On May 21, 2006, the Republic of Montenegro held a successful referendum on independence and declared independence on June 3. Thereafter, the parliament of Serbia stated that the Republic of Serbia was the continuity of the state union, changing the name of the country from Serbia and Montenegro to the Republic of Serbia, with Serbia retaining Serbia and Montenegro's membership in all international organizations and bodies.
The Republic of Serbia is a parliamentary democracy, whereby the Prime Minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly of Serbia with 250 members elected for a four year term. The Judiciary system is independent of the executive and legislative systems.
Economy of Serbia
The estimated GDP of Serbia for 2007 is €38.3 billion, which translates to €3,830 per capita. Growth in Q1 2007 was 8.7%. After the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President Milosevic in October 2000, the country experienced faster economic growth and has been preparing for membership in the European Union, its most important trading partner. Serbia suffers from a high export deficit and considerable debt.
Foreign investment
Attracting the highest FDI in the region and consecutively wining awards for the largest greenfield investments are marking out Serbia’s economy today. Since 2001, the total FDI rate in Serbia has reached €6.26 billion. Year 2006 brought a 283% upsurge against the previous year, with an all-time record of €4.387 billion. The list of leading foreign investors is topped by blue-chip companies and banks. Serbia’s strong FDI track-record is substantiated by internationally recognized awards for local greenfield investors. In the past three years, greenfield projects in Serbia were awarded by OECD as the largest greenfield investments in South East Europe.
Agriculture
The fertile Danubian plains of the Vojvodina province, in North Serbia, are the most productive agricultural areas. Wheat, corn, hemp, sugar beets and flax are the chief crops. Serbia proper has extensive vineyards and is a major fruit-growing region where plums are an important crop.
Industry
According to all the indices, present-day Serbia is a medium-developed industrial country with extensive capacities in the food, textile and metal-processing industries. Other large industries include the manufacturing of cars, agricultural machinery and tractors, household appliances, mineral fertilizers, and the petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Mining and manufacturing are the largest contributors to the economy. Manufacturing is largely concentrated in Serbia proper, which is the most industrially developed region.
Infrastructure and Communication
Infrastructure in Serbia consists mainly of the railway network which in 2006 had a length of 3,800 km and the road network which was 37,937 km long. In 2007 there were 2,830,721 main telephone lines in use. However, mobile phones were also very popular - over 7,500,00 users. The most modern way of communication - the internet - had 1,400,000 users in 2006 and there were 22,046 internet hosts registered in 2005.
GENERAL DATA
Area: 88,361 sq km
Population: 7.5 million (including Kosovo: 9.3 million)
Capital city: Belgrade
Language: Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%
Ethnic groups: Serbs 82.9%, Hungarians 3.9%, Bosniaks 1.8%, Roma 1.5%, Yugoslavs 1%, other 8.9%
Land boundaries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania
MACRO DATA
GDP (real growth): 8%* (H1 2007)
GDP (PPP): €33.75 billion**
GDP per capita: € 4,500*
Inflation: 8.5%*
Unemployment:21.6%*
Export: €4148.2 million, f.o.b.(Jan – Aug 2007)
Import: €8,323.4 million f.o.b. (Jan – Aug 2007)
*source: www.srbija.sr.gov.yu
USEFUL DATA
Currency: in Serbia the Serbian dinar (CSD) is legal tender, but the euro (EUR) is the de facto currency; in Kosovo the euro is legal tender.
Exchange rate
(2007 avg.): € / CSD 77.416
Time zone: GMT +1 (CET)
Area code: +381
Albania | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Belarus | Bulgaria | Croatia | Czech Republic | Estonia | Hungary | Latvia | Lithuania | Macedonia | Montenegro | Poland | Romania | Russia | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Ukraine
|
