"text":"<p>In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. The monarchy remained in power until 1945, when the communist Partisans headed by Josip Broz (aka TITO) took control of the newly created Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). After TITO died in 1980, communism in Yugoslavia gradually gave way to resurgent nationalism. In 1989, Slobodan MILOSEVIC became president of the Republic of Serbia, and his calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakup of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in 1992, and MILOSEVIC led military campaigns to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a \"Greater Serbia.\" These actions ultimately failed, and international intervention led to the signing of the Dayton Accords in 1995.</p> <p>In 1998, an ethnic Albanian insurgency in the formerly autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo resulted in a brutal Serbian counterinsurgency campaign. Serbia rejected a proposed international settlement, and NATO responded with a bombing campaign that forced Serbian forces to withdraw from Kosovo in June 1999. In 2003, the FRY became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics. In 2006, Montenegro seceded and declared itself an independent nation.</p> <p>In 2008, Kosovo also declared independence -- an action Serbia still refuses to recognize. In 2013, Serbia and Kosovo signed the first agreement of principles governing the normalization of relations between the two countries. Additional agreements were reached in 2015 and 2023, but implementation remains incomplete. Serbia has been an official candidate for EU membership since 2012, and President Aleksandar VUCIC has promoted the ambitious goal of Serbia joining the EU by 2025.</p>"
"text":"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)"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills"
"text":"Dunav (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> most ethnic Albanians boycotted the 2011 census; Romani populations are usually underestimated in official statistics and may represent 5–11% of Serbia's population"
"text":"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.)"
"text":"<br>Knjiga svetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube; inadequate management of domestic, industrial, and hazardous waste"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"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)"
"text":"Dunav (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"People's Republic of Serbia, Socialist Republic of Serbia"
},
"etymology":{
"text":"the origin of the name is uncertain, but seems to be related to the name of the West Slavic Sorbs who reside in the Lusatian region in present-day eastern Germany; by tradition, the Serbs migrated from that region to the Balkans in about the 6th century A.D."
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Belgrade (Beograd)"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"44 50 N, 20 30 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
"text":"the Serbian \"Beograd\" means \"white fortress\" or \"white city\" and dates back to the 9th century; the name derives from the white fortress wall that once enclosed the city"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the northern 37 municipalities and 8 cities - about 28% of Serbia's area - compose the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and are indicated with *"
"text":"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 (Yugoslavia) established)"
"text":"many previous; latest adopted 30 September 2006, approved by referendum 28-29 October 2006, effective 8 November 2006"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"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"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"civil law system"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of Serbia"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"yes"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"3 years"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"President Aleksandar VUCIC (since 31 May 2017)"
"text":"Acting Prime Minister Ivica DACIC (since 20 March 2024); note - former Prime Minister Ana BRNABIC stepped down on 20 March 2024 after her election as parliament speaker; Ivica DACIC will be acting prime minister until the next election (date not yet set)"
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 December 2023 (next to be held in 2028); prime minister elected by the National Assembly; note - on 1 November 2023 President VUCIC dissolved parliament and called for snap elections on 17 December 2023"
"text":"<br><em>2022:</em> 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%<br><br><em>2017:</em> 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"
"text":"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)"
"text":"percent of vote by party/coalition - Serbia Must Stop 48%, SPN 24.4%, SPS-JS-ZS 6.7%, NADA 5.2%, MI-GIN 4.8%, Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians 1.7%, SPP-DSHV 0.8%, SDAS 0.6%, Political Battle of the Albanians Continues 0.4%, RS-NKPJ 0.3%, other 7.1%; seats by party/coalition - Serbia Must Stop 128, SPN 65, SPS-JS-ZS 18, NADA 13, MI-GIN 13, Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians 6, SPP-DSHV 3, SDAS 2, Political Battle of the Albanians Continues 1, RS-NKPJ 1; composition as of February 2024 - men 155, women 95; percentage women 38%"
"text":"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)"
"text":"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"
"text":"basic courts, higher courts, appellate courts; courts of special jurisdiction include the Administrative Court, commercial courts, and misdemeanor courts"
"text":"Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM or VMSZ [Shepherd BALINT, acting]<br>Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina or DSHV [Tomislav ZIGMANOV]<br>Democratic Party or DS [Zoran LUTOVAC]<br>Ecological Uprising or EU [Aleksandar JOVANOVIC]<br>Green - Left Front or ZLF [Radomir LAZOVIC, Biljana DORDEVIC]<br>Greens of Serbia or ZS [Ivan KARIC]<br>Justice and Reconciliation Party or SPP [Usame ZUKORLIC] (formerly Bosniak Democratic Union of Sandzak or BDZS)<br>Movement for Reversal or PZP [Janko VESELINOVIC]<br>Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia or POKS [Vojislav MIHAILOVIC]<br>Movement of Free Citizens or PSG [Pavle GRBOVIC]<br>Movement of Socialists or PS [Aleksandar VULIN]<br>National Democratic Alternative or NADA [Milos JOVANOVIC and Vojislav MIHAILOVIC] (electoral coalition includes NDSS and POKS)<br>New Communist Party of Yugoslavia or NKPJ [Aleksandar BANJANAC]<br>New Democratic Party of Serbia or NDSS or New DSS [Milos JOVANOVIC] (formerly Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS)<br>New Face of Serbia or NLS [Milos PARANDICOVIC]<br>Party of Democratic Action of the Sandzak or SDAS [Sulejman UGLJANIN]<br>Party of Freedom and Justice or SSP [Dragan DJILAS]<br>Party of United Pensioners, Farmers, and Proletarians of Serbia – Solidarity and Justice or PUPS - Solidarity and Justice [Milan KRKOBABIC] (formerly Party of United Pensioners of Serbia or PUPS)<br>People's Movement of Serbia or NPS [Miroslav ALEKSIC]<br>People's Movement of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija or Fatherland [Stavica RISTIC]<br>People's Peasant Party or NSS [Marijan RISTICEVIC]<br>Political Battle of the Albanians Continues [Shaip KAMBERI]<br>Russian Party or RS [Slobodan NIKOLIC]<br>Serbia Against Violence or SPN [collective leadership] (electoral coalition includes DS, SSP, ZLF, Zajedno, NPS, PSG, EU, PZP, USS Sloga, NLS, Fatherland]<br>Serbia Must Not Stop [Milenko JOVANOV] (electoral coalitions includes SNS, SDPS, PUPS, PSS, SNP, SPO, PS, NSS, USS)<br>Serbian People's Party or SNP [Nenad POPOVIC]<br>Serbian Progressive Party or SNS [Miloš VUCEVIC]<br>Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC]<br>Social Democratic Party of Serbia or SDPS [Rasim LJAJIC]<br>Socialist Party of Serbia or SPS [Ivica DACIC]<br>Strength of Serbia or PSS [Bogoljub KARIC]<br>Together or ZAJEDNO [Biljana STOJKOVIC, Nebojsa ZELENOVIC]<br>United Peasant Party or USS [Milija MILETIC]<br>United Serbia or JS [Dragan MARKOVIC]<br>United Trade Unions of Serbia \"Sloga\" or USS Sloga [Zeljko VESELINOVIC]<br>We - The Voice from the People or MI-GIN [collective leadership)",
"note":"<strong>note</strong>: Serbia is an EU candidate country whose satisfactory completion of accession criteria is required before being granted full EU membership"
"text":"three equal horizontal stripes of red (top), blue, and white - the Pan-Slav colors representing freedom and revolutionary ideals; charged with the coat of arms of Serbia shifted slightly to the hoist side; the principal field of the coat of arms represents the Serbian state and displays a white two-headed eagle on a red shield; a smaller red shield on the eagle represents the Serbian nation, and is divided into four quarters by a white cross; interpretations vary as to the meaning and origin of the white, curved symbols resembling firesteels (fire strikers) or Cyrillic \"C's\" in each quarter; a royal crown surmounts the coat of arms",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted 1904; song originally written as part of a play in 1872 and has been used as an anthem by the Serbian people throughout the 20th and 21st centuries"
"text":"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"
"text":"Serbia’s telecom industry has been liberalized in line with the principles of the EU’s regulatory framework for communications, focused on encouraging competition in telecom products and services, and ensuring universal access; considerable network investment has been undertaken in Serbia by incumbent and alternative operators in recent years, despite economic difficulties; this has helped to stimulate internet usage, which has also been bolstered by improved affordability as prices are reduced through competition; the pandemic has stimulated consumer take up of services, particularly mobile data; the government’s various initiatives to improve rural broadband availability have also been supported by European development loans; Serbia’s high mobile services, partly the result of multiple SIM card use, has weighed on revenue growth in recent years, placing further pressure on operators to develop business models which encourage consumer use of mobile data services also in response to the continued substitution of fixed-line for mobile voice calls; the regulator has yet to auction 5G-suitable frequencies, though operators are already investing in their networks in preparation for this next growth frontier; during 2021 the regulator resumed the process towards a 5G spectrum auction, which had been delayed owing to the onset of the covid-19 pandemic (2022)"
"text":"Serbian Armed Forces (Vojska Srbije, VS): Army (aka Land Forces; includes Riverine Component, consisting of a naval flotilla on the Danube), Air and Air Defense Forces, Serbian Guard<br><br>Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs: General Police Directorate (2024)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the Serbian Guard is a brigade-sized unit that is directly subordinate to the Serbian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff; its duties include safeguarding key defense facilities and rendering military honors to top foreign, state, and military officials<br>"
"text":"the military's inventory consists of domestically produced equipment and weapons systems, as well as Russian, Yugoslav, and Soviet-era weapons systems; in recent years, China and Russia have been the largest suppliers of arms to Serbia (2023)"
"text":"the Serbian military is responsible for defense and deterrence against external threats, supporting international peacekeeping operations, and providing support to civil authorities for internal security; specific threat concerns of the military include extremism, separatism, and deepening international recognition of Kosovo; Serbia has cooperated with NATO since 2006, when it joined the Partnership for Peace program, and the military trains with NATO countries, particularly other Balkan states; Serbia has participated in EU peacekeeping missions, as well as missions under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the UN; it also maintains close security ties with Russia and has a growing security relationship with China<br><br>the modern Serbian military was established in 2006 but traces its origins back through World War II, World War I, the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, and the Bulgarian-Serb War of 1885 to the First (1804-1813) and Second (1815-1817) Uprisings against the Ottoman Empire; the military’s combat forces are organized into Army and Air and Defense commands under a General Staff, as well as some independent forces; the Army’s combat forces include four combined arms brigades and an artillery brigade, plus several independent battalions and a river flotilla; there are also independent brigades of parachute infantry, special operations, and security/guard forces, which are directly under the General Staff; the Air and Air Defense force is organized into brigades and squadrons of aircraft, air defense missiles, and early warning and surveillance; its combat aircraft include approximately 25 Russian- and Yugoslavian-made multirole and attack aircraft, as well as a force of attack and multirole helicopters (2023)"
"text":"Tier 2 Watch List — Serbia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government identified more victims and its Center for Protection of Trafficking Victims (CPTV) established a panel with a psychologist, educator, and social worker to conduct victim assessments within 24 hours of a referral; a court seized a house built from the profits of forced begging and gave ownership of the house to the victim as restitution; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared with the previous reporting period, to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; fewer investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of traffickers took place; officials decreased resources for the CPTV, despite its lack of staff, skills, and resources to assess victims, coordinate care, and run the CTPV shelter; standard operating procedures on victim identification remained unclear, and implementation was “recommended” rather than required; authorities inappropriately penalized victims with imprisonment, probation, and fines for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; the Anti-Trafficking Council has not met in three years, and the government has not adopted the 2021-2022 National Action Plan; official complicity in trafficking or inaction remained significant concerns; the government did not fully protect victims or fully investigate credible allegations that approximately 500 Vietnamese workers were subjected to forced labor at a factory owned by China; therefore, Serbia remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2023)"
"text":"human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Serbia, as well as Serbians abroad; Serbian women and girls are exploited in sex trafficking in Serbia, neighboring countries, and throughout Europe; Serbian nationals, primarily men, are exploited in forced labor in labor-intensive sectors, such as construction, in European countries—including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Russia, and Switzerland—and the UAE; children, particularly Roma, are victims within the country in sex trafficking, forced labor, forced begging, and petty crime; foreign victims in Serbia have been identified from Afghanistan, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cameroon, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, and Vietnam; thousands of migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia transiting through or stranded in Serbia are vulnerable to trafficking; the government has not reported fully investigating credible allegations during the past several years of Vietnamese victims of forced labor in a Chinese-owned factory and instead has stated that the workers are not trafficking victims; Chinese workers at the same factory conducted a strike during the reporting period over claims that they had not been paid (2023)"
"text":"<p>drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets</p>"
