across the country that eventually resulted in the Breakup of Yug
oslavia, with Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Kosovo de
claring independence.[107] Serbia and Montenegro remained together as the Federa
l Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).
Fueled by ethnic tensions, the Yugoslav Wars erupted, with the most severe confl
icts taking place in Croatia and Bosnia, where ethnic Serb populations opposed i
ndependence from Yugoslavia. The FRY remained outside the conflicts, but provide
d logistic, military and financial support to Serb forces in Croatia and Bosnia
and Herzegovina. In response, the UN imposed sanctions against the Federal Repub
lic of Yugoslavia in May 1992,[108] which led to political isolation and the col
lapse of the economy.
Multiparty democracy was introduced in Serbia in 1990, officially dismantling th
e one-party system. Critics of Milo evic claimed that the government continued to
be authoritarian despite constitutional changes, as Milo evic maintained strong po
litical influence over the state media and security apparatus.[109][110] When th
e ruling Socialist Party of Serbia refused to accept its defeat in municipal ele
ctions in 1996, Serbians engaged in large protests against the government.
Burned and destroyed Serbian houses in Prizren during the 2004 unrest in Kosovo.
Between 1998 and 1999, peace was broken again, when the situation in Kosovo wors
ened with continued clashes between Yugoslav security forces and the Albanian gu
erilla Kosovo Liberation Army. The confrontations led to the short Kosovo War, w
hich ended in withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosovo and the establishment of
UN administration of the province.[111] After presidential elections in Septembe
r 2000, opposition parties accused Milo evic of electoral fraud. A campaign of civ
il resistance followed, led by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a broa
d coalition of anti-Milo evic parties. This culminated on 5 October when half a mi
llion people from all over the country congregated in Belgrade, compelling Milo ev
ic to concede defeat.[112] The fall of Milo evic ended Yugoslavia's international
isolation. Milo evic was sent to the International Criminal Tribunal for the forme
r Yugoslavia. The DOS announced that FR Yugoslavia would seek to join the Europe
an Union. In 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was renamed Serbia and Mon
tenegro; the EU opened negotiations with the country for the Stabilization and A
ssociation Agreement. Serbia's political climate remained tense and in 2003, the
prime minister Zoran indic was assassinated as result of a plot originating from
circles of organized crime and former security officials.
On 21 May 2006, Montenegro held a referendum to determine whether to end its uni
on with Serbia. The results showed 55.4% of voters in favor of independence, whi
ch was just above the 55% required by the referendum. On 5 June 2006, the Nation
al Assembly of Serbia declared Serbia to be the legal successor to the former st
ate union.[113] The province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from S
erbia on 17 February 2008. Serbia immediately condemned the declaration and cont
inues to deny any statehood to Kosovo. The declaration has sparked varied respon
ses from the international community, some welcoming it, while others condemned
the unilateral move.[114] Status neutral talks between Serbia and Kosovo-Albania

n authorities are held in Brussels, mediated by the EU.

In April 2008 Serbia was invited to join the Intensified Dialogue programme with
NATO despite the diplomatic rift with the alliance over Kosovo.[115] Serbia off
icially applied for membership in the European Union on 22 December 2009,[116] a
nd received candidate status on 1 March 2012, following a delay in December 2011
.[10][117] Following a positive recommendation of the European Commission and Eu
ropean Council in June 2013, negotiations to join the EU commenced in January 20
14.[118]
Politics
Main article: Politics of Serbia
See also: List of political parties in Serbia
Serbian government headquarters, Belgrade.
Serbia is a parliamentary republic, with the government divided into legislative
, executive and judiciary branches.
Serbia had one of the first modern constitutions in Europe, the 1835 Constitutio
n (known as "Sretenje Constitution"), which was at the time considered among the
most progressive and liberal constitutions in the world. Since then it has adop
ted 10 different constitutions.[119] The current constitution was adopted on 8 N
ovember 2006 in the aftermath of Montenegro independence referendum which by con
sequence renewed the independence of Serbia itself.[120] The Constitutional Cour
t rules on matters regarding the Constitution.
The President of the Republic (Predsednik Republike) is the head of state, is el
ected by popular vote to a five-year term and is limited by the Constitution to
a maximum of two terms. In addition to being the commander in chief of the armed
forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister
with the consent of the parliament, and has some influence on foreign policy.[12
1] Tomislav Nikolic is the current president following the 2012 presidential ele
ction.[122] Seat of the presidency is Novi Dvor.
The Government (Vlada) is composed of the prime minister and cabinet ministers.
The Government is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing
the laws, and guiding the foreign and internal policies. The current prime minis
ter is Aleksandar Vucic of the Serbian Progressive Party.[123]
The National Assembly (Narodna skup tina) is a unicameral legislative body. The Na
tional Assembly has the power to enact laws, approve the budget, schedule presid
ential elections, select and dismiss the Prime Minister and other ministers, dec
lare war, and ratify international treaties and agreements.[124] It is composed
of 250 proportionally elected members who serve four-year terms. The largest pol
itical parties in Serbia are the centre-right Serbian Progressive Party, leftist
Socialist Party of Serbia and centre-left Democratic Party.[125]
Serbia has a three-tiered judicial system, made up of the Supreme Court of Cassa
tion as the court of the last resort, Courts of Appeal as the appellate instance
, and Basic and High courts as the general jurisdictions at first instance. Cour
ts of special jurisdictions are the Administrative Court, commercial courts (inc
luding the Commercial Court of Appeal at second instance) and misdemeanour court
s (including High Misdemeanor Court at second instance).[126] The judiciary is o
verseen by the Ministry of Justice. Serbia has a typical civil law legal system.
Law enforcement is the responsibility of the Serbian Police, which is subordinat
e to the Ministry of the Interior. Serbian Police fields 26,527 uniformed office
rs.[127] National security and counterintelligence are the responsibility of the
Security Information Agency (BIA).[128]
Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of Serbia
See also: Accession of Serbia to the European Union and Political status of Koso
vo
2015 Western Balkans Summit, Vienna
Serbia has established diplomatic relations with 188 UN member states, the Holy
See, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and the European Union.[129] Foreign
relations are conducted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Serbia has a n

etwork of 65 embassies and 23 consulates internationally.[130] There are 65 fore

ign embassies, 5 consulates and 4 liaison offices in Serbia.[131]
Serbian foreign policy is focused on achieving the strategic goal of becoming a
member state of the European Union (EU). Serbia started the process of joining t
he EU by signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement on 29 April 2008
and officially applied for membership in the European Union on 22 December 2009
.[132] It received a full candidate status on 1 March 2012 and started accession
talks on 21 January 2014.[11][133]
The province of Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008, wh
ich sparked varied responses from the international community, some welcoming it
, while others condemn the unilateral move.[114] Serbia has recalled its ambassa
dors from states which have recognized Kosovo, in protest.[134]
Military
Main articles: Serbian Armed Forces and Military history of Serbia
The Serbian Armed Forces are subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, and are com
posed of the Army and the Air Force. Although a landlocked country, Serbia opera
tes a River Flotilla which patrols on the Danube, Sava, and Tisza rivers. The Se
rbian Chief of the General Staff reports to the Defence Minister. The Chief of S
taff is appointed by the President, who is the Commander-in-chief.[121] As of 20
12, Serbia defence budget amounts to $612 million or an estimated 1.6% of the co
untry's GDP.[135]
A Serbian Army on exercise, multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany
, May 17, 2014.
Serbian Mig-29 , Serbian Air Force and Air Defence
Traditionally relying on a large number of conscripts, Serbian Armed Forces went
through a period of downsizing, restructuring and professionalisation. Conscrip
tion was abolished on 1 January 2011.[136] Serbian Armed Forces have 28,000 acti
ve troops,[137] supplemented by the "active reserve" which numbers 20,000 member
s and "passive reserve" with about 170,000.[138][139]
Serbia participates in the NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan program,[140]
but has shown no intention of joining NATO in the near future, due to significa
nt popular rejection, largely derived from the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 199
9.[141] It is an observer member of the Collective Securities Treaty Organizatio
n (CSTO)[142] The country also signed the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europ
e. The Serbian Armed Forces take part in several multinational peacekeeping miss
ions, including deployments in Lebanon, Cyprus, Ivory Coast, and Liberia.[143]
Serbia is a large producer and exporter of military equipment in the region. Def
ence exports totaled around $250 million in 2011.[135] Serbia exports across the
world, notably to the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and North America.[1
44] The defence industry has seen significant growth over the years and it conti
nues to grow on a yearly basis.[145][146]
Administrative divisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of Serbia
Districts of Serbia
Serbia is a unitary state[147] composed of municipalities/cities, districts, and
two autonomous provinces. In Serbia, excluding Kosovo, there are 138 municipali
ties (op tine) and 23 cities (gradovi), which form the basic units of local self-g
overnment.[148] Apart from municipalities, there are 24 districts (okruzi), with
the City of Belgrade constituting an additional district. Except for Belgrade,
which has an elected local government, districts are regional centers of state a
uthority, but have no powers of their own; they present purely administrative di
visions.[148]
Serbia has two autonomous provinces, Vojvodina in the north, and Kosovo and Meto
hija in the south,[148] while the remaining area, "Central Serbia", never had it
s own regional authority. Following the Kosovo War, UN peacekeepers entered Koso
vo, as per UNSC Resolution 1244. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence.[149] The
government of Serbia did not recognize the declaration, considering it illegal

and illegitimate.[150]
Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of Serbia and Demographic history of Serbia
As of 2011 census, Serbia (excluding Kosovo) has a total population of 7,186,862
and the overall population density is medium as it stands at 92.8 inhabitants p
er square kilometer.[151] The census was not conducted in Kosovo which held its
own census that numbered their total population at 1,739,825,[152] excluding Ser
b-inhabited North Kosovo, as Serbs from that area (about 50,000) boycotted the c
ensus.
Ethnic map of Serbia, 2011 census.
Serbia has been enduring a demographic crisis since the beginning of the 1990s,
with a death rate that has continuously exceeded its birth rate, and a total fer
tility rate of 1.44 children per mother, one of the lowest in the world.[153] Se
rbia subsequently has one of the oldest populations in the world, with the avera
ge age of 42.2 years,[154] and its population is shrinking at one of the fastest
rates in the world.[155] A fifth of all households consist of only one person,
and just one-fourth of four and more persons.[156] Average Life expectancy in Se
rbia at birth is 74.2 years.[157]
Ethnic composition (2011)
Serbs
?
83%
Hungarians
?
4%
Roma
?
2%
Bosniaks
?
2%
Croats
?
1%
Slovaks
?
1%
Other
?
5%
Unspecified
?
2%
During the 1990s, Serbia used to have the largest refugee population in Europe.[
158] Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Serbia formed between 7
about half a million refugees sought refuge in the
% and 7.5% of its population
country following the series of Yugoslav wars, mainly from Croatia (and to a les
ser extent from Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the IDPs from Kosovo.[159] Meanwhile
, it is estimated that 300,000 people left Serbia during the 1990s, 20% of which
had a higher education.[160][161]
Serbs with 5,988,150 are the largest ethnic group in Serbia, representing 83% of
the total population (excluding Kosovo). With a population of 253,899, Hungaria
ns are the largest ethnic minority in Serbia, concentrated predominately in nort
hern Vojvodina and representing 3.5% of the country's population (13% in Vojvodi
na). Romani population stands at 147,604 according to the 2011 census but unoffi
cial estimates place their actual number between 400,000 and 500,000.[162] Bosni
aks with 145,278 are concentrated in Ra ka (Sand ak), in the southwest. Other minori
ty groups include Croats, Slovaks, Albanians, Montenegrins, Vlachs, Romanians, M
acedonians and Bulgarians. Chinese, estimated at about 15,000, are the only sign

ificant immigrant minority.[163][164] Vojvodina has a multi-ethnic and multi-cul

tural identity;[165][166] there are more than 26 ethnic groups in the province,[
167] which has six official languages.[168]
The majority of the population, or 59.7%, reside in urban areas and some 16.1% i
n Belgrade alone. Belgrade is the only city with more than a million inhabitants
and there are four more with over 100,000 inhabitants.[169]
v t e
Largest cities or towns in Serbia
[169]
Rank
Name
District
Pop.
Rank
Name
District
Pop.
Belgrade
Belgrade
Novi Sad
Novi Sad
1
Belgrade
Belgrade
1,233,796
11
Smederevo
Smederevo
64,175 Ni
Ni
Kragujevac
Kragujevac
2
Novi Sad
Novi Sad
277,522 12
Leskovac
Leskovac
60,288
3
Ni
Ni
187,544 13
Valjevo Valjevo 58,932
4
Kragujevac
Kragujevac
150,835 14
Kru evac
Kru evac
5
Subotica
Subotica
105,681 15
Vranje Vranje 55,138
6
Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin
76,511 16
abac
abac 53,919
7
Pancevo Pancevo 76,203 17
U ice U ice 52,646
8
Cacak Cacak 73,331 18
Sombor Sombor 47,623
9
Novi Pazar
Novi Pazar
66,527 19
Po arevac
Po arevac
10
Kraljevo
Kraljevo
64,175 20
Pirot Pirot 38,785
Religion
Main articles: Religion in Serbia and Serbian Orthodox Church
Religion in Serbia (2011)[170]
religion
percent
Eastern Orthodox
?
84%
Roman Catholic
?
6%
Islam
?
3%
Protestantism
?
1%
Atheism or Agnosticism
?
1%
Others
?
5%
Saint Sava Cathedral, one of the largest Eastern Orthodox churches in the world,
dedicated to the nation's patron saint.
The Constitution of Serbia defines it as a secular state with guaranteed religio
us freedom. Orthodox Christians with 6,079,396 comprise 84.5% of country's popul
ation. The Serbian Orthodox Church is the largest and traditional church of the
country, adherents of which are overwhelmingly Serbs. Other Orthodox Christian c
ommunities in Serbia include Montenegrins, Romanians, Vlachs, Macedonians and Bu
lgarians.
Roman Catholics number 356,957 in Serbia, or roughly 6% of the population, mostl

58,74

44,18

y in Vojvodina (especially its northern part) which is home to minority ethnic g

roups such as Hungarians, Croats, Bunjevci, as well as to some Slovaks and Czech
s.[170]
Protestantism accounts for about 1% of the country's population, chiefly among S
lovaks in Vojvodina as well as among Reformed Hungarians. Greek Catholic Church
is adhered by around 25,000 citizens (0.37% of the population), mostly Rusyns in
Vojvodina.[171]
Muslims, with 222,282 or 3% of the population, form the third largest religious
group. Islam has a strong historic following in the southern regions of Serbia,
primarily in southern Ra ka. Bosniaks are the largest Islamic community in Serbia;
estimates are that some third of country's Roma people are Muslim.
There are only 578 Jews by faith in Serbia.[172] Atheists numbered 80,053 or 1.1
% of population and additional 4,070 declared as agnostics.[172]
Language
Main articles: Languages of Serbia and Serbian language
Countries where Serbian is an official (blue) and where it is recognized as a mi
nority language (light blue).
The official language is Serbian, a standardized form of Serbo-Croatian, native
to 88% of the population.[172] Serbian is the only European language with active
digraphia, using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic is the cou
ntry's official alphabet.[173] It was devised in 1814 by Serbian philologist Vuk
Karad ic, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles. A survey from 2014 sho
wed that 47% of the Serbian population favour the Latin alphabet, 36% favour the
Cyrillic one and 17% have no preference.[174]
Recognized minority languages are: Hungarian, Slovak, Albanian, Romanian, Bulgar
ian and Rusyn, as well as other standard forms of Serbo-Croatian: Bosnian and Cr
oatian.
All these languages are in official use in municipalities or cities where the et
hnic minority exceeds 15% of the total population.[175] In Vojvodina, the provin
cial administration uses, besides Serbian, five other languages (Hungarian, Slov
ak, Croatian, Romanian and Rusyn).
Economy
Main article: Economy of Serbia
Top 5 export partners of Serbia in 2014:[176]
Italy ($2.577bn)
Germany ($1.773bn)
Bosnia and Herzegovina ($1.319bn)
Russia ($1.029bn)
Romania ($0.829bn)
Top 5 import partners of Serbia in 2014:[176]
Germany ($2.468bn)
Russia ($2.340bn)
Italy ($2.308bn)
China ($1.561bn)
Hungary ($1.018bn)
Leading investor nations in Serbia as of 2013:
Italy ($2.69bn)
Austria ($2.65bn)
Norway ($2.16bn)
Belgium ($2.00bn)
Greece ($1.66bn)
The Fiat 500L North American (primarily US) version, rear are assembled at the F
AS plant in Kragujevac
Serbia has an emerging market economy in upper-middle income range.[177] Accordi
ng to the IMF, Serbian nominal GDP in 2015 is officially estimated at $36.56 bil
lion or $5,102 per capita while purchasing power parity GDP was $97.27 billion
or $13,577 per capita.[5] The economy is dominated by services which accounts fo
r 60.3% of GDP, followed by industry with 31.8% of GDP, and agriculture at 7.9%

of GDP.[178] The official currency of Serbia is Serbian dinar (ISO code: RSD), a
nd the central bank is National Bank of Serbia. The Belgrade Stock Exchange is t
he only stock exchange in the country, with market capitalization of $8.65 billi
on (as of August 2014) and BELEX15 as the main index representing the 15 most li
quid stocks.[179]
The economy has been affected by the global economic crisis. After eight years o
f strong economic growth (average of 4.45% per year), Serbia entered the recessi
on in 2009 with negative growth of -3% and again in 2012 with -1.5%.[180] As the
government was fighting effects of crisis the public debt has doubled in 4 year
s: from pre-crisis level of 29.2% to 63.8% of GDP.[181][182]
Active labor force in 2014 stood at 1.703 million, of whom 59.6% are employed in
services sector, 23.9% are employed in the agriculture and 16.5% are employed i
n industry.[178] The average monthly net salary in June 2014 was 44,883 dinars (
US$528,50).[183] The unemployment remains an acute problem, with rate of 17.9% a
s of 2015.[178]
Since 2000, Serbia has attracted over $25 billion in foreign direct investment (
FDI).[184] Blue-chip corporations making investments in Serbia include: FIAT, Si
emens, Bosch, Philip Morris, Michelin, Coca-Cola, Carlsberg and others.[185] In
the energy sector, Russian energy giants, Gazprom and Lukoil have made large inv
estments.[186]
NIS headquarters in Novi Sad
100 Serbian dinar banknote featuring Nikola Tesla
List of the largest Serbian companies by revenue and employees in 2013 (excludin
g banks) :
Rank
Company Headquarters
Industry
Revenue
(Mil. )
Employees
Note
1.
Naftna Industrija Srbije
Novi Sad
Petroleum
2,307
7,629 [187]
2.
Elektroprivreda Srbije Belgrade
Electric utility
1,917
31,569 [188]
3.
Fiat Automobili Srbija Kragujevac
Automotive
1,497 3,668
[189]
4.
Telekom Srbija Belgrade
Telecommunications
1,018 13,229
[190]
5.
Delhaize Srbija Belgrade
Retail 886
11,763 [191]
6.
Srbijagas
Novi Sad
Natural gas
602
3,011 [192]
7.
Tarkett Backa Palanka Manufactoring 562
2,755 [193]
8.
Mercator-S
Novi Sad
Retail 553
4,701 [194]
9.
IDEA
Belgrade
Retail 483
3,954 [195]
10.
Delta Holding Belgrade
Holding 481
3,417 [196]
Serbia has an unfavorable trade balance: imports exceed exports by 28.9%. Serbia
's exports, however, recorded a steady growth in last couple of years reaching $
14.61 billion in 2013.[197] The country has free trade agreements with the EFTA
and CEFTA, a preferential trade regime with the European Union, a Generalized Sy
stem of Preferences with the United States, and individual free trade agreements
with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.[198]
Agriculture
Main article: Agriculture in Serbia
Around 60% territory of Serbia is arable land; sown fields in Vojvodina province
Serbia has very favourable natural conditions (land and climate) for varied agri
cultural production. It has 5,056,000 ha of agricultural land (0.7 ha per capita
), out of which 3,294,000 ha is arable land (0.45 ha per capita).[199] In 2013,
Serbia exported agricultural and food products worth $2.8 billion, and the expor
t-import ratio was 180%.[200] Agricultural exports constitute one-fifth of all S
erbia's sales on the world market. Serbia is one of the largest provider of froz
en fruit to the EU (largest to the French market, and 2nd largest to the German
market).[201] Agricultural production is most prominent in Vojvodina on the fert

ile Pannonian Plain. Other agricultural regions include Macva, Pomoravlje, Tamna
va, Rasina, and Jablanica.[202] In the structure of the agricultural production
70% is from the crop field production, and 30% is from the livestock production.
[202] Serbia is world's second largest producer of plums (582,485 tons; second t
o China), second largest of raspberries (89,602 tons, second to Poland), it is a
lso significant producer of maize (6.48 million tons, ranked 32nd in the world)
and wheat (2.07 million tons, ranked 35th in the world).[37][203] Other importan
t agricultural products are: sunflower, sugar beet, soybean, potato, apple, pork
meat, beef, poultry and dairy.
There are 56,000 ha of vineyards in Serbia, producing about 230 million litres o
f wine annually.[37][199] Most famous viticulture regions are located in Vojvodi
na and umadija.
Industry
See also: Automotive industry in Serbia
New Belgrade, main financial district in Serbia and region
The industry is the economy sector which was hardest hit by the UN sanctions and
trade embargo and NATO bombing during the 1990s and transition to market econom
y during the 2000s.[204] The industrial output saw dramatic downsizing: in 2013
it is expected to be only a half of that of 1989.[205] Main industrial sectors i
nclude: automotive, mining, non-ferrous metals, food-processing, electronics, ph
armaceuticals, clothes.
Automotive industry (with FIAT as a forebearer) is dominated by cluster located
in Kragujevac and its vicinity, and contributes to export with about $2 billion.
[206] Serbia's mining industry is comparatively strong: Serbia is the 18th large
st producer of coal (7th in the Europe) extracted from large deposits in Kolubar
a and Kostolac basins; it is also world's 23rd largest (3rd in Europe) producer
of copper which is extracted by RTB Bor, a large domestic copper mining company;
significant gold extraction is developed around Majdanpek. Serbia notably manuf
actures intel smartphones named Tesla smartphones.[207]
Food industry is well known both regionally and internationally and is one of th
e strong points of the economy.[208] Some of the international brand-names estab
lished production in Serbia: PepsiCo and Nestl in food-processing sector; Coca-Co
la (Belgrade), Heineken (Novi Sad) and Carlsberg (Backa Palanka) in beverage ind
ustry; Nordzucker in sugar industry.[201] Clothing and textile industry has seen
a surge in recent years with significant greenfeild investments by foreign comp
anies: Benneton in Ni , Geox in Vranje, Calzedonia in Sombor, Falke in Leskovac an
d others.Serbia's electronics industry had its peak in the 1980s and the industr
y today is only a third of what it was back then, but has witnessed a something
of revival in last decade with investments of companies such as Siemens (wind tu
rbines) in Subotica, Panasonic (lighting devices) in Svilajnac, and Gorenje (ele
ctrical home appliances) in Valjevo.[209] The pharmaceutical industry in Serbia
comprises 20 manufacturers of generic drugs, of which Hemofarm in Vr ac and Galeni
ka in Belgrade, account for 80% of production volume. Domestic production meets
over 60% of the local demand.[210]
Energy
Main article: Energy in Serbia
Energy sector is one of the largest and most important sectors to the country's
economy. Serbia is net exporter of electricity and importer of key fuels (such a
s oil and gas).
Serbia has abundance of one natural fuel (coal) and relatively significant but n
ot sufficient of the others (oil and gas). Serbia's proven reserves of 5.5 billi
on tons of coal lignite are 5th largest in the world (second in Europe, after Ge
rmany).[211][212] Coal is found in two large deposits: Kolubara (4 billion tons
of reserves) and Kostolac (1.5 billion tons).[211] Despite being small on a worl
d scale, Serbia's oil and gas resources (77.4 million tons of oil equivalent and
48.1 billion cubic meters, respectively) have a certain regional importance sin
ce they are largest in the region of former Yugoslavia as well as the Balkans (e
xcluding Romania).[213] Almost 90% of the discovered oil and gas are to be found
in Banat and those oil and gas fields are by size among the largest in the Pann

onian basin but the average on a European scale.[214]

Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station, the largest dam on the Danube river and
one of the largest hydro power plants in Europe
The production of electricity in 2012 in Serbia was 36.06 billion kilowatt-hours
(KWh), while the final electricity consumption amounted to 35.5 billion kilowat
t-hours (KWh).[215] Most of the electricity produced comes from thermal-power pl
ants (72.7% of all electricity) and to a lesser degree from hydroelectric-power
plants (27.3%).[216] There are 6 lignite-operated thermal-power plants with an i
nstalled power of 3,936 MW; largest of which are 1,502 MW-Nikola Tesla 1 and 1,1
60 MW-Nikola Tesla 2, both in Obrenovac.[217] Total installed power of 9 hydroel
ectric-power plants is 2,831 MW, largest of which is erdap 1 with capacity of 1,0
26 MW.[218] In addition to this, there are mazute and gas-operated thermal-power
plants with an installed power of 353 MW.[219] The entire production of electri
city is concentrated in Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), public electric-utility po
wer company.
The current oil production in Serbia amounts to over 1.1 million tons of oil equ
ivalent[220] and satisfies some 43% of country's needs while the rest is importe
d.[221] National petrol company, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), was acquired in
2008 by Gazprom Neft. The company has completed $700 million modernisation of o
il-refinery in Pancevo (capacity of 4.8 million tons) and is currently in the mi
dst of converting oil refinery in Novi Sad into lubricants-only refinery. It als
o operates network of 334 filling stations in Serbia (74% of domestic market) an
d additional 36 stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 in Bulgaria, and 28 in Ro
mania.[222][223] There are 155 kilometers of crude oil pipelines connecting Panc
evo and Novi Sad refineries as a part of trans-national Adria oil pipeline.[224]
Serbia is heavily dependent on foreign sources of natural gas, with only 17% com
ing from domestic production (totalling 491 million cubic meters in 2012) and th
e rest is imported, mainly from Russia (via gas pipelines that run through Ukrai
ne and Hungary).[221] Srbijagas, public gas company, operates the natural gas tr
ansportation system which comprise 3,177 kilometers of trunk and regional natura
l gas pipelines and a 450 million cubic meter underground gas storage facility a
t Banatski Dvor.[225]
Transport
Main article: Transport in Serbia
Serbia has a strategic transportation location since country's backbone, Morava
valley, represents by far the easiest route of land travel from continental Euro
pe to Asia Minor and the Near East.
Serbian road network carries the bulk of traffic in the country. Total length of
roads is 40,845 km, of which 1,372 km are "class 1a-state roads" (i.e. major na
tional roads, including some 675 km of motorways); 4,153 km are "class 1b-state
roads"; 11,540 km are "class 2-state roads" (regional roads) and 23,780 km are "
municipal roads" (local roads).[226][227] The road network, except for the most
of class 1a roads, are of comparatively lower quality to the Western European st
andards because of lack of financial resources for their maintenance in the last
20 years.
Serbian motorway and expressway network:
finished
under construction (2015)
planned
There are currently 241 kilometers of motorways (autoputevi) under construction
which are all due to be completed by 2017: two sections 40 km-long of the A1 mot
orway (from south of Leskovac to Bujanovac), 102 km-long segment of A2 (between
Obrenovac and Cacak), and 70 kilometers on the A4 (east of Ni to the Bulgarian bo
rder).[228] Work on the construction of the remaining part of A2 (52 km-long sec
tions Belgrade-Obrenovac and Cacak-Po ega) is set to commence in 2016 and be compl
eted by 2018 and 2019, respectively.[228] Coach transport is very extensive: alm
ost every place in the country is connected by bus, from largest cities to the v
illages; in addition there are international routes (mainly to countries of West

ern Europe with large Serb diaspora). Routes, both domestic and international, a
re served by more than 100 bus companies, biggest of which are Lasta and Ni -Ekspr
es. As of 2011, there are 1,677,510 registered passenger cars or 1 passenger car
per 4.3 inhabitants.[37]
Serbian Railways , Stadler FLIRT.
Serbia has 3,819 kilometers of rail tracks, of which 1,279 are electrified and 2
83 kilometers are double-track railroad.[37] The major rail hub is Belgrade (and
to a lesser degree Ni ), while the most important railroads include: Belgrade-Bar
(Montenegro), Belgrade- id-Zagreb (Croatia)/Belgrade-Ni -Sofia (Bulgaria) (part of
Pan-European Corridor X), Belgrade-Subotica-Budapest (Hungary) and Ni -Thessalonik
i (Greece). Although still a major mode of freight transportation, railroads fac
e increasing problems with the maintenance of the infrastructure and lowering sp
eeds. All rail services are operated by public rail company, Serbian Railways.[2
29] There are only two cities in Serbia (excluding Kosovo) served by internation
al airports with regular passenger traffic: Belgrade and Ni . Belgrade Nikola Tesl
a Airport served 4.77 million passengers in 2015, and is a hub of flagship carri
er Air Serbia.[230]
Serbia has a developed inland water transport since there are 1,716 kilometers o
f navigable inland waterways (1,043 km of navigable rivers and 673 km of navigab
le canals), which are almost all located in northern third of the country.[37] T
he most important inland waterway is the Danube (part of Pan-European Corridor V
II). Other navigable rivers include Sava, Tisza, Begej and Timis River, all of w
hich connect Serbia with Northern and Western Europe through the Rhine Main Danube C
anal and North Sea route, to Eastern Europe via the Tisza, Begej and Danube Blac
k Sea routes, and to Southern Europe via the Sava river. More than 2.1 million t
ons of cargo were transported on Serbian rivers and canals in 2011 while the lar
gest river ports are: Belgrade, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Smederevo, Prahovo and abac.[3
7][231]
Telecommunications
Main article: Telecommunications in Serbia
Fixed telephone lines connect 89% of households in Serbia, and with about 9.8 mi
llion users the number of cellphones surpasses the total population of Serbia by
35%. The largest cellphone provider is Telekom Srbija with 5.65 million subscri
bers, followed by Telenor with 3.1 million users and Vip mobile with just over 1
million.[232] Computers are in 59.9% of households and 55.8% have an internet c
onnection (43.4% have a broadband connection).[233] Some 58% of households have
cable TV, which is one of the highest rates in Europe.[234] Digital television t
ransition has been completed in 2015.[235]
Tourism
Main article: Tourism in Serbia
Serbia is not a mass-tourism destination but nevertheless has a diverse range of
touristic products.[236] In 2014, total of almost 2.2 million tourists were rec
orded in accommodations, of which just over 1 million were foreign.[237] Foreign
exchange earnings from tourism were estimated at $1.14 billion.[238]
Tourism is mainly focused on the mountains and spas of the country, which are mo
stly visited by domestic tourists, as well as Belgrade which is preferred choice
of foreign tourists.[239] The most famous mountain resorts are Kopaonik, Stara
Planina, and Zlatibor. There are also many spas in Serbia, the biggest of which
is Vrnjacka Banja, Soko Banja, and Banja Koviljaca. City-break and conference to
urism is developed in Belgrade (which was visited by 517,401 foreign tourists in
2013, more than a half of all international visits to the country) and to a les
ser degree Novi Sad.[240] Other touristic products that Serbia offer are natural
wonders like avolja varo ,[241] Christian pilgrimage to the many Orthodox monaster
ies across the country[242] and the river cruising along the Danube. There are s
everal internationally popular music festivals held in Serbia, such as EXIT (wit
h 25 30,000 foreign visitors coming from 60 different countries) and the Guca trum
pet festival.[243]