Serbia

• 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)

• extremely varied;
• to the north, rich fertile plains;
• to the east, limestone ranges and basins;
• to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills

agricultural land:

40.4% (2023 est.)

arable land:

31% (2023 est.)

permanent crops:

2.5% (2023 est.)

permanent pasture:

6.6% (2023 est.)

forest:

40.4% (2023 est.)

other:

27.2% (2023 est.)

noun:

Serb(s)

adjective:

Serbian

total:

44.1 years (2025 est.)

male:

42.4 years

female:

45.4 years

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.71 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

male:

5.1 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

3.9 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

75.3 years (2024 est.)

male:

72.7 years

female:

78.1 years

total:

7.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

3.24 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

1.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

2.37 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

36% (2025 est.)

male:

37.8% (2025 est.)

female:

34.5% (2025 est.)

women married by age 15:

1.2% (2019)

women married by age 18:

5.5% (2019)

• air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities;
• water pollution from industrial wastes in rivers;
• inadequate management of domestic, industrial, and hazardous waste

• 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)

agricultural land:

40.4% (2023 est.)

arable land:

31% (2023 est.)

permanent crops:

2.5% (2023 est.)

permanent pasture:

6.6% (2023 est.)

forest:

40.4% (2023 est.)

other:

27.2% (2023 est.)

urban population:

57.1% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.04% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data include Kosovo

municipal solid waste generated annually:

2.347 million tons (2024 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

1% (2022 est.)

municipal:

702 million cubic meters (2022)

industrial:

3.967 billion cubic meters (2022)

agricultural:

422 million cubic meters (2022)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

1

global geoparks and regional networks:

Djerdap (2023)

conventional long form:

Republic of Serbia

conventional short form:

Serbia

local long form:

Republika Srbija

local short form:

Srbija

former:

People's Republic of Serbia, Socialist Republic of Serbia

etymology:

the country takes its name from the Serb people; the origin of their name is unclear but may derive from the Caucasian root word ser , meaning "man"

name:

Belgrade (Beograd)

geographic coordinates:

44 50 N, 20 30 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

etymology:

the name comes from the Serbian words beo (white) and grad (city); it probably referred to the white stone of the city fortress

history:

many previous; latest adopted 30 September 2006, approved by referendum 28-29 October 2006, effective 8 November 2006

amendment process:

• proposed by at least one third of deputies in the National Assembly, by the president of the republic, by the government, or by petition of at least 150,000 voters;
• passage of proposals and draft amendments each requires at least two-thirds majority vote in the Assembly;
• amendments to constitutional articles including the preamble, constitutional principles, and human and minority rights and freedoms also require passage by simple majority vote in a referendum

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Serbia

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

3 years

chief of state:

President Aleksandar VUCIC (since 31 May 2017)

head of government:

Prime Minister Djuro MACUT (since 16 April 2025)

cabinet:

Cabinet elected by the National Assembly

election/appointment process:

• president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• prime minister elected by the National Assembly

most recent election date:

17 December 2023

election results:

• 2022: Aleksandar VUCIC reelected in first round;
• percent of vote - Aleksandar VUCIC (SNS) 60%, Zdravko PONOS (US) 18.9%, Milos JOVANOVIC (NADA) 6.1%, Bosko OBRADOVIC (Dveri-POKS) 4.5%, Milica DJURDJEVIC STAMENKOVSKI (SSZ) 4.3%, other 6.2%

;

• 2017: Aleksandar VUCIC elected president in first round;
• percent of vote - Aleksandar VUCIC (SNS) 55.1%, Sasa JANKOVIC (independent) 16.4%, Luka MAKSIMOVIC (independent) 9.4%, Vuk JEREMIC (independent) 5.7%, Vojislav SESELJ (SRS) 4.5%, other 7.3%, invalid/blank 1.6%;
• Prime Minister Ana BRNABIC reelected by the National Assembly on 5 October 2020;
• National Assembly vote - NA

expected date of next election:

2028

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Cassation (consists of 36 judges, including the court president);
• Constitutional Court (consists of 15 judges, including the court president and vice president)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court justices proposed by the High Judicial Council (HJC), an 11-member independent body consisting of 8 judges elected by the National Assembly and 3 ex-officio members;
• justices appointed by the National Assembly;
• Constitutional Court judges elected - 5 each by the National Assembly, the president, and the Supreme Court of Cassation;
• initial appointment of Supreme Court judges by the HJC is 3 years and beyond that period tenure is permanent;
• Constitutional Court judges elected for 9-year terms

subordinate courts:

basic courts, higher courts, appellate courts; courts of special jurisdiction include the Administrative Court, commercial courts, and misdemeanor courts

• Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM or VMSZ
• Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina or DSHV
• Democratic Party or DS
• Ecological Uprising or EU
• Green - Left Front or ZLF
• Greens of Serbia or ZS
• Justice and Reconciliation Party or SPP (formerly Bosniak Democratic Union of Sandzak or BDZS)
• Movement for Reversal or PZP
• Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia or POKS
• Movement of Free Citizens or PSG
• Movement of Socialists or PS
• National Democratic Alternative or NADA (electoral coalition includes NDSS and POKS)
• New Communist Party of Yugoslavia or NKPJ
• New Democratic Party of Serbia or NDSS or New DSS (formerly Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS)
• New Face of Serbia or NLS
• Party of Democratic Action of the Sandzak or SDAS
• Party of Freedom and Justice or SSP
• Party of United Pensioners, Farmers, and Proletarians of Serbia – Solidarity and Justice or PUPS - Solidarity and Justice (formerly Party of United Pensioners of Serbia or PUPS)
• People's Movement of Serbia or NPS
• People's Movement of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija or Fatherland
• People's Peasant Party or NSS
• Political Battle of the Albanians Continues
• Russian Party or RS
• Serbia Against Violence or SPN (electoral coalition includes DS, SSP, ZLF, Zajedno, NPS, PSG, EU, PZP, USS Sloga, NLS, Fatherland)
• Serbia Must Not Stop (electoral coalitions includes SNS, SDPS, PUPS, PSS, SNP, SPO, PS, NSS, USS)
• Serbian People's Party or SNP
• Serbian Progressive Party or SNS
• Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO
• Social Democratic Party of Serbia or SDPS
• Socialist Party of Serbia or SPS
• Strength of Serbia or PSS
• Together or ZAJEDNO
• United Peasant Party or USS
• United Serbia or JS
• United Trade Unions of Serbia "Sloga" or USS Sloga
• We - The Voice from the People or MI-GIN

chief of mission:

Ambassador Dragan ŠUTANOVAC (since 24 July 2025)

chancery:

1333 16th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 507-8654

FAX:

[1] (202) 332-3933

email address and website:

[email protected]; http://www.washington.mfa.gov.rs/

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Alexander TITOLO (since January 2025)

embassy:

92 Bulevar kneza Aleksandra Karadjordjevica, 11040 Belgrade

mailing address:

5070 Belgrade Place, Washington, DC 20521-5070

telephone:

[381] (11) 706-4000

FAX:

[381] (11) 706-4481

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://rs.usembassy.gov/

• 5 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro);
• notable earlier dates: 1217 (Serbian Kingdom established);
• 16 April 1346 (Serbian Empire established);
• 13 July 1878 (Congress of Berlin recognizes Serbian independence);
• 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes established, later known as Yugoslavia)

description:

• three equal horizontal stripes of red (top), blue, and white;
• the national coat of arms is shifted to the left side;
• the principal field of the coat of arms displays a two-headed white eagle on a red shield;
• a smaller red shield on the eagle is divided into four quarters by a white cross;
• a royal crown is on top of the coat of arms

meaning:

• red, blue, and white are the pan-Slav colors that represent freedom and revolutionary ideals;
• the eagle on a red shield represents the government;
• the smaller shield represents the country;
• the meaning and origin of the curved white symbols in each quarter are not clear

note: the pan-Slav colors were inspired by Russia's flag

title:

"Boze pravde" (God of Justice)

lyrics/music:

Jovan DORDEVIC/Davorin JENKO

history:

adopted 1904; song originally written as part of a play in 1872, and the Serbian people have used it as an anthem in the 20th and 21st centuries

total World Heritage Sites:

4 (all cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Stari Ras and Sopoćani;
• Studenica Monastery;
• Gamzigrad-Romuliana, Palace of Galerius;
• Stećci Medieval Tombstone Graveyards

• 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

agriculture:

3.1% (2024 est.)

industry:

23.3% (2024 est.)

services:

58.5% (2024 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

22.7% (2024 est.)

male:

21.8% (2024 est.)

female:

24.1% (2024 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

24.1% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

7.8% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.4% (2022 est.)

highest 10%:

24.7% (2022 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

production:

33.219 million metric tons (2023 est.)

consumption:

37.828 million metric tons (2023 est.)

exports:

16,000 metric tons (2023 est.)

imports:

4.542 million metric tons (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

7.112 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

total petroleum production:

13,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

88,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

77.5 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

336.605 million cubic meters (2023 est.)

consumption:

2.886 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

imports:

2.471 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

48.139 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• the military's inventory consists of a mix of Soviet/Cold War-era and some more modern weapons systems from suppliers such as China, France, and Russia;
• Serbia has a defense industry focused on armored vehicles, artillery systems, and munitions (2025)

refugees:

36,270 (2024 est.)

IDPs:

194,171 (2024 est.)

stateless persons:

1,715 (2024 est.)