Serbia

GDP/capita CAGR

6.4%

Unemployment (2025)

7.1%

Gini index (2023)

32.8

CO2/capita (n/a)

n/a

Serbia: strong, sustained growth, 1995–2025

Post-Yugoslav-war economic reconstruction and sanctions in the 1990s gave way to gradual EU-accession-linked reform and foreign manufacturing investment in the 2000s and 2010s. Between 1995 and 2025, Serbia's GDP per capita grew from $2,349 to $15,262 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% — strong, sustained growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 3.2% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 3.9 points, reflecting relatively stable macroeconomic conditions. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 14.2% to 3.3% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 44.1% to 59.7% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 71.0 to 76.0 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 37.8% to 70.6%, while the urban population share grew from 46.2% to 62.6%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: income inequality (Gini index) widened from 32.7 to 32.8; the poverty headcount ratio increased from 0.4% to 1.1%.

What it trades

Top exported and imported products, approximate share of total trade value.

Top exports

Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television ...15.2%

Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof8.2%

Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof6.5%

Copper and articles thereof5.3%

Rubber and articles thereof5.1%

Ores, slag and ash4.5%

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral ...3.9%

Plastics and articles thereof3.9%

Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishings; ...3.2%

Edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit or melons2.5%

Top imports

Commodities not elsewhere specified14.3%

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral ...10.4%

Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television ...9.7%

Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof8.6%

Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories thereof5.0%

Plastics and articles thereof4.9%

Pharmaceutical products4.5%

Articles of iron or steel2.5%

Iron and steel2.2%

Aluminium and articles thereof2.2%

Events shaping this economy

Central bank perspective

Why the charts below look the way they do, drawing on the country’s own central bank and monetary authority.

Leading companies in Serbia

NIS · Energy Delta Holding · Conglomerate Banca Intesa Beograd · Banking MK Group · Agriculture Telekom Srbija · Telecom