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Almost all of Serbia's rivers drain to the Black Sea, by way of the Danube river. The Danube, second largest European river, passes through Serbia with 588 kilometers (21% of its overall length) and represents country's largest source of fresh water. It is joined by its biggest tributaries, the Great Morava (longest river entirely in Serbia with 493 km of length), Sava and Tisza rivers.[97] One notable exception is the Pčinja which flows into the Aegean. Due to the configuration of the terrain, natural lakes are sparse and small; most of them are located in Vojvodina, like the glacial lake Palić (covering 6 square kilometers, country's largest natural lake) or numerous oxbow lakes along river flows (like Zasavica and Carska Bara). However, there are numerous artificial lakes, mostly due to hydroelectric dams, the biggest being Đerdap on Danube with 163 square kilometers on the Serbian side (a total area of 253 square kilometers is shared with Romania) as well as the deepest (with maximum depth of 92 meters); Perućac on the Drina, and Vlasina. The largest waterfall, Jelovarnik, located in Kopaonik, is 71 meters high.[98] Abundance of relatively unpolluted surface waters and numerous underground natural and mineral water sources of high water quality presents a chance for export and economy improvement; however, more extensive exploitation and production of bottled water began only recently. Environment See also: List of protected natural resources in Serbia Serbian Spruce tree endemic to Tara National Park White-head Vulture survives around Uvac Gorge With 29.1% of its territory covered by forest, Serbia is considered to be a middle-forested country. Forest coverage is, when compared on a global scale, similar to world forest coverage which accounts for 30%, but it is somewhat lower than the European average of 35%. The total forest area in Serbia is 2,252,000 hа (1,194,000 hа or 53% are state-owned, and 1,058,387 hа or 47% are privately owned) or 0.3 ha per inhabitant.[99] The most common trees are oak, beech, pines and firs. Serbia is a country of rich ecosystem and species diversity – covering only 1.9% of the whole European territory Serbia is home to 39% of European vascular flora, 51% of European fish fauna, 40% of European reptile and amphibian fauna, 74% of European bird fauna, 67% European mammal fauna.[100] Its abundance of mountains and rivers make it an ideal environment for a variety of animals, many of which are protected including wolves, lynx, bears, foxes and stags. Mountain of Tara in western Serbia is one of the last regions in Europe where bears can still live in absolute freedom.[101] Serbia is also home to about 380 species of bird, including the imperial eagle, the great bustard, the corn crake and the Madagascar pochard. In Carska Bara, there are over 300 bird species on just a few square kilometers.[102] Uvac Gorge is considered one of the last habitats of White-head vulture in Europe.[103] There are 377 protected areas of Serbia, encompassing 4,947 square kilometers or 6.4% of the country. The "Spatial plan of the Republic of Serbia" states that the total protected area should be increased to 12% by 2021.[100] Those protected areas include 5 national parks (Đerdap, Tara, Kopaonik, Fruška Gora and Šar Mountain), 15 nature parks, 15 "landscapes of outstanding features", 61 nature reserves, and 281 natural monuments.[98] Air pollution is a significant problem in Bor area, due to work of large copper mining and smelting complex, and Pančevo where oil and petrochemical industry is based.[104] Some cities suffer from water supply problems, due to mismanagement and low investments in the past, as well as water pollution (like the pollution of the Ibar River from the Trepča zinc-lead combinate, affecting the city of Kraljevo, or the presence of natural arsenic in underground waters in Zrenjanin). Poor waste management has been identified as one of the most important environmental problems in Serbia and the recycling is a fledgling activity, with only 15% of its waste being turned back for reuse.[105] The 1999 NATO bombing caused serious damage to the environment, with several thousand tons of toxic chemicals stored in targeted factories and refineries released into the soil and water basins. Politics Main articles: Politics of Serbia and List of political parties in Serbia House of the National Assembly in Belgrade Serbia is a parliamentary republic. Government in Serbia is divided into legislative, executive and judiciary branches. Serbia had one of the first modern constitutions in Europe, 1835 Constitution (known as "Sretenje Constitution"), which was at the time considered among the most progressive and liberal constitutions in the world. Since then it has adopted 10 different constitutions.[106] The current constitution was adopted on 8 November 2006 in the aftermath of Montenegro independence referendum which by consequence renewed the independence of Serbia itself.[107] The Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding the Constitution. The President of the Republic (Predsednik Republike) is the head of state, and elected by popular vote to a five-year term and is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of two terms. In addition to being the commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister with the consent of the parliament, and has some influence on foreign policy.[108] Tomislav Nikolić is the current president following the 2012 presidential election.[109] Seat of the presidency is Novi Dvor. The Government (Vlada) is composed of the prime minister and cabinet ministers. The Government is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and internal policies. The current prime minister is Ivica Dačić of the Socialist Party of Serbia.[110] The National Assembly (Narodna skupština) is a unicameral legislative body. The National Assembly has the power to enact laws, approve the budget, schedule presidential elections, select and dismiss the Prime Minister and other ministers, declare war, and ratify international treaties and agreements.[111] It is composed of 250 proportionally elected members who serve four-year terms. The largest political parties in Serbia are the centre-right Serbian Progressive Party, centre-left Democratic Party and leftist Socialist Party of Serbia.[112] Serbia has a three-tiered judicial system, made up of the Supreme Court of Cassation as the court of the last resort, Courts of Appeal as the appellate instance, and Basic and High courts as the general jurisdictions at first instance. Courts of special jurisdictions are the Administrative Court, commercial courts (including the Commercial Court of Appeal at second instance) and misdemeanour courts (including High Misdemeanor Court at second instance).[113] The judiciary is overseen by the Ministry of Justice. Serbia has a typical civil law legal system. Law enforcement is the responsibility of the Serbian Police, which is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. Serbian Police fields 26,527 uniformed officers.[114] National security and counterintelligence are the responsibility of the Security Information Agency (BIA).[115] Administrative divisions Main article: Administrative divisions of Serbia Serbia is a unitary state[116] composed of municipalities/cities, districts, and two autonomous provinces. There are 138 municipalities (opštine) and 23 cities (gradovi), which form the basic units of local self-government.[117] Serbia (excluding Kosovo) is organized into 25 districts (okruzi). Belgrade constitutes a district of its own.[118] They are regional centers of state authority, but have no powers of their own; they present purely administrative divisions. Belgrade is a separate territorial unit established by the Constitution and law,[119] Serbia has two autonomous provinces (autonomne pokrajine): Vojvodina in the north and claims Kosovo and Metohija[117] in the south, while the remaining area, termed Central Serbia, never had its own regional authority. Since 1999, the territory of Kosovo has officially been administered by UNMIK as per UNSC Resolution 1244 of the United Nations. The Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG), has an assembly and a president. On 17 February 2008, representatives of the people of Kosovo, acting outside the UNMIK's PISG framework (not representing the Assembly of Kosovo or any other of these institutions),[120] declared that Kosovo is independent from Serbia. Serbia does not recognize the declaration and considers the act illegal and illegitimate.[121] Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of Serbia See also: Accession of Serbia to the European Union and Political status of Kosovo Serbian embassy in Prague, Czech Republic Serbia has established diplomatic relations with 188 UN member states, the Holy See, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and the European Union.[122] Foreign relations are conducted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Serbia has a network of 65 embassies and 23 consulates internationally.[123] There are 65 foreign embassies, 5 consulates and 4 liaison offices in Serbia.[124] Serbian foreign policy is focused on achieving the strategic goal of becoming a member state of the European Union (EU). Serbia started the process of joining the EU by signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement on 29 April 2008 and officially applied for membership in the European Union on 22 December 2009.[125] It received a full candidate status on 1 March 2012 and started accession talks on 21 January 2014.[7][126] The province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. The declaration of independence has sparked varied responses from the international community, some welcoming it, while others condemn the unilateral move.[82] Serbia has consistently recalled its ambassadors from states which have recognized Kosovo, in protest.[127] Military Main articles: Serbian Armed Forces and Military history of Serbia The Serbian Armed Forces are subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, and are composed of the Army and the Air Force. Although a landlocked country, Serbia operates a river flotilla which patrols on the Danube, Sava, and Tisza rivers. The Serbian Chief of the General Staff reports to the Defence Minister. The Chief of Staff is appointed by the President, who is the Commander-in-chief.[108] As of 2012, Serbia defence budget amounts to $612 million or an estimated 1.6% of the country's GDP.[128] A Serbian Air Force MiG-29 in mid-takeoff Traditionally relying on a large number of conscripts, Serbian Armed Forces went through a period of downsizing, restructuring and professionalisation. Conscription was abolished on 1 January 2011.[129] Serbian Armed Forces have 28,000 active troops,[130] supplemented by the "active reserve" which numbers 20,000 members and "passive reserve" with about 170,000.[131][132] Serbia participates in the NATO Partnership for Peace program, but has shown no intention of joining NATO, due to significant popular rejection, largely derived from the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.[133] The country also signed the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. The Serbian Armed Forces take part in several multinational peacekeeping missions, including deployments in Lebanon, Cyprus, Ivory Coast, and Liberia.[134] Serbia is a large producer and exporter of military equipment in the region. Defence exports totaled around $250 million in 2011.[128] Serbia exports across the world, notably to the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and North America.[135] The defence industry has seen significant growth over the years and it continues to grow on a yearly basis.[136][137] Demographics Main articles: Demographics of Serbia and Demographic history of Serbia Ethnic composition (2011) Serbs 83.3% Hungarians 3.5% Roma 2.0% Bosniaks 2.0% Croats 0.8% Slovaks 0.7% Other 5.3% Unspecified 2.2% As of 2011 census, Serbia (excluding Kosovo) has a total population of 7,186,862 and the overall population density is medium as it stands at 92.8 inhabitants per square kilometer.[138] The census was not conducted in Kosovo which held its own census that numbered their total population at 1,739,825,[139] excluding Serb-inhabited North Kosovo, as Serbs from that area (about 50,000) boycotted the census. Serbia is in an acute demographic crisis since the beginning of the 1990s, as death rate has continuously exceeded its birth rate. It has one of the most negative population growth rates in the world, ranking 225th out of 233 countries and territories overall.[140] The total fertility rate of 1.44 children per mother, is one of the lowest in the world.[141] Serbia has a comparatively old overall population (among the 10 oldest in the world), with the average age of 42.2 years.[142] The life expectancy in Serbia at birth is 74.2 years.[143] A fifth of all households consist of only one person and just one-fourth of 4 and more persons.[144] During the 1990s, Serbia used to have the largest refugee population in Europe.[145] Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Serbia formed between 7% and 7.5% of its population – about half a million refugees sought refuge in the country following the series of Yugoslav wars, mainly from Croatia (and to a lesser extent from Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the IDPs from Kosovo.[146] Meanwhile, it is estimated that 300,000 people left Serbia during the 1990s, 20% of which had a higher education.[147][148] Serbs with 5,988,150 are the largest ethnic group in Serbia, representing 83.3% of the total population (excluding Kosovo). With a population of 253,899, Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority in Serbia, concentrated predominately in northern Vojvodina and representing 3.5% of the country's population (13% in Vojvodina). Roma population stands at 147,604 according to the 2011 census but unofficial estimates place their actual number between 400,000 and 500,000.[149] Bosniaks with 145,278 are third largest ethnic minority mainly inhabiting Raška region in southwestern part of the country. Other minority groups include Croats, Slovaks, Albanians, Montenegrins, Vlachs, Romanians, Macedonians and Bulgarians. The Chinese, estimated at about 15,000, are the only significant immigrant minority.[150][151] Majority of population, or 59.7%, reside in urban areas and some 16.1% in Belgrade alone.[152] Serbia has only one city with more than a million inhabitants and four with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Largest cities or towns of Serbia Belgrade Belgrade Novi Sad Novi Sad Niš Niš Rank City name District Urban population Municipal population view talk edit Kragujevac Kragujevac Subotica Subotica Zrenjanin Zrenjanin 1 Belgrade City of Belgrade 1,233,796 1,659,440 2 Novi Sad South Bačka District 277,522 341,625 3 Niš Nišava District 187,544 260,237 4 Kragujevac Šumadija District 150,835 179,417 5 Subotica North Bačka District 105,681 141,554 6 Zrenjanin Central Banat District 76,511 123,362 7 Pančevo South Banat District 76,203 123,414 8 Čačak Moravica District 73,331 115,337 9 Novi Pazar Raška District 66,527 100,410 10 Kraljevo Raška District 64,175 125,488 11 Smederevo Podunavlje District 64,175 108,209 12 Leskovac Jablanica District 60,288 144,206 13 Valjevo Kolubara District 58,932 90,301 14 Kruševac Rasina District 58,745 128,752 15 Vranje Pčinja District 55,138 82,782 16 Šabac Mačva District 53,919 115,884 17 Užice Zlatibor District 52,646 78,018 18 Sombor West Bačka District 47,623 85,569 19 Požarevac Braničevo District 44,183 74,070 20 Pirot Pirot District 38,785 57,911 Census 2011 Religion Main articles: Religion in Serbia and Serbian Orthodox Church The Cathedral of Saint Sava in Belgrade, the largest Orthodox and among the ten largest Christian churches in the world The Constitution of Serbia defines it as a secular state with guaranteed religious freedom. Serbia is one of religiously diverse European countries, with an Eastern Orthodox majority, and a Catholic and Islamic minority, among other smaller confessions.[153] Orthodox Christians with 6,079,396 comprise 84.5% of country's population. The Serbian Orthodox Church is the largest and traditional church of the country, adherents of which are overwhelmingly Serbs. Other Orthodox Christian communities in Serbia include Montenegrins, Romanians, Vlachs, Macedonians and Bulgarians. Roman Catholics number 356,957 in Serbia, or roughly 5% of the population, mostly in Vojvodina (especially its northern part) which is home to minority ethnic groups such as Hungarians, Croats, Bunjevci, as well as to some Slovaks and Czechs.[153] Protestantism accounts for about 1% of the country's population, chiefly among Slovaks in Vojvodina as well as among Reformist Hungarians. Muslims, with 222,282 or 3% of the population, form the third largest religious group. Islam has a strong historic following in the southern regions of Serbia, primarily in southern Raška. Bosniaks are the largest Islamic community in Serbia; estimates are that some third of country's Roma people are Muslim. There are only 578 Jews by faith in Serbia.[154] Jews from Spain settled in Serbia after following the expulsion from Spain in late 15th century. The community flourished and reached a peak of 33,000 before World War II (of which almost 90% were living in Belgrade and Vojvodina); however, the wars that later ravaged the region resulted in a great part of the Jewish Serbian population emigrating from the country.[155] Today, the Belgrade Synagogue is the only functioning synagogue, saved by the local population during World War II from destruction at the hands of the Nazis. Other synagogues, such as Subotica Synagogue, which used to be the fourth largest synagogue building in Europe, and Novi Sad Synagogue, have been converted into museums and art spaces. Atheists numbered 80,053 or 1.1% of population and additional 4,070 are Agnostics.[154] Language Main articles: Languages of Serbia and Serbian language The official language is Serbian, member of the South Slavic group of languages, and is native to 88% of the population.[154] Serbian is the only European language with active digraphia, using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles. The Cyrillic script itself has its origins in Cyril and Methodius' transformation of the Greek script in the 9th century. Recognized minority languages are: Hungarian, Slovak, Albanian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Rusyn as well as Bosnian and Croatian which are completely mutual intelligible with Serbian. All these languages are in official use in municipalities or cities where more than a 15% of population consists of national minority.[156] In Vojvodina, provincial administration uses, besides Serbian, five other languages (Hungarian, Slovak, Croatian, Romanian and Rusyn). Economy Main article: Economy of Serbia Graphical depiction of Serbia's product exports Serbia has an emerging market economy in upper-middle income range.[157] According to the IMF, Serbian nominal GDP in 2013 is officially estimated at $43.8 billion or $5,907 per capita while purchasing power parity GDP was $81.13 billion or $11,269 per capita.[3] The economy is dominated by services which accounts for 63.8% of GDP, followed by industry with 23.5% of GDP, and agriculture at 12.7% of GDP.[158] The official currency of Serbia is Serbian dinar (ISO code: RSD), and the central bank is National Bank of Serbia. The Belgrade Stock Exchange is the only stock exchange in the country, with market capitalization of $8.9 billion (as of Q4 2013) and BELEX 15 as the main index representing the 15 most liquid stocks.[159] The economy has been affected by the global economic crisis. After eight years of strong economic growth (average of 4.45% per year), Serbia entered the recession in 2009 with negative growth of −3% and again in 2012 with −1.7%.[160] As the government was fighting effects of crisis the public debt has doubled in 4 years: from pre-crisis level of 29.2% to 61.5% of GDP.[161] 100 dinar banknote featuring the scientist Nikola Tesla Labor force is 2.96 million, of whom 58.6% are employed in services sector, 21.9% are employed in the agriculture and 19.5% are employed in industry.[162] The average monthly net salary in August 2013 was 44,770 dinars (US$ 528). The unemployment remains an acute problem, with rate of 20.1% as of October 2013.[163] Since 2000, Serbia has attracted over $25 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI).[164] Blue-chip corporations making investments in Serbia include: FIAT, Siemens, Bosch, Philip Morris, Michelin, Coca-Cola, Carlsberg and others.[165] In the energy sector, Russian energy giants, Gazprom and Lukoil have made large investments.[166] Serbia has an unfavorable trade balance: imports exceed exports by almost 30%. Serbia's exports, however, recorded a steady growth in last couple of years reaching $14.6 billion in 2013.[167] The country has free trade agreements with the EFTA and CEFTA, a preferential trade regime with the European Union, a Generalized System of Preferences with the United States, and individual free trade agreements with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.[168] Agriculture Main article: Agriculture in Serbia Plum, fruit-symbol of the country; Serbia is world's second largest producer of plums Serbia has very favourable natural conditions (land and climate) for varied agricultural production. It has 5,056,000 ha of agricultural land (0.7 ha per capita), out of which 3,294,000 ha is arable land (0.45 ha per capita).[169] In 2013, Serbia exported agricultural and food products worth $2.8 billion, and the export-import ratio was 180%.[170] Agricultural exports constitute one-fifth of all Serbia's sales on the world market. Serbia is one of the largest provider of frozen fruit to the EU (largest to the French market, and 2nd largest to the German market).[171] Agricultural production is most prominent in Vojvodina on the fertile Pannonian Plain. Other agricultural regions include Mačva, Pomoravlje, Tamnava, Rasina, and Jablanica.[172] In the structure of the agricultural production 70% is from the crop field production, and 30% is from the livestock production.[172] Serbia is world's second largest producer of plums (582,485 tons; second to China), third largest of raspberries (89,602 tons, third to Russia and Poland), it is also significant producer of maize (6.48 million tons, ranked 32nd in the world) and wheat (2.07 million tpns, ranked 35th in the world).[98][173] Other important agricultural products are: sunflower, sugar beet, soya bean, potato, apple, pork meat, beef, poultry meat and dairy. There are 56,000 ha of vineyards in Serbia, producing about 230 million litres of wine annually.[98][169] Most famous viticulture regions are: Vršac area, Župa, Fruška Gora, Topola area. |
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