Introduction
Background
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. In 1989, Yugoslavia broke up along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992. Montenegro and Serbia declared independence in 2006.
Geography
Area
total: 77,474 sq km
land: 77,474 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Climate
in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well-distributed rainfall); in other parts, continental and Mediterranean climate (relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall and hot, dry summers and autumns)
Natural resources
oil, gas, coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, chromite, gold, silver, magnesium, pyrite, limestone, marble, salt, arable land
People and Society
Population
6,693,375 (2023 est.)
Ethnic groups
Serb 83.3%, Hungarian 3.5%, Romani 2.1%, Bosniak 2%, other 5.7%, undeclared or unknown 3.4% (2011 est.)
Languages
Serbian (official) 88.1%, Hungarian 3.4%, Bosnian 1.9%, Romani 1.4%, other 3.4%, undeclared or unknown 1.8%; note - Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, and Ruthenian (Rusyn) are official in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina; most ethnic Albanians boycotted the 2011 census (2011 est.)
Religions
Orthodox 84.6%, Catholic 5%, Muslim 3.1%, Protestant 1%, atheist 1.1%, other 0.8% (includes agnostics, other Christians, Eastern, Jewish), undeclared or unknown 4.5% (2011 est.)
Population growth rate
-0.63% (2023 est.)
Government
Government type
parliamentary republic
Capital
name: Belgrade (Beograd)
Executive branch
chief of state: President Aleksandar VUCIC (since 31 May 2017)
head of government: Prime Minister Ana BRNABIC (since 29 June 2017)
Legislative branch
description: unicameral National Assembly or Narodna Skupstina (250 seats; members directly elected by party list proportional representation vote in a single nationwide constituency to serve 4-year terms)
Economy
Economic overview
upper middle-income Balkan economy; current EU accession candidate; hit by COVID-19; pursuing green growth development; manageable public debt; new anticorruption efforts; falling unemployment; historic Russian relations; energy import-dependent
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$135.534 billion (2021 est.)
$126.019 billion (2020 est.)
$127.168 billion (2019 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$19,800 (2021 est.)
$18,300 (2020 est.)
$18,300 (2019 est.)
Agricultural products
maize, wheat, sugar beet, milk, sunflower seed, potatoes, soybeans, plums/sloes, apples, barley
Industries
automobiles, base metals, furniture, food processing, machinery, chemicals, sugar, tires, clothes, pharmaceuticals
Remittances
7.29% of GDP (2021 est.)
7.25% of GDP (2020 est.)
8.23% of GDP (2019 est.)
Exports
$33.726 billion (2021 est.)
$25.5 billion (2020 est.)
$26.127 billion (2019 est.)
Exports - partners
Germany 12%, Italy 10%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 7%, Romania 6%, Russia 5% (2019)
Exports - commodities
insulated wiring, tires, corn, cars, iron products, copper (2019)
Imports
$39.039 billion (2021 est.)
$30.177 billion (2020 est.)
$31.286 billion (2019 est.)
Imports - partners
Germany 13%, Russia 9%, Italy 8%, Hungary 6%, China 5%, Turkey 5% (2019)
Imports - commodities
crude petroleum, cars, packaged medicines, natural gas, refined petroleum (2019)
Exchange rates
Serbian dinars (RSD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
99.396 (2021 est.)
103.163 (2020 est.)
105.25 (2019 est.)
100.175 (2018 est.)
107.759 (2017 est.)
Page last updated: Tuesday, December 26, 2023
