"text":"<p>The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Communist Partisans resisted the Axis occupation and division of Yugoslavia from 1941 to 1945 and fought nationalist opponents and collaborators as well. The military and political movement headed by Josip Broz \"TITO\" (Partisans) took full control of Yugoslavia when their domestic rivals and the occupiers were defeated in 1945. Although communists, TITO and his successors (Tito died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In 1989, Slobodan MILOSEVIC became president of the Republic of Serbia and his ultranationalist 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 April 1992 and under MILOSEVIC's leadership, Serbia led various military campaigns to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a \"Greater Serbia.\"Theseactionsultimatelyfailedand,afterinternationalintervention,ledtothesigningoftheDaytonPeaceAccordsin1995.</p><p>MILOSEVICretainedcontroloverSerbiaandeventuallybecamepresidentoftheFRYin1997.In1998,anethnicAlbanianinsurgencyintheformerlyautonomousSerbianprovinceofKosovoprovokedaSerbiancounterinsurgencycampaignthatresultedinmassacresandmassiveexpulsionsofethnicAlbanianslivinginKosovo.TheMILOSEVICgovernment'srejectionofaproposedinternationalsettlementledtoNATO'sbombingofSerbiainthespringof1999.SerbianmilitaryandpoliceforceswithdrewfromKosovoinJune1999,andtheUNSecurityCouncilauthorizedaninterimUNadministrationandaNATO-ledsecurityforceinKosovo.FRYelectionsinlate2000ledtotheousterofMILOSEVICandtheinstallationofdemocraticgovernment.In2003,theFRYbecametheStateUnionofSerbiaandMontenegro,aloosefederationofthetworepublics.WidespreadviolencepredominantlytargetingethnicSerbsinKosovoinMarch2004ledtomoreintensecallstoaddressKosovo'sstatus,andtheUNbeganfacilitatingstatustalksin2006.InJune2006,Montenegrosecededfromthefederationanddeclareditselfanindependentnation.SerbiasubsequentlygavenoticethatitwasthesuccessorstatetotheunionofSerbiaandMontenegro.</p><p>InFebruary2008,afternearlytwoyearsofinconclusivenegotiations,KosovodeclareditselfindependentofSerbia-anactionSerbiarefusestorecognize.AtSerbia'srequest,theUNGeneralAssembly(UNGA)inOctober2008soughtanadvisoryopinionfromtheInternationalCourtofJustice(ICJ)onwhetherKosovo'sunilateraldeclarationofindependencewasinaccordancewithinternationallaw.InarulingconsideredunfavorabletoSerbia,theICJissuedanadvisoryopinioninJuly2010statingthatinternationallawdidnotprohibitdeclarationsofindependence.Inlate2010,SerbiaagreedtoanEU-draftedUNGAResolutionacknowledgingtheICJ'sdecisionandcallingforanewroundoftalksbetweenSerbiaandKosovo,thistimeonpracticalissuesratherthanKosovo'sstatus.SerbiaandKosovosignedthefirstagreementofprinciplesgoverningthenormalizationofrelationsbetweenthetwocountriesinApril2013andareintheprocessofimplementingitsprovisions.In2015,SerbiaandKosovoreachedfouradditionalagreementswithintheEU-ledBrusselsDialogueframework.TheseincludedagreementsontheCommunityofSerb-MajorityMunicipalities;telecommunications;energyproductionanddistribution;andfreedomofmovement.PresidentAleksandarVUCIChaspromotedanambitiousgoalofSerbiajoiningtheEUby2025.Underhisleadershipasprimeminister,in2014Serbiaopenedformalnegotiationsforaccession.In2023,VUCICandKosovanPrimeMinisterAlbinKURTIverballyagreedontheImplementationAnnextotheAgreemen
"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":"Danube (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, 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":"Danube (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, 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)"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Prime Minister Ana BRNABIC (since 29 June 2017)"
"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 3 April 2022 (next to be held in April 2027); prime minister elected by the National Assembly; note - in October 2020 President VUCIC called for early elections"
"text":"<em>2022:</em> Aleksandar VUCIC reelected in the 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 the 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%, Bosko OBRADOVIC (Dveri) 2.3%, other 5.0%, invalid/blank 1.6%; Prime Minister Ana BRNABIC reelected by the National Assembly on 5 October 2020"
"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 - Together We Can Do Everything 44.2%, UZPS 14.1%, Ivica Dacic - Prime Minister 11.8%, NADA 5.6%, We Must 4.9%, Dveri-POKS 3.9%, SSZ 3.8%, other 11.7%; seats by party/coalition - Together We Can Do Everything 120, UZPS 38, Ivica Dacic - Prime Minister 31, NADA 15, We Must 13, Dveri-POKS 10, SSZ 10, SVM 6, SPP 3, other 4; composition - men 150, women 100, percent of women 40%"
"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":"Albanian Democratic Alternative (coalition of ethnic Albanian parties) [Shaip KAMBERI]<br>Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM or VMSZ [Istvan PASZTOR]<br>Better Serbia or BS [Dragan JOVANOVIC]<br>Democratic Party or DS [Zoran LUTOVAC]<br>Dveri [Bosko OBRADOVIC]<br>Greens of Serbia or ZS [Ivan KARIC]<br>Ivica Dacic - Prime Minister of Serbia [Ivica DACIC] (electoral coalition includes SPS, JS, ZS)<br>Justice and Reconciliation Party or SPP [Usame ZUKORLIC] (formerly Bosniak Democratic Union of Sandzak or BDZS)<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] (coalition includes DSS and POKS)<br>New Democratic Party of Serbia or NDSS or New DSS [Milos JOVANOVIC] (formerly Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS)<br>Party of Democratic Action of the Sandzak or SDA [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 Party or NS or Narodna [Vuk JEREMIC]<br>People's Peasant Party or NSS [Marijan RISTICEVIC]<br>Serbian Party Oathkeepers or SSZ [Milica DJURDJEVIC STAMENKOVSKI]<br>Serbian People's Party or SNP [Nenad POPOVIC]<br>Serbian Progressive Party or SNS [Aleksandar VUCIC]<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 for Serbia or ZZS [Nebojsa ZELENOVIC]<br>Together We Can Do Everything [Milenko JOVANOV] (electoral coalition includes SNS, SDPS, PUPS, PSS, SNP, SPO, PS, NSS, USS, BS)<br>United for the Victory of Serbia or UZPS (includes NS, SSP, DS, PSG) (dissolved April 2022)<br>United Peasant Party or USS [Milija MILETIC]<br>United Serbia or JS [Dragan MARKOVIC]<br>We Must or Moramo [Nebojsa ZELENOVIC, Dobrica VESELINOVIC, Aleksandar JOVANOVIC CUTA, Biljana STOJKOVIC, Radomir LAZOVIC, Biljana DORDEVIC]",
"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)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"Serbian Armed Forces (Vojska Srbije, VS): Land Forces (includes Riverine Component, consisting of a naval flotilla on the Danube), Air and Air Defense Forces, Serbian Guard; Serbian Ministry of Interior: General Police Directorate (2023)",
"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 Russian and Soviet-era weapons systems; in recent years, Russia has been the largest suppliers of arms to Serbia; China has also provided a growing amount of arms (2023)"
"text":"the Serbian Armed Forces were established in June 2006; the Serbian military traces its origins to the First (1804-1813) and Second (1815-1817) Uprisings against the Ottoman Empire<br><br>Serbia does not aspire to join NATO, but has cooperated with the Alliance since 2006 when it joined the Partnership for Peace program; Serbia also maintains security ties with Russia and China (2023)"
"text":"<p><em>Serbia-Bosnia and Herzegovina</em>: Serbia delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute</p> <p><em>Serbia-Bulgaria</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Serbia-Croatia</em>: Serbia and Croatia dispute their border along the Danube; Serbia claims the border is the median between the current Danube shorelines, with the land to the eastern side of the median belonging to Serbia; Croatia contends that the boundary is demarcated according to historic maps, despite the river having meandered since then</p> <p><em>Serbia-Hungary</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Serbia-Kosovo</em>: Serbia with several other states protested the US and other states' recognition of Kosovo's declaration of its status as a sovereign and independent state in February 2008; ethnic Serbian municipalities along Kosovo's northern border challenge final status of Kosovo-Serbia boundary; since 1999, NATO-led Kosovo Force peacekeepers under UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) authority have continued to keep the peace within Kosovo between the ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority; in October 2021, NATO-led KFOR increased patrols along the border with Serbia to deescalate hostilities caused by a dispute over license plates</p> <p><em>Serbia-Montenegro</em>: theformer republic boundary servesas the boundary untila line isformallydelimited anddemarcated</p> <p><em>Serbia-North Macedonia</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Serbia-Romania</em>: none identified</p>"
"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; Serbia investigated more suspects, revised indicators to identify victims among schoolchildren, and increased resources for the Center for Protection of Trafficking Victims; officials developed a coordination body to support victims during criminal proceedings, formed four Special Working Groups for anti-trafficking issues, and designated an Ombudsman on trafficking; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous year to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; there were no proactive efforts to identify victims, and implementation of standard operating procedures remained inadequate; an anti-trafficking council did not meet, and the government did not adopt the 2021-2022 National Action Plan; official complicity in trafficking crimes remained a concern; therefore, Serbia was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List (2022)"
},
"trafficking profile":{
"text":"human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Serbia, as well as Serbians abroad; Serbian women are exploited in sex trafficking in Serbia, neighboring countries, and throughout Europe, particularly in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Turkey; Serbian nationals, primarily men, are exploited in forced labor in labor-intensive sectors in European countries—including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Russia, and Switzerland—and the United Arab Emirates; children, particularly Roma, are victims within the country in sex trafficking, forced labor, forced begging, and petty crime; foreign victims in Serbia are from Albania, Cameroon, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Mali, Nigeria, North Macedonia, and Pakistan; 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 of Vietnamese victims of forced labor and instead states the workers are not trafficking victims (2022)"
"text":"<p>drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets</p>"