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flag Serbia Serbia: Economic and Political Outline

Economic Indicators | Foreign Trade in Figures | Sources of General Economic Information | Political Outline

Economic Indicators

After several years of economic euphoria, Serbia was hit by the crisis at the end of 2008. Since then, private consumption and investment have regressed. The shy recovery observed since 2010 is essentially driven by foreign demand. The economic model developped by the Serbian authorities now favors exports, considering the contry's assets: its geographic location and the quality of its workforce.

The contraction of the Serbian GDP is mostly due to a sharp fall in domestic demand (-6.8%), resulting from a drop in consumption due to a reduction of buying power, which can be explained by the stagnation of wages and the real depreciation of the dinar as well as by an increase in unemployment. The rate of unemployment, whcih according to the official statistics affects nearly 20% of the workforce, is one of the highest in Europe.

The country again recorded a moderate growth in 2010, thanks to, in particular, the resumption of exports. In 2011 growth reached 2% but should slow down again in 2012. Today, the living standard of the Serbian population only represents 37% of the average living standard in the 27 member states of the EU.

The country's authorities benefit from the support of the European Union and of international financial institutions (World Bank, EIB, EBRD), which are able to mobilize over EUR 1 billion per year in order to modernize the country's infrastructures and support business investment.

In 2012,  the government's priority should be to control inflation, as well as to fight against unemployment, which remains of the country's problems.

 
Main Indicators 2009201020112012 (e)2013 (e)
GDP (billions USD) 40.1438.0146.4449.0152.52
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) -3.51.02.03.04.5
GDP per Capita (USD) 5,4385,1396,2676,6007,058
General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) 38.244.944.144.543.1
Inflation Rate (%) 8.16.211.3e4.33.7
Unemployment Rate (% of the Labor Force) 17.419.620.520.619.5
Current Account (billions USD) -2.86-2.75-3.57e-4.38-4.55
Current Account (in % of GDP) -7.1e-7.2e-7.7e-8.7-

Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database ; World Bank , Last Available Data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

Main Sectors of Industry

The agricultural sector represents 10% of the country's national revenue. Serbia has significant quantities of coal, lead, zinc, copper and gold, but the lack of investment which has affected the mining sector for several years prevents the country's economy from benefiting from this wealth.

The industry sector is very outdated and in need of strong foreign investment.  It contributes up to 28% to the country's GDP.

Services make up the main sector of activity, representing 62% of Serbia's GDP.

 
Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector Agriculture Industry Services
Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) 24.0 25.1 50.8
Value Added (in % of GDP) 12.9 27.7 59.5
Value Added (Annual % Change) - - -

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

 

Find more information about your business sector on our service Market reports.

 
Monetary Indicators 20062007200820092010
Serbian Dinar (RSD) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD 67.1558.4555.7267.5877.73

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

 

Find out all the exchange rates daily on our service Currency converter.

 
Learn more about Market Analyses about Serbia on Globaltrade.net, the Directory for International Trade Service Providers.
 

Indicator of Economic Freedom

Score:
58.0/100
Position:
Mostly unfree
World Rank:
96/179
Regional Rank:
37/42

Distribution of Economic freedom in the world
Source: 2011 Index of Economic freedom, Heritage Foundation

Note: The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.

 

Country Risk

See the Country Risk Analysis Provided By Ducroire.

 

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Foreign Trade in Figures

Serbia is gradually becoming more open to international trade. The perspective of an association agreement with the European Union and the steady growth of the direct foreign investment inflows should, however, lead to an increase in the volume of foreign trade.

Serbia's main customers are Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany and Montenegro, to whom it exports iron, steel, manufactured goods and foodstuffs (fruits and vegetables, clothing, cereals...). Exports of services are relatively low.

Russia, Germany, Italy and China are Serbia's main suppliers. Serbia buys a great variety of manufactured goods and hydrocarbons.

In the context of the international economic crisis, the deficit in foreign trade - which reached more than EUR 9 billion in 2008-2009, which means an increase of 25% in relation to 2007 - was 6.9 billion in 2010.

The country depends on the economic health of its trading partners and its products are still difficult to sell due to their lack of quality in comparison with other European products. As a result, the trade balance in 2011 was again negative.

 
Foreign Trade Indicators 20072008200920102011
Imports of Goods (million USD) 19,16424,33116,05616,73020,139
Exports of Goods (million USD) 8,82510,9728,3459,79511,777
Imports of Services (million USD) 3,4564,2393,4063,4773,958
Exports of Services (million USD) 3,1404,0023,4783,5254,174
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 26.09.3-17.3-4.0-
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 17.28.9-12.4-0.4-
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 54.153.745.347.6-
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 30.230.428.330.9-
Trade Balance (million USD) -9,649-12,518-7,129-6,344-
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) -10,003-12,786-7,098-6,338-
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 84.384.173.778.5-

Source: WTO - World Trade Organization ; World Bank , Last Available Data

 

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers
(% of Exports)
2010
Italy 11.4%
Bosnia and Herzegovina 11.1%
Germany 10.3%
Montenegro 8.2%
Romania 6.6%
See More Countries 52.3%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2010
Russia 12.9%
Germany 10.6%
Italy 8.6%
China 7.2%
Hungary 4.8%
See More Countries 56.0%

Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data

 

Main Products

Main Exports
(% of Exports)
2010
Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel,...Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width >= 600 mm, hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated 6.2%
Maize or cornMaize or corn 3.4%
Fruit and nuts, uncooked or cooked by steaming or...Fruit and nuts, uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water, frozen, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter 2.6%
New pneumatic tyres, of rubberNew pneumatic tyres, of rubber 2.4%
Electrical energyElectrical energy 2.4%
See More Products 82.9%
Main Imports
(% of Imports)
2010
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude 6.5%
Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons 5.7%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 2.3%
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) 1.8%
Coke and semi-coke of coal, of lignite or of peat,...Coke and semi-coke of coal, of lignite or of peat, whether or not agglomerated; retort carbon 1.7%
See More Products 82.1%

Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import export flows.

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Sources of General Economic Information

Ministries
Ministry of Finance
Statistical Office
Statistics Office of Serbia
Central Bank
National Bank of Serbia
Stock Exchange
Belgrade Stock Exchange
Search Engines
Google Serbia
Cruiser
Serbian Cafe
Yusearch
Economic Portals
Ekonomist
Portal for economic information about Serbia

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Political Outline

Executive Power
Executive power is held by the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. The President is elected for a 5 year term by direct universal suffrage, and can be elected twice. He has exceptional powers in case of a state of emergency and can dissolve the National Assembly. The government and its members, on the other hand, are accountable to the National Assembly.
Legislative Power
Legislative power is held by the National Assembly, which consists of 250 Members elected for a 4 year term by direct universal suffrage.
Main Political Parties
DS, Democratic Party (Boris TADIC)
DSS, Serbian Democratic Party (Vojislav KOSTUNICA)
G17 Plus (Mladjan DINKIC)
NS, New Serbia (Velimir ILIC)
SPO, Movement for Serbian Revival (Vuk DRASKOVIC)
SPS, Serbian Socialist Party (Ivica DACIC)
SRS, Serbian Radical Party (Tomislav NIKOLIC)
Current Political Leaders
President of the Republic: Boris TADIC (Democratic Party, DS), elected on 28 June 2004, re-elected in February 2008.
Prime Minister: Mirko CVETKOVIC (since 7 July 2008).
Next Election Dates
Presidential: 2013
Parliamentary: 2012
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:
80/179
Evolution:
5 places up compared to 2010

Note: The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position is assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
2/7
Civil Liberties:
2/7

Map of freedom 2010

Note: The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

 

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