Serbia (, ;
Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (
Serbian: , , ), is a
landlocked country
A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basin, endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked list of states with limited recogni ...
in
Southeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
, situated at the crossroads of the
Pannonian Basin
The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...
and the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
. It shares land borders with
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
to the north,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
to the northeast,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
to the southeast,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
to the south,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
and
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
to the west, and
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
to the southwest, and claims a border with
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
through the
disputed
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
territory of
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
. Serbia without Kosovo has about 6.7 million inhabitants, about 8.4 million if Kosvo is included. Its capital
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
is also the
largest city
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropo ...
.
Continuously inhabited since the
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
Age, the territory of modern-day Serbia faced
Slavic migrations
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
in the 6th century, establishing several regional
states in the early Middle Ages at times recognised as tributaries to the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
,
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
and
Hungarian kingdoms. The
Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
and
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
in 1217, reaching its territorial apex in 1346 as the
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire ( sr, / , ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state.
Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the major power in the ...
. By the mid-16th century, the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
annexed the entirety of modern-day Serbia; their rule was
at times interrupted by the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
, which began expanding towards
Central Serbia
Central Serbia ( sr, централна Србија / centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper ( sr, link=no, ужа Србија / uža Srbija), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the nort ...
from the end of the 17th century while maintaining a foothold in
Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
. In the early 19th century, the
Serbian Revolution
The Serbian Revolution ( sr, Српска револуција / ''Srpska revolucija'') was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman prov ...
established the
nation-state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
as the region's first
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
, which subsequently expanded its territory. Following casualties in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and the subsequent unification of the
former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina with
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, the country co-founded
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
with other South Slavic nations, which would exist in various political formations until the
Yugoslav Wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
of the 1990s. During the
breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
, Serbia formed a
union with Montenegro,
which was
peacefully dissolved in 2006, restoring Serbia's independence as a sovereign state for the first time since 1918.
In 2008, representatives of the Assembly of Kosovo unilaterally
declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community while Serbia continues to claim it as part of its
own sovereign territory.
Serbia is an
upper-middle income economy, ranked 63rd in the
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, whi ...
domain. It is a
unitary
Unitary may refer to:
Mathematics
* Unitary divisor
* Unitary element
* Unitary group
* Unitary matrix
* Unitary morphism
* Unitary operator
* Unitary transformation
* Unitary representation
* Unitarity (physics)
* ''E''-unitary inverse semigroup ...
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
constitutional republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, member of the
UN,
CoE,
OSCE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
,
PfP,
BSEC
The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is a regional international organization focusing on multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation, peace, stability and prosperity in the Black Sea ...
,
CEFTA
The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is an international trade agreement between countries mostly located in Southeastern Europe. Founded by representatives of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, CEFTA expanded to Albania, Bosnia and ...
, and is acceding to the
WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
. Since 2014, the country has been negotiating
its EU accession, with the aim of joining the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
by 2025.
Serbia formally adheres to the policy of military
neutrality. The country provides
universal health care
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...
and free
primary and secondary education to its citizens.
Etymology
The origin of the name ''Serbia'' is unclear. Historically, authors have mentioned the
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
( sr, Srbi / Срби) and the
Sorbs
Sorbs ( hsb, Serbja, dsb, Serby, german: Sorben; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a indigenous West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Saxony and Brandenbu ...
of Eastern Germany (
Upper Sorbian
Upper Sorbian (), occasionally referred to as "Wendish", is a minority language spoken by Sorbs in Germany in the historical province of Upper Lusatia, which is today part of Saxony. It is grouped in the West Slavic language branch, together ...
: ''Serbja'';
Lower Sorbian
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick
Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eight ...
: ''Serby'') in a variety of ways: ''Cervetiis'' (''Servetiis''), ''gentis '', ''Suurbi'', ''Sorabi'', ''Soraborum'', ''Sorabos'', ''Surpe'', ''Sorabici'', ''Sorabiet'', ''Sarbin'', ''Swrbjn'', ''Servians'', ''Sorbi'', ''Sirbia, Sribia, Zirbia, Zribia'', ''Suurbelant'', ''Surbia'', ''Serbulia'' / ''Sorbulia'' among others.
These authors used these names to refer to Serbs and Sorbs in areas where their historical and current presence is not disputable (notably in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and
Lusatia
Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
). However, there are also sources that mention the same or similar names in other parts of the World (most notably in the Asiatic
Sarmatia
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th centur ...
in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
).
There exist two prevailing theories on the origin of the ethnonym ''*Sŕbъ'' (plur. ''*Sŕby''), one from a
Proto-Slavic language
Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium B.C. through the 6th ...
with an appellative meaning of a "family kinship" and "alliance", while another from an
Iranian-Sarmatian language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
with various meanings.
In his work, ''
De Administrando Imperio
''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...
'',
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...
suggests that the Serbs originated from
White Serbia
White Serbia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Бела Србија, Bela Srbija; wen, Biеło Srbsko), called also Boiki ( grc, Βοΐκι, Boḯki; sr-Cyrl-Latn, link=no, Бојка, Bojka; wen, links=no, Boika), is the name applied to the assumed homeland of ...
near
Francia
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
. According to the recorded tradition the
White Serbs
The Sorbs, also known as White Serbs in Serbian historiography, were an Early Slavic tribe settled between Saale-Elbe valley up to Lusatian Neisse (in present-day Saxony and Thuringia), and part of the Wends. In the 7th century, the tribe joined ...
split in two, with the half that became known as the Serbs coming down to settle Byzantine land.
From 1815 to 1882, the official name for Serbia was the
Principality of Serbia
The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was ...
. From 1882 to 1918, it was renamed to the
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
, later from 1945 to 1963, the official name for Serbia was the People's Republic of Serbia. This was again renamed the
Socialist Republic of Serbia
, life_span = 1944–1992
, status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia
, p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia
, flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg
, p2 ...
from 1963 to 1990. Since 1990, the official name of the country has been the Republic of Serbia.
History
Prehistory and antiquity
Archaeological evidence of
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
settlements on the territory of present-day Serbia is scarce. A fragment of a human jaw was found in
Sićevo
Sićevo ( sr-cyrl, Сићево) is a village in the administrative area of the city of Niš in southern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 772 people. It lies on a hilltop above the entrance of the Sićevo Gorge ...
(Mala Balanica) and is believed to be up to 525,000–397,000 years old.
Approximately around 6,500 years BC, during the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
, the
Starčevo
Starčevo () is a town located in the Pančevo municipality, in the South Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The town has a Serb ethnic majority and its population is 7,473 people ( 2011 census).
The ...
and
Vinča
Vinča ( sr-cyr, Винча, ) is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, Serbia. It is part of the municipality of Grocka. Vinča-Belo Brdo, an important archaeological site that gives its name to the Neolithic Vinča culture, is located in the villa ...
cultures existed in the region of modern-day Belgrade. They dominated much of
Southeastern Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...
(as well as parts of
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
and
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
). Several important archaeological sites from this era, including
Lepenski Vir
Lepenski Vir ( sr-cyr, Лепенски Вир, "Lepena Whirlpool"), located in Serbia, is an important archaeological site of the Mesolithic Iron Gates culture of the Balkans. The latest radiocarbon and AMS data suggests that the chronology of L ...
and
Vinča-Belo Brdo
Vinča-Belo Brdo ( sr, Винча-Бело брдо) is an archaeological site in Vinča, a suburb of Belgrade, Serbia. The tell of Belo Brdo ('White Hill') is almost entirely made up of the remains of human settlement, and was occupied severa ...
, still exist near the banks of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
.
During the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, local tribes of
Triballi
The Triballi ( grc, Τριβαλλοί, Triballoí, lat, Triballi) were an ancient people who lived in northern Bulgaria in the region of Roman Oescus up to southeastern Serbia, possibly near the territory of the Morava Valley in the late Iron A ...
,
Dardani
The Dardani (; grc, Δαρδάνιοι, Δάρδανοι; la, Dardani) or Dardanians were a Paleo-Balkan people, who lived in a region that was named Dardania after their settlement there. They were among the oldest Balkan peoples, and their ...
, and
Autariatae
The Autariatae or Autariatai (alternatively, Autariates; grc, Αὐταριᾶται, ''Autariatai''; la, Autariatae) were an Illyrian people that lived between the valleys of the Lim and the Tara, beyond the Accursed Mountains, and the val ...
were encountered by the
Ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...
during their cultural and political expansion into the region, from the 5th up to the 2nd century BC. The Celtic tribe of
Scordisci
The Scordisci ( el, Σκορδίσκοι) were a Celtic Iron Age cultural group centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morava) and Danube rivers. They were historically no ...
settled throughout the area in the 3rd century BC. It formed a tribal state, building several fortifications, including their capital at
Singidunum
Singidunum ( sr, Сингидунум/''Singidunum'') was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celts, Celtic origin, going back to the time when Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the area in ...
(present-day Belgrade) and Naissos (present-day
Niš
Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
).
![Romuliana, from air](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Romuliana%2C_from_air.jpg)
The
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
conquered much of the territory in the 2nd century BC. In 167 BC, the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
of
Illyricum was established; the remainder was conquered around 75 BC, forming the Roman province of
Moesia Superior
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
; the modern-day
Srem
Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...
region was conquered in 9 BC; and Bačka and Banat in 106 AD after the
Dacian Wars. As a result of this, contemporary Serbia extends fully or partially over several former Roman provinces, including
Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
,
Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...
,
Praevalitana
Praevalitana (also ''Prevalitana'', ''Prevaliana'', ''Praevaliana'' or ''Prevalis'') was a Late Roman province that existed between c. 284 and c. 600. It included parts of present-day Montenegro, northern Albania, and part of present-day Kosovo. ...
,
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
,
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...
, and
Macedonia.
The chief towns of
Upper Moesia
Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...
(and broader) were: Singidunum (Belgrade),
Viminacium
Viminacium () or ''Viminatium'', was a major city (provincial capital) and military camp of the Roman province of Moesia (today's Serbia), and the capital of '' Moesia Superior'' (hence once a metropolitan archbishopric, now a Latin titular see) ...
(now
Old Kostolac),
Remesiana
Remesiana ( Byzantine Greek: Ρεμεσιανισία) was an ancient Roman city and former bishopric, which remains an Eastern Orthodox and also a Latin Catholic titular see, located around and under the modern city of Bela Palanka in Serbia.
...
(now
Bela Palanka
Bela Palanka (Serbian Cyrillic: Бела Паланка, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pirot District of southeastern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the population of the town is 8,143, and the population of the municipality i ...
), Naissos (Niš), and
Sirmium
Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians an ...
(now
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, hu, Szávaszentdemeter, la, Sirmium) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank ...
), the latter of which served as a Roman capital during the
Tetrarchy
The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the '' augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares' ...
. Seventeen Roman Emperors were born in the area of modern-day Serbia, second only to contemporary Italy. The most famous of these was
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
, the first Christian Emperor, who issued an edict ordering
religious tolerance throughout the Empire.
When the Roman Empire was divided in 395, most of Serbia remained under the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. At the same time, its northwestern parts were included in the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
. By the 6th century,
South Slavs
South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, Hu ...
migrated into the European provinces of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
in large numbers. They merged with the local
Romanised
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
population that was gradually assimilated.
Middle Ages
![Serbian Empire 1355 CE relief English](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Serbian_Empire_1355_CE_relief_English.png)
White Serbs, an
early Slavic
The early Slavs were a diverse group of Tribe, tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for th ...
tribe from White Serbia eventually settled in an area between the
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
river and the
Dinaric Alps
The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...
. By the beginning of the 9th century, Serbia achieved a level of statehood.
Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
of Serbia was a gradual process, finalized by the middle of the 9th century. In the mid-10th-century, the
Serbian state stretched between the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
, the
Neretva
The Neretva ( sr-cyrl, Неретва, ), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four HE power-plants with large dams (higher than 150,5 metres) provide flood protection, power and water s ...
, the Sava, the
Morava, and
Skadar. During the 11th and 12th century,
Serbian state frequently fought with the neighbouring Byzantine Empire. Between 1166 and 1371, Serbia was ruled by the
Nemanjić dynasty
The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal, and later imperial house produced twelve Serbian monarchs, who rul ...
(whose legacy is especially cherished), under whom the state was elevated to
a kingdom in 1217, and an
empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
in 1346, under
Stefan Dušan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gr ...
.
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches.
The majori ...
was organized as an
autocephalous
Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Ort ...
archbishopric in 1219, through the effort of
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
, the country's patron saint, and in 1346 it was raised to the
Patriarchate
Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch.
According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were esta ...
. Monuments of the Nemanjić period survive in many
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
(several being
World Heritage sites
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
) and
fortifications
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
.
During these centuries the Serbian state (and influence) expanded significantly. The northern part (modern
Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
), was ruled by the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
. The period after 1371, known as the
Fall of the Serbian Empire
The fall of the Serbian Empire was a decades-long process in the late 14th century. Following the death of childless Emperor Stefan Uroš V in 1371, the Empire was left without an heir and the magnates, '' velikaši'', obtained the rule of its pr ...
saw the once-powerful state fragmented into several principalities, culminating in the
Battle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo ( tr, Kosova Savaşı; sr, Косовска битка) took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan ...
(1389) against the rising
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. The Ottomans finally conquered the
Serbian Despotate
The Serbian Despotate ( sr, / ) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and ...
in 1459. The Ottoman threat and eventual conquest saw massive migrations of Serbs to the west and north.
Ottoman and Habsburg rule
![Battle of Kosovo, Adam Stefanović, 1870](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Battle_of_Kosovo%2C_Adam_Stefanovi%C4%87%2C_1870.jpg)
In all Serbian lands conquered by the Ottomans, the native nobility was eliminated and the peasantry was
enserfed to Ottoman rulers, while much of the clergy fled or were confined to the isolated monasteries. Under the Ottoman system, Serbs, as well as Christians, were considered an
inferior class of people and subjected to heavy taxes, and a portion of the Serbian population experienced
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
. Many Serbs were recruited during the
devshirme
Devshirme ( ota, دوشیرمه, devşirme, collecting, usually translated as "child levy"; hy, Մանկահավաք, Mankahavak′. or "blood tax"; hbs-Latn-Cyrl, Danak u krvi, Данак у крви, mk, Данок во крв, Danok vo krv ...
system, a form of
slavery in the Ottoman Empire
Slavery in the Ottoman Empire was a lawful institution and a significant part of the Ottoman Empire's economy and traditional society. The main sources of slaves were wars and politically organized enslavement expeditions in the Caucasus, Easte ...
, in which boys from Balkan Christian families were
forcibly converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and trained for infantry units of the
Ottoman army
The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire.
Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
known as the
Janissaries
A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
. The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was extinguished in 1463, but reestablished in 1557, providing for limited continuation of Serbian cultural traditions within the Ottoman Empire, under the
Millet system
In the Ottoman Empire, a millet (; ar, مِلَّة) was an independent court of law pertaining to "personal law" under which a confessional community (a group abiding by the laws of Muslim Sharia, Christian Canon law, or Jewish Halakha) was al ...
.
After the loss of statehood to the Ottoman Empire, Serbian resistance continued in northern regions (modern Vojvodina), under titular despots (until 1537), and popular leaders like
Jovan Nenad
Jovan Nenad ( sr-cyr, Јован Ненад; hu, Fekete Iván or ; ca. 1492 – 26 July 1527), known as ''the Black'' was a Serb military commander in the service of the Kingdom of Hungary who took advantage of a Hungarian military defeat at Moh ...
(1526–1527). From 1521 to 1552, Ottomans conquered Belgrade and regions of Syrmia, Bačka, and Banat. Continuing wars and various rebellions constantly challenged Ottoman rule. One of the most significant was the
Banat Uprising
The Uprising in Banat was a rebellion organized and led by Serbian Orthodox bishop Teodor of Vršac and Sava Temišvarac against the Ottomans in the Eyalet of Temeşvar. The uprising broke out in 1594, in the initial stage of the Long Turkish Wa ...
in 1594 and 1595, which was part of the
Long War (1593–1606) between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans. The area of modern Vojvodina endured a century-long Ottoman occupation before being ceded to the
Habsburg Empire
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
, partially by the
Treaty of Karlovci
The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by th ...
(1699), and fully by the
Treaty of Požarevac
The Treaty of Passarowitz, or Treaty of Požarevac, was the peace treaty signed in Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, german: Passarowitz), a town that was in the Ottoman Empire but is now in Serbia, on 21 July 1718 between the Ottoman ...
(1718).
As the
Great Serb Migrations
The Great Migrations of the Serbs ( sr, Велике сеобе Срба), also known as the Great Exoduses of the Serbs, refers mainly to two large migrations of Serbs from various territories under the rule of the Ottoman Empire to regions u ...
depopulated most of southern Serbia, the Serbs sought refuge across the Danube River in Vojvodina to the north and the
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and l ...
in the west, where they were granted rights by the Austrian crown under measures such as the ''Statuta Wallachorum'' of 1630. Much of central Serbia switched from Ottoman rule to
Habsburg control (1686–91) during the
Habsburg-Ottoman war (1683–1699). Following several petitions, Emperor
Leopold I formally granted Serbs who wished to settle in the northern regions the right to their autonomous
crown land
Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...
. The ecclesiastical centre of the Serbs also moved northwards, to the
Metropolitanate of Karlovci
The Metropolitanate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка митрополија, Karlovačka mitropolija) was a metropolitanate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed in the Habsburg monarchy between 1708 and 1848. Between 1708 and 1713 ...
, and the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć was once-again abolished by the Ottomans in 1766.
In 1718–39, the Habsburg monarchy occupied much of
Central Serbia
Central Serbia ( sr, централна Србија / centralna Srbija), also referred to as Serbia proper ( sr, link=no, ужа Србија / uža Srbija), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the nort ...
and established the
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
as
crownland
Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...
. Those gains were lost by the
Treaty of Belgrade
The Treaty of Belgrade, also known as the Belgrade Peace, was the peace treaty signed on September 18, 1739 in Belgrade, Habsburg Kingdom of Serbia (today Serbia), by the Ottoman Empire on one side and the Habsburg monarchy on the other, that e ...
in 1739, when the Ottomans retook the region. Apart from territory of modern Vojvodina which remained under the Habsburg Empire, central regions of Serbia were occupied once again by the Habsburgs in
1788–1792.
Revolution and independence
The
Serbian Revolution
The Serbian Revolution ( sr, Српска револуција / ''Srpska revolucija'') was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman prov ...
for independence from the Ottoman Empire lasted eleven years, from 1804 until 1815. The revolution comprised two separate uprisings which gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire (1830) that eventually evolved towards full independence (1878). During the
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 18 ...
(1804–1813), led by vožd
Karađorđe Petrović
Đorđe Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Петровић, ), better known by the sobriquet Karađorđe ( sr-Cyrl, Карађорђе, lit=Black George, ; – ), was a Serbian revolutionary who led the struggle for his country's independ ...
, Serbia was independent for almost a decade before the Ottoman army was able to reoccupy the country. Shortly after this, the
Second Serbian Uprising
The Second Serbian Uprising ( sr, Други српски устанак / ''Drugi srpski ustanak'', tr, İkinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was the second phase of the Serbian Revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re ...
began in 1815. Led by
Miloš Obrenović
Miloš, Milos, Miłosz or spelling variations thereof is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to:
Given name
Sportsmen
* Miłosz Bernatajtys, Polish rower
* Miloš Bogunović, Serbian footballer
* Miloš Budaković, Serbian f ...
, it ended with a compromise between Serbian revolutionaries and Ottoman authorities. Likewise, Serbia was one of the first nations in the Balkans to abolish
feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
. The
Akkerman Convention
The Akkerman Convention was a treaty signed on October 7, 1826, between the Russian and the Ottoman Empires in the Budjak citadel of ''Akkerman'' (present-day Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine). It imposed that the ''hospodars'' of Moldavia and Wall ...
in 1826, the
Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 and finally, the
Hatt-i Sharif
Hatt-i humayun ( ota, خط همايون , plural , ), also known as hatt-i sharif ( , plural , ), was the diplomatics term for a document or handwritten note of an official nature composed by an Ottoman sultan. These notes were commonly written ...
, recognised the
suzerainty
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
of Serbia. The
First Serbian Constitution was adopted on 15 February 1835 (the anniversary of the outbreak of the First Serbian Uprising), making the country one of the first to adopt a democratic constitution in Europe. 15 February is now commemorated as
Statehood Day, a
public holiday
A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.
Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...
.
Following the clashes between the Ottoman army and Serbs in Belgrade in 1862, and under pressure from the
Great Powers
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...
, by 1867 the last Turkish soldiers left the Principality, making the country ''de facto'' independent. By enacting a new constitution in 1869, without consulting the Porte,
Serbian diplomats
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguation) ...
confirmed the ''de facto'' independence of the country. In 1876, Serbia declared war on the Ottoman Empire, siding with the ongoing Christian uprisings in
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
.
The formal independence of the country was internationally recognised at the
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...
in 1878, which ended the
Russo-Turkish War
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
; this treaty, however, prohibited Serbia from uniting with other Serbian regions by placing Bosnia and Herzegovina under
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
occupation, alongside the occupation of the region of
Raška. From 1815 to 1903, the Principality of Serbia was ruled by the
House of Obrenović
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...
, save for the rule of Prince
Aleksandar Karađorđević between 1842 and 1858. In 1882, Principality of Serbia became the Kingdom of Serbia, ruled by
King Milan I. The
House of Karađorđević
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...
, descendants of the revolutionary leader Karađorđe Petrović, assumed power in 1903 following the
May Overthrow
The May Coup ( sr, Мајски преврат, Majski prevrat) was a coup d'état involving the assassination of the List of Serbian monarchs, Serbian King Alexander I of Serbia, Alexander Obrenović and his Queen consort, consort Queen Draga M ...
.
In the north, the
1848 revolution in Austria led to the establishment of the autonomous territory of
Serbian Vojvodina
The Serbian Vojvodina ( sr, Српска Војводина / ) was a short-lived self-proclaimed Serbs, Serb autonomous province within the Austrian Empire during the Revolutions of 1848, which existed until 1849 when it was transformed into the ...
; by 1849, the region was transformed into the
Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar
, conventional_long_name = Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banate
, common_name = Serbia and Banat
, subdivision = Crownland
, nation = the Austrian Empire
, year_start = 1849
, date_start = 18 November
, year_end = 1860
, date_end = ...
.
The Balkan Wars and World War I
In the course of the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
in 1912, the
Balkan League
The League of the Balkans was a quadruple alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Eastern Orthodox kingdoms of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which at the ...
defeated the Ottoman Empire and captured its
European territories, which enabled territorial expansion of the Kingdom of Serbia into regions of Raška,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
Metohija
Metohija ( sr-Cyrl, Метохија, ) or Dukagjin ( sq, Rrafshi i Dukagjinit, ) is a large basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo. The region covers 35% (3,891 km2) of Kosovo's total area. According ...
, and
Vardarian Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia ( Macedonian and sr, Вардарска Македонија, ''Vardarska Makedonija'') was the name given to the territory of the Kingdom of Serbia (1912–1918) and Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) roughly corresponding to t ...
. The
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...
soon ensued when Bulgaria turned on its former allies, but was defeated, resulting in the
Treaty of Bucharest. In two years, Serbia enlarged its territory by 80% and its population by 50%,
it also suffered high casualties on the eve of World War I, with more than 36,000 dead. Austria-Hungary became wary of the rising regional power on its borders and its potential to become an anchor for unification of Serbs and other South Slavs, and the relationship between the two countries became tense.
![Serbiancolumnretreat1915](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Serbiancolumnretreat1915.jpg)
The
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
of
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
F ...
on 28 June 1914 in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
by
Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
Prin ...
, a member of the
Young Bosnia
Young Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Mlada Bosna, Млада Босна) was a separatist and revolutionary movement active in the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary before World War I. Its members were predominantly ...
organisation, led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia, on 28 July 1914. Local war escalated when
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
declared war on
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and invaded
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, thus drawing
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
into the conflict that became the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Serbia won the first major battles of World War I, including the
Battle of Cer
The Battle of Cer, ; german: Schlacht von Cer; hu, Ceri csata. Also known as the Battle of the Jadar River (Јадарска битка, ''Jadarska bitka''; ''Schlacht von Jadar''; ''Jadar csata''). was a military campaign fought between Austr ...
, and the
Battle of Kolubara
The Battle of Kolubara ( sr-cyr, Колубарска битка, german: Schlacht an der Kolubara) was fought between Austria-Hungary and Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia in November and December 1914, during the Serbian Campaign of World War I.
It ...
, marking the first
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
victories against the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
in World War I.
Despite initial success, it was eventually overpowered by the Central Powers in 1915 and
Austro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia
The Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces occupied Serbia from late 1915 until the end of World War I. Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia on 28 July 1914 marked the beginning of the war. After three unsuccessful Austro-Hungarian offen ...
followed. Most of its army and some people
retreated through
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
to
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and
Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
, suffering immense losses on the way. Serbia was occupied by the Central Powers. After the Central Powers military situation on other fronts worsened, the remains of the Serb army returned east and led a final breakthrough through enemy lines on 15 September 1918, liberating Serbia and defeating Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary. Serbia, with its
campaign
Campaign or The Campaign may refer to:
Types of campaigns
* Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed
*Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme
* Bl ...
, was a major Balkan Entente Power which contributed significantly to the Allied victory in the Balkans in November 1918, especially by helping France force Bulgaria's
capitulation.
Serbia's casualties accounted for 8% of the total Entente military deaths; 58% (243,600) soldiers of the Serbian army perished in the war. The total number of casualties is placed around 700,000, more than 16% of Serbia's prewar size,
and a majority (57%) of its overall male population. Serbia suffered
the biggest casualty rate in World War I.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The beginnings of the idea of the first common South Slavic state were the signing of a declaration on the island of Corfu in 1917. The
Corfu Declaration
The Corfu Declaration ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Krfska deklaracija, Крфска декларација) was an agreement between the prime minister of Serbia, Nikola Pašić, and the president of the Yugoslav Committee, Ante Trumbić, concluded on the G ...
was a formal agreement between the government-in-exile of the Kingdom of Serbia and the
Yugoslav Committee
Yugoslav Committee ( sh-Latn, Jugoslavenski odbor, sr-Cyrl, Југословенски одбор) was a political interest group formed by South Slavs from Austria-Hungary during World War I aimed at joining the existing south Slavic nations in ...
(anti-Habsburg South Slav émigrés) that pledged to unify Kingdom of Serbia and
Kingdom of Montenegro
The Kingdom of Montenegro ( sr, Краљевина Црна Горa, Kraljevina Crna Gora) was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World ...
with Austria-Hungary’s South Slav autonomous crown lands:
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...
,
Kingdom of Dalmatia
The Kingdom of Dalmatia ( hr, Kraljevina Dalmacija; german: Königreich Dalmatien; it, Regno di Dalmazia) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entir ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, Vojvodina (then part of the Kingdom of Hungary) and
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
in a post-war Yugoslav state. It was signed on 20 July 1917 on Corfu.
![Velika-narodna-skupstina-1918](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Velika-narodna-skupstina-1918.jpg)
As the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed, the territory of Syrmia united with Serbia on 24 November 1918.
Just a day later on 25 November 1918 Grand National Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs in Banat, Bačka and Baranja declared the unification of
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
,
Bačka
Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary ...
, and
Baranja to the Kingdom of Serbia.
On 26 November 1918, the
Podgorica Assembly
The Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro ( sr, Велика народна скупштина српског народа у Црној Гори, Velika narodna skupština srpskog naroda u Crnoj Gori), commonly known as the Po ...
deposed the
House of Petrović-Njegoš
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...
and united Montenegro with Serbia. On 1 December 1918, in Belgrade, Serbian Prince Regent
Alexander Karađorđević proclaimed the
Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...
, under King
Peter I of Serbia
Peter I ( sr-Cyr, Петар I Карађорђевић, Petar I Кarađorđević; – 16 August 1921) was the last king of Serbia, reigning from 15 June 1903 to 1 December 1918. On 1 December 1918, he became the first king of the Serbs, C ...
.
King Peter was succeeded by his son, Alexander, in August 1921. Serb centralists and Croat autonomists clashed in the parliament, and most governments were fragile and short-lived.
Nikola Pašić
Nikola Pašić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Пашић, ; 18 December 1845 – 10 December 1926) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat who was a leading political figure for almost 40 years. He was the leader of the People's Radical P ...
, a conservative prime minister, headed or dominated most governments until his death. King Alexander established a
dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...
in 1929 with the aim of establishing the
Yugoslav ideology and single
Yugoslav nation, changed the name of the country to Yugoslavia and changed the internal divisions from the 33
oblasts
An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...
to nine new
banovinas. The effect of Alexander's dictatorship was to further alienate the non-Serbs living in Yugoslavia from the idea of unity.
Alexander was assassinated in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, during an official visit in 1934 by
Vlado Chernozemski
Vlado Chernozemski (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Владо Черноземски; born Velichko Dimitrov Kerin, bg, Величко Димитров Керин; 19 October 1897 – 9 October 1934), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian revolutionary. A ...
, member of the
IMRO
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
. Alexander was succeeded by his eleven-year-old son
Peter II and a regency council was headed by his cousin,
Prince Paul. In August 1939 the
Cvetković–Maček Agreement
The Cvetković–Maček Agreement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Sporazum Cvetković-Maček, Споразум Цветковић-Мачек), also known simply as the Sporazum in English-language histories,
was a political compromise on internal divisions in the ...
established an autonomous
Banate of Croatia
The Banovina of Croatia or Banate of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Banovina Hrvatska, Бановина Хрватска) was an autonomous province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1939 and 1941. It was formed by a mer ...
as a solution to Croatian concerns.
World War II
![Children in Stara Gradiska](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Children_in_Stara_Gradiska.jpg)
In 1941, in spite of Yugoslav attempts to remain neutral in the war, the
Axis powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
invaded Yugoslavia. The territory of modern Serbia was divided between Hungary, Bulgaria, the Independent State of Croatia, Greater Albania and Montenegro, while the remaining part of the occupied Serbia was placed under the
military administration
Military administration identifies both the techniques and systems used by military departments, agencies, and armed services involved in managing the armed forces. It describes the processes that take place within military organisations outsid ...
of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, with
Serbian puppet governments led by
Milan Aćimović
Milan Aćimović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Аћимовић; 31 May 1898 – 25 May 1945) was a Yugoslav politician and collaborationist with the Axis in Yugoslavia during World War II.
Early life
Milan Aćimović was born on 31 May 1898 in Pinos ...
and
Milan Nedić
Milan Nedić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Недић; 2 September 1878 – 4 February 1946) was a Yugoslav and Serbian army general and politician who served as the chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and minister of war in the R ...
assisted by
Dimitrije Ljotić
Dimitrije Ljotić ( sr-cyr, Димитрије Љотић; 12 August 1891 – 23 April 1945) was a Serbian and Yugoslav fascist politician and ideologue who established the Yugoslav National Movement (Zbor) in 1935 and collaborated with Ge ...
's fascist organization
Yugoslav National Movement
The Yugoslav National Movement ( sh, Jugoslavenski narodni pokret / Југословенски народни покрет), also known as the United Militant Labour Organization (''Združena borbena organizacija rada'' / ''Здружена бор ...
(Zbor).
The Yugoslav territory was the scene of a civil war between
royalist Chetniks commanded by
Draža Mihailović
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...
and
communist partisans commanded by
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
. Axis auxiliary units of the
Serbian Volunteer Corps and the
Serbian State Guard
The Serbian State Guard ( sr, Srpska državna straža, italics=yes, SDS; sr-Cyrl, Српска државна стража; german: Serbische Staatsgarde/Serbische Staatswache) was a collaborationist paramilitary force used to impose law and ...
fought against both of these forces. The
Siege of Kraljevo
The siege of Kraljevo was the most important battle during the uprising in Serbia in 1941. The siege lasted from 9 to 31 October 1941. The battle was waged between besieging forces of the Chetniks and Yugoslav Partisans against German forces ga ...
was a major battle of the
Uprising in Serbia, led by Chetnik forces against the Nazis. Several days after the battle began the German forces committed a massacre of approximately 2,000 civilians in an event known as the
Kraljevo massacre
The Kraljevo massacre was the World War II mass murder of approximately 2,000 residents of the city of Kraljevo in the German-occupied territory of Serbia between 15 and 20 October 1941 by the German Army. The massacre came in reprisal for a joi ...
, in a reprisal for the attack.
Draginac and Loznica massacre of 2,950 villagers in Western Serbia in 1941 was the first large execution of civilians in occupied Serbia by
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
s, with
Kragujevac massacre
The Kragujevac massacre was the mass murder of between 2,778 and 2,794 mostly Serb men and boys in Kragujevac, by German soldiers on 21 October 1941. It occurred in the German-occupied territory of Serbia during World War II, and came as a r ...
and
Novi Sad Raid
The Novi Sad raid, also known as the Raid in southern Bačka, the Novi Sad massacre, the Újvidék massacre, or simply The Raid ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Рација, Racija), was a military operation carried out by the Királyi Honvédség, the armed for ...
of Jews and Serbs by Hungarian fascists being the most notorious, with over 3,000 victims in each case. After one year of occupation, around 16,000
Serbian Jews
The history of the Jews in Serbia is some two thousand years old. The Jews first arrived in the region during Roman times. The Jewish communities of the Balkans remained small until the late 15th century, when Jews fleeing the Spanish and Port ...
were murdered in the area, or around 90% of its pre-war Jewish population during
The Holocaust in Serbia
The Holocaust in German-occupied Serbia was part of the European-wide Holocaust, the Nazi genocide against Jews during World War II, which occurred in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia, the military administration of the Third ...
.
Many concentration camps were established across the area.
Banjica concentration camp
The Banjica concentration camp (german: KZ Banjica, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Бањички логор, Banjički logor) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi German Nazi concentration camps, concentration camp in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia, the ...
was the largest concentration camp and jointly run by the German army and Nedić's regime,
with primary victims being Serbian Jews,
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
, and Serb political prisoners.
During this period, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs fled the Axis
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...
known as the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
and sought refuge in German-occupied Serbia, seeking to escape the large-scale persecution and
Genocide of Serbs, Jews, and Roma being committed by the
Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...
regime. The number of Serb victims was approximately 300,000 to 350,000.
According to Tito himself, Serbs made up the vast majority of
Anti-fascist
Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
fighters and
Yugoslav Partisans
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
for the whole course of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The
Republic of Užice
The Republic of Užice ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Užička republika, Ужичка република) was a short-lived liberated Yugoslav territory and the first liberated territory in World War II Europe, organized as a military mini ...
was a short-lived liberated territory established by the Partisans and the first liberated territory in World War II Europe, organised as a military mini-state that existed in the autumn of 1941 in the west of
occupied Serbia. By late 1944, the
Belgrade Offensive swung in favour of the partisans in the civil war; the partisans subsequently gained control of Yugoslavia. Following the Belgrade Offensive, the
Syrmian Front
The Syrmian Front ( sh, Srijemski front/Sremski front) was an Axis line of defense during World War II. It was established as part of the Eastern Front in late October 1944 in Syrmia and east Slavonia, northwest of Belgrade.
After the Yugoslav ...
was the last major military action of World War II in Serbia. A study by
Vladimir Žerjavić
Vladimir Žerjavić (2 August 1912 – 5 September 2001) was a Croatian economist and demographer who published a series of historical articles and books during the 1980s and 1990s on demographic losses in Yugoslavia during World War II and of Ax ...
estimates total
war related deaths in Yugoslavia at 1,027,000, including 273,000 in Serbia.
Socialist Yugoslavia
![Konferencija_Pokreta_nesvrstanih_1961](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Konferencija_Pokreta_nesvrstanih_1961._godine.jpg)
The victory of the Communist Partisans resulted in the abolition of the monarchy and a subsequent constitutional referendum. A
one-party state
A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
was soon established in Yugoslavia by the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
. It is claimed between 60,000 and 70,000 people died in Serbia during the
1944–45 communist takeover and purge. All opposition was suppressed and people deemed to be promoting opposition to socialism or promoting separatism were imprisoned or executed for sedition. Serbia became a constituent republic within the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
(SFRY) known as the Socialist Republic of Serbia, and had a republic-branch of the federal communist party, the
League of Communists of Serbia
, logo =
, colorcode =
, leader = President of the League of Communists of Serbia
, predecessor = Provincial Committee for Serbia of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia
, merged =
, successor = SPS
, ...
.
Serbia's most powerful and influential politician in Tito-era Yugoslavia was
Aleksandar Ranković
Aleksandar Ranković ( nom de guerre Marko; sr-Cyrl, Александар Ранковић Лека; 28 November 1909 – 19 August 1983) was a Yugoslav communist politician, considered to be the third most powerful man in Yugoslavia after Jo ...
, one of the "big four" Yugoslav leaders, alongside Tito, Edvard Kardelj, and Milovan Đilas. Ranković was later removed from the office because of the disagreements regarding Kosovo's nomenklatura and the unity of Serbia. Ranković's dismissal was highly unpopular among Serbs. Pro-decentralisation reformers in Yugoslavia succeeded in the late 1960s in attaining substantial decentralisation of powers, creating substantial autonomy in Kosovo and Vojvodina, and recognising a distinctive "Muslims (ethnicity), Muslim" nationality. As a result of these reforms, there was a massive overhaul of Kosovo's nomenklatura and police, that shifted from being Serb-dominated to ethnic Albanian-dominated through firing Serbs on a large scale. Further concessions were made to the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo in response to unrest, including the creation of the University of Pristina (1969–1999), University of Pristina as an Albanian language institution. These changes created widespread fear among Serbs of being treated as second-class citizens.
Belgrade, the capital of SFR Yugoslavia and SR Serbia, hosted the first Non-Aligned Movement Summit in September 1961, as well as the first major gathering of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) with the aim of implementing the Helsinki Accords from October 1977 to March 1978. The 1972 Yugoslav smallpox outbreak, 1972 smallpox outbreak in SAP Kosovo and other parts of SR Serbia was the last major outbreak of smallpox in Europe since World War II.
Breakup of Yugoslavia and political transition
![Kosovo-metohija-koreni-duse029](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Kosovo-metohija-koreni-duse029.jpg)
In 1989, Slobodan Milošević rose to power in Serbia. Milošević promised a reduction of powers for the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina, where his allies subsequently took over power, during the Anti-bureaucratic revolution. This ignited tensions between the communist leadership of the other republics of Yugoslavia and awoke ethnic nationalism across Yugoslavia that eventually resulted in its Breakup of Yugoslavia, breakup, with Slovenia,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Republic of Macedonia, Macedonia declaring independence during 1991 and 1992. Serbia and Montenegro remained together as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).
However, according to the Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on Yugoslavia, Badinter Commission, the country was not legally considered a continuation of the former SFRY, but a new state.
![Map_of_war_in_Yugoslavia,_1992](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Map_of_war_in_Yugoslavia%2C_1992.png)
Fueled by ethnic tensions, the
Yugoslav Wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
(1991–2001) erupted, with the most severe conflicts taking place in War in Croatia, Croatia and Bosnian War, Bosnia, where the large ethnic Serb communities opposed independence from Yugoslavia. The FRY remained outside the conflicts, but provided logistic, military and financial support to Serb forces in the wars. In response, the UN imposed sanctions against Yugoslavia which led to political isolation and the collapse of the economy (GDP decreased from $24 billion in 1990 to under $10 billion in 1993). Serbia was in the 2000s sued on the charges of alleged genocide by neighbouring Bosnian genocide case, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia–Serbia genocide case, Croatia but in both cases the main charges against Serbia were dismissed.
Multi-party democracy was introduced in Serbia in 1990, officially dismantling the one-party system. Critics of Milošević stated that the government continued to be authoritarian despite constitutional changes, as Milošević maintained strong political influence over the state media and security apparatus. When the ruling Socialist Party of Serbia refused to accept its defeat in municipal elections in 1996, Serbians engaged in 1996–1997 protests in Serbia, large protests against the government.
In 1998, Insurgency in Kosovo (1995–98), continued clashes between the Albanian guerilla Kosovo Liberation Army and Yugoslav security forces led to the short Kosovo War (1998–99), in which NATO intervened, leading to the withdrawal of Serbian forces and the establishment of UNMIK, UN administration in the province. After the Yugoslav Wars, Serbia became home to highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in Europe.
After 2000 Yugoslavian general election, presidential elections in September 2000, opposition parties accused Milošević of electoral fraud. A campaign of civil resistance followed, led by the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), a broad coalition of anti-Milošević parties. This culminated on 5 October when half a million people from all over the country congregated in Belgrade, compelling Milošević to concede defeat. The Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, fall of Milošević ended Yugoslavia's international isolation. Milošević was sent to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The DOS announced that FR Yugoslavia would seek to join the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. In 2003, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was renamed Serbia and Montenegro; the EU opened negotiations with the country for the Stabilization and Association Agreement, Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Serbia's political climate remained tense and in 2003, the Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić was Assassination of Zoran Đinđić, assassinated as result of a plot originating from circles of organised crime and former security officials. In 2004 unrest in Kosovo took place, leaving 19 people dead and a number of Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries destroyed or damaged.
Contemporary period
On 21 May 2006, Montenegro held a 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, referendum to determine whether to end its union with Serbia. The results showed 55.4% of voters in favour of independence, which was just above the 55% required by the referendum. This was followed on 5 June 2006 by Serbia's declaration of independence, marking the final dissolution of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and the re-emergence of Serbia as an independent state, for the first time since 1918. On the same occasion, the National Assembly of Serbia declared Serbia to be the legal successor to the former state union.
The Assembly of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. Serbia immediately condemned the declaration and continues to deny any statehood to Kosovo. The declaration has sparked varied responses from the international community, some welcoming it, while others condemned the unilateral move.
Belgrade-Pristina negotiations, Status-neutral talks between Serbia and Kosovo-Albanian authorities are held in Brussels, mediated by the EU.
Serbia officially applied for membership in the European Union on 22 December 2009, and received candidate status on 1 March 2012, following a delay in December 2011.
Following a positive recommendation of the European Commission and European Council in June 2013, negotiations to join the EU commenced in January 2014.
Since Aleksandar Vučić and his Serbian Progressive Party came to power in 2012, Serbia has suffered from democratic backsliding into authoritarianism,
followed by a decline in Media freedom in Serbia, media freedom and civil liberties. After the COVID-19 pandemic spread COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia, to Serbia in March 2020, a state of emergency was declared and a curfew was introduced for the first time in Serbia since World War II. In January and February 2021, Serbia carried the second-fastest vaccine rollout in Europe. In April 2022, President Aleksandar Vučić was 2022 Serbian general election, re-elected.
Geography
![Serbien topo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Serbien_topo.png)
A
landlocked country
A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basin, endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked list of states with limited recogni ...
situated at the crossroads between Central
and Southern Europe, Serbia is located in the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. Serbia lies between latitudes 41st parallel north, 41° and 47th parallel north, 47° N, and longitudes 18th meridian east, 18° and 23rd meridian east, 23° E. The country covers a total of (including Kosovo), which places it at List of countries and outlying territories by area, 113th place in the world; with Kosovo excluded, the total area is ,
[ which would make it 117th. Its total border length amounts to : Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Croatia , Hungary , North Macedonia , Montenegro and Romania .][ All of Kosovo's border with Albania (), North Macedonia () and Montenegro ()] are under control of the Kosovo border police. Serbia treats the long border between Kosovo and rest of Serbia as an "administrative line"; it is under shared control of Kosovo border police and Serbian police forces, and there are 11 crossing points.
The Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain covers the northern third of the country (Vojvodina and Mačva) while the easternmost tip of Serbia extends into the Wallachian Plain.
The terrain of the central part of the country, with the region of Šumadija at its heart, consists chiefly of hills traversed by rivers. Mountains dominate the southern third of Serbia. Dinaric Alps stretch in the west and the southwest, following the flow of the rivers Drina and Ibar (river), Ibar. The Carpathian Mountains and Balkan Mountains stretch in a north–south direction in eastern Serbia.
Ancient mountains in the southeast corner of the country belong to the Rhodopes, Rilo-Rhodope Mountain system. Elevation ranges from the Midžor peak of the Balkan Mountains at (the highest peak in Serbia, excluding Kosovo) to the lowest point of just near the Danube river at Prahovo. The largest lake is Đerdap Lake () and the longest river passing through Serbia is the Danube ().
Climate
The climate of Serbia is under the influences of the landmass of Eurasia and the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. With mean January temperatures around , and mean July temperatures of , it can be classified as a humid continental climate, warm-humid continental or humid subtropical climate. In the north, the climate is more continental, with cold winters, and hot, humid summers along with well-distributed rainfall patterns. In the south, summers and autumns are drier, and winters are relatively cold, with heavy inland snowfall in the mountains.
Differences in elevation, proximity to the Adriatic Sea and large river basins, as well as exposure to the winds account for climate variations. Southern Serbia is subject to Mediterranean influences. The Dinaric Alps and other mountain ranges contribute to the cooling of most of the warm air masses. Winters are quite harsh in the Pešter plateau, because of the mountains which encircle it. One of the climatic features of Serbia is Košava (wind), Košava, a cold and very squally southeastern wind which starts in the Carpathian Mountains and follows the Danube northwest through the Iron Gate (Danube), Iron Gate where it gains a Mountain jet, jet effect and continues to Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
and can spread as far south as Niš.
The average annual air temperature for the period 1961–1990 for the area with an altitude of up to is . The areas with an altitude of have an average annual temperature of around , and over of altitude around . The lowest recorded temperature in Serbia was on 13 January 1985, Karajukića Bunari in Pešter, and the highest was , on 24 July 2007, recorded in Smederevska Palanka.
Serbia is one of few European countries with ''very high risk'' exposure to natural hazards (earthquakes, storms, floods, droughts). It is estimated that potential floods, particularly in areas of Central Serbia, threaten over 500 larger settlements and an area of 16,000 square kilometres. The most disastrous were the 2014 Southeast Europe floods, floods in May 2014, when 57 people died and a damage of over a 1.5 billion euro was inflicted.
Hydrology
Almost all of Serbia's rivers drain to the Black Sea, by way of the Danube river. The Danube, the second largest European river, passes through Serbia with 588 kilometres (21% of its overall length) and represents the major source of fresh water. It is joined by its biggest tributaries, the Great Morava (longest river entirely in Serbia with of length), Sava and Tisza rivers. One notable exception is the Pčinja (river), Pčinja which flows into the Aegean Sea, Aegean. Drina river forms the natural border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, and represents the main kayaking and rafting attraction in both countries.
Due to configuration of the terrain, natural lakes are sparse and small; most of them are located in the lowlands of Vojvodina, like the aeolian lake Palić lake, Palić or numerous oxbow lakes along river flows (like Zasavica (river), Zasavica and Carska Bara). However, there are numerous artificial lakes, mostly due to hydroelectric dams, the biggest being Đerdap (Iron Gates) on the Danube with on the Serbian side (a total area of is shared with Romania); Perućac on the Drina, and Vlasina Lake, Vlasina. The largest waterfall, Jelovarnik, located in Kopaonik, is 71 m high. 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
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 reptiles and amphibian fauna, 74% of European bird fauna, and 67% European mammal fauna. 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. There are 17 snake species living all over the country, 8 of them are venomous.
Mountain of Tara (mountain), Tara in western Serbia is one of the last regions in Europe where bears can still live in absolute freedom. Serbia is home to about 380 species of birds. In Carska Bara, there are over 300 bird species on just a few square
kilometres. Uvac, Uvac Gorge is considered one of the last habitats of the Griffon vulture in Europe. In area around the city of Kikinda, in the northernmost part of the country, some 145 endangered long-eared owls are noted, making it the world's biggest settlement of these species. The country is considerably rich with threatened species of bats and butterflies as well.
There are 380 List of protected natural resources in Serbia, protected areas of Serbia, encompassing 4,947 square kilometres 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. Those protected areas include 5 national parks (Đerdap National Park, Đerdap, Tara, Kopaonik, Fruška Gora and Šar Mountain), 15 nature parks, 15 "landscapes of outstanding features", 61 nature reserves, and 281 natural monuments.
With 29.1% of its territory covered by forest, Serbia is considered to be a middle-forested country, compared on a global scale to world forest coverage at 30%, and European average of 35%. The total forest area in Serbia is 2,252,000 ha (1,194,000 ha or 53% are state-owned, and 1,058,387 ha or 47% are privately owned) or 0.3 ha per inhabitant. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.29/10, ranking it 105th globally out of 172 countries. The most common trees are oak, beech, pines, and firs.
Air pollution is a significant problem in Bor, Serbia, Bor area, due to work of large copper mining and smelting complex, and Pančevo where oil and petrochemical industry is based. 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 Mines, 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. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, 1999 NATO bombing caused serious damage to the environment, with several thousand tonnes of toxic chemicals stored in targeted factories and refineries released into the soil and water basins.
Politics
Serbia is a parliamentary republic, with the government divided into legislative, executive, and judiciary branches.
Serbia had one of the first modern constitutions in Europe, the 1835 Constitution (known as the Sretenje Constitution), which was at the time considered among the most progressive and liberal constitutions in Europe. Since then it has adopted 10 different constitutions. The current constitution was adopted in 2006 in the aftermath of the Montenegro independence referendum which by consequence renewed the independence of Serbia itself. The Constitutional Court of Serbia, Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding the Constitution of Serbia, Constitution.
The President of Serbia, President of the Republic (''Predsednik Republike'') is the head of state, is 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. Aleksandar Vučić of the Serbian Progressive Party is the current president following the 2017 presidential election. Seat of the presidency is Andrićev Venac, Novi Dvor.
The Government of Serbia, Government (''Vlada'') is composed of the Prime Minister of Serbia, 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 Ana Brnabić, nominated by the Serbian Progressive Party.
The Parliament of Serbia, 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. It is composed of 250 Proportional representation, proportionally elected members who serve four-year terms. Following the 2020 Serbian parliamentary election, 2020 parliamentary election, the largest political parties in the National Assembly are the populist Serbian Progressive Party and Socialist Party of Serbia, that with its partners, hold more than a supermajority number of seats.
In 2021, Serbia was the 5th country in Europe by the number of women holding high-ranking public functions.
Law and criminal justice
Serbia is the fourth modern-day European country, after France, Austria and the Netherlands, to have a codified legal system.
The country has a three-tiered judicial system, made up of the Supreme Court of Cassation (Serbia), Supreme Court of Cassation as the court of the last resort, Court of Appeal, 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 misdemeanor courts (including High Misdemeanor Court at second instance). The judiciary is overseen by the Ministry of Justice. Serbia has a typical Civil law (legal system), civil law legal system.
Law enforcement is the responsibility of the Police of Serbia, Serbian Police, which is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. Serbian Police fields 27,363 uniformed officers.
National security and counterintelligence are the responsibility of the Security Intelligence Agency, Security Intelligence Agency (BIA).
Foreign relations
Serbia has established diplomatic relations with 191 UN member states, the Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the European Union. Foreign relations are conducted through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Serbia has a network of 65 embassies and 23 consulates internationally. There are 69 List of diplomatic missions in Serbia, foreign embassies, 5 consulates and 4 liaison offices in Serbia.
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 Process, Stabilisation and Association Agreement on 29 April 2008 and officially applied for membership in the European Union on 22 December 2009. It received a full Future enlargement of the European Union#Recognised candidates, candidate status on 1 March 2012 and started Enlargement of the EU, accession talks on 21 January 2014. The European Commission considers accession possible by 2025.
On 17 February 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia. In protest, Serbia initially recalled its ambassadors from countries that recognised Kosovo's independence. The resolution of 26 December 2007 by the National Assembly (Serbia), National Assembly stated that both the Kosovo declaration of independence and recognition thereof by any state would be gross violation of international law.
Serbia began cooperation and dialogue with NATO in 2006, when the country joined the Partnership for Peace programme and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. The country's military neutrality was formally proclaimed by a resolution adopted by Serbia's parliament in December 2007, which makes joining any military alliance contingent on a popular referendum, a stance acknowledged by NATO. On the other hand, Serbia's relations with Russia are habitually described by mass media as a "centuries-old religious, ethnic and political alliance" and Russia is said to have sought to solidify Russia–Serbia relations, its relationship with Serbia since the imposition of International sanctions during the Ukrainian crisis, sanctions against Russia in 2014.
Military
The Serbian Armed Forces are subordinate to the Ministry of Defence (Serbia), Ministry of Defence, and are composed of the Serbian Army, Army and the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence, Air Force. Although a landlocked country, Serbia operates a Serbian River Flotilla, River Flotilla which patrols on the Danube, Sava and Tisa rivers. The Serbian Chief of the General Staff (Serbia), 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. , Serbian defence budget amounts to $804 million.
Traditionally having relied on a large number of conscripts, Serbian Armed Forces went through a period of downsizing, restructuring and professionalisation. Conscription was abolished in 2011. Serbian Armed Forces have 28,000 active troops, supplemented by the "active reserve" which numbers 20,000 members and "passive reserve" with about 170,000.
Serbia participates in the NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan programme, but has no intention of joining [NATO, due to significant popular rejection, largely a legacy of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. It is an observer member of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) 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.
Serbia is a major producer and exporter of military equipment in the region. Defence exports totaled around $600 million in 2018. The defence industry has seen significant growth over the years and it continues to grow on a yearly basis.
Serbia is one of the countries with the largest number of firearms in the civilian population in the world.
Administrative divisions
Serbia is a unitary state composed of Municipalities of Serbia, municipalities/List of cities in Serbia, cities, districts, and two autonomous provinces. In Serbia, excluding Kosovo, there are 145 municipalities (''opštine'') and 29 cities (''gradovi''), which form the basic units of local self-government. Apart from municipalities/cities, there are 24 List of districts of Serbia, districts (''okruzi'', 10 most populated listed below), with the City of Belgrade constituting an additional district. Except for Belgrade, which has an elected local government, districts are regional centres of state authority, but have no powers of their own; they present purely administrative divisions.
The Constitution of Serbia recognizes two autonomous provinces, Vojvodina in the north, and the disputed
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
territory of Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, Kosovo and Metohija in the south, while the remaining area of Central Serbia never had its own regional authority. Following the Kosovo War, United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, UN peacekeepers entered Kosovo and Metohija, as per UN Security Council Resolution 1244, UNSC Resolution 1244. The government of Serbia does not recognise Kosovo's February 2008 declaration of independence, considering it illegal and illegitimate.
Demographics
census, Serbia (excluding Kosovo) has a total population of 7,186,862 and the overall List of sovereign states and dependent territories by population density, population density is medium as it stands at 92.8 inhabitants per square kilometre. The census was not conducted in Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
which held its own census that numbered their total population at 1,739,825, excluding Serb-inhabited North Kosovo, as Serbs of Kosovo, Serbs from that area (about 50,000) boycotted the census.
Serbia has been enduring a demographic crisis since the beginning of the 1990s, with a death rate that has continuously exceeded its birth rate. It is estimated that 300,000 people left Serbia during the 1990s, 20% of whom had a higher education. Serbia subsequently has one of the oldest populations in the world, with the average age of 43.3 years, and its population is shrinking at one of the fastest rates in the world. A fifth of all households consist of only one person, and just one-fourth of four and more persons. Average List of countries by life expectancy, life expectancy in Serbia at birth is 76.1 years.
During the 1990s, Serbia had the largest refugee population in Europe. Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Serbia formed between 7% and 7.5% of its population at the time – 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.
Serbs with 5,988,150 are the largest ethnic group in Serbia, representing 83% of the total population (excluding Kosovo). Serbia is one of the European countries with the highest number of registered national minorities, while the province of Vojvodina is recognizable for its Multinational state, multi-ethnic and Multiculturalism, multi-cultural identity. With a population of 253,899, Hungarians in Serbia, Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority in Serbia, concentrated predominantly in northern Vojvodina and representing 3.5% of the country's population (13% in Vojvodina). Romani population stands at 147,604 according to the 2011 census but unofficial estimates place their actual number between 400,000 and 500,000. Bosniaks of Serbia, Bosniaks with 145,278 are concentrated in Sandžak, Raška (Sandžak), in the southwest. Other minority groups include Croats of Serbia, Croats, Slovaks in Serbia, Slovaks, Albanians in Serbia, Albanians, Montenegrins of Serbia, Montenegrins, Vlachs of Serbia, Vlachs, Romanians in Serbia, Romanians, Macedonians in Serbia, Macedonians and Bulgarians in Serbia, Bulgarians. Chinese people in Serbia, Chinese, estimated at 15,000, are the only significant non-European immigrant minority.
The majority of the population, or 59.4%, reside in urban areas and some 16.1% in Belgrade alone. Belgrade is the only city with more than a million inhabitants and there are four more with over 100,000 inhabitants.
Religion
The Constitution of Serbia defines it as a secular state with guaranteed religious freedom. 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 (ethnic group), Macedonians and Bulgarians.
In 2011, Roman Catholicism in Serbia, Roman Catholics numbered 356,957 in Serbia, or roughly 6% of the population, mostly in northern Vojvodina which is home to ethnic minority groups such as Hungarians, Croats, and Bunjevci, as well as to some Slovaks and Czechs.
Protestantism accounts for about 1% of the country's population, chiefly Lutheranism among Slovaks in Vojvodina as well as Calvinism among Hungarian Reformed Church, Reformed Hungarians. Apostolic Exarchate of Serbia and Montenegro, Greek Catholic Church is adhered by around 25,000 citizens (0.37% of the population), mostly Pannonian Rusyns, Rusyns in Vojvodina.
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, followed by Albanians; estimates are that around a third of the country's Roma people are Muslim.
In 2011, there were only 578 Jews in Serbia, compared to over 30,000 prior to World War II. Atheists numbered 80,053, or 1.1% of the population, and an additional 4,070 declared themselves to be agnostics.
Language
The official language is Serbian, native to 88% of the population. Serbian is the only European language with active digraphia, using both Cyrillic and Gaj's Latin alphabet, Latin alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic is designated in the Constitution as the "official script" and was devised in 1814 by Serbian philologist Vuk Karadžić, who based it on phonemic principles. A survey from 2014 showed that 47% of Serbians favour the Latin alphabet, 36% favour the Cyrillic one and 17% have no preference.
Standard Serbian is based on the most widespread Shtokavian dialect (more specifically on the dialects of Šumadija-Vojvodina dialect, Šumadija-Vojvodina and Eastern Herzegovinian dialect, Eastern Herzegovina).
Recognised minority languages are: Hungarian language, Hungarian, Bosnian language, Bosnian, Slovak language, Slovak, Croatian language, Croatian, Albanian, Romanian language, Romanian, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Rusyn language, Rusyn, and Macedonian language, Macedonian. All these languages are in official use in municipalities or cities where the ethnic minority exceeds 15% of the total population. In Vojvodina, the provincial administration uses, besides Serbian, five other languages (Slovak, Hungarian, Croatian, Romanian and Rusyn).
Healthcare
The healthcare system in Serbia is organized and managed by the three primary institutions: Ministry of Health (Serbia), The Ministry of Health, The Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr Milan Jovanović Batut" and the Military Medical Academy (Serbia), Military Medical Academy. The right to healthcare protections is defined as a constitutional right in Serbia. The Serbian public health system is based on the principles of equity and solidarity, organized on the model of Universal health care#Compulsory insurance, compulsory health insurance contributions. Private health care is not integrated into the public health system, but certain services may be included by contracting.
The Ministry of Health determines the healthcare policy and adopts standards for the work of the healthcare service. The Ministry is also in charge of the health care system, health insurance, preservation and improvement of health of citizens, health inspection, supervision over the work of the healthcare service and other tasks in the field of health care.
The Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr Milan Jovanović Batut" is responsible for medical statistics, epidemiology and hygiene. This central, tertiary institution manages and coordinates a dense network of municipal and regional Centers of Public Health, spread across the entire country, that provide services in the domain of epidemiology and hygiene on the primary and secondary level. The Republic Health Insurance Institute finances the functioning of health care at all levels.
One of the most important health institutions in Serbia is the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade. It takes care of about 30,000 patients a year (military and civilian insured). The Academy performs around 30,000 surgical interventions and more than 500,000 specialist examinations.
The Clinical Centre of Serbia spreads over 34 hectares in Belgrade and consists of about 50 buildings, while also has 3,150 beds considered to be the highest number in Europe, and among List of hospitals by capacity, highest in the world.
Other important health institutions include: KBC Dr Dragiša Mišović, Cardiovascular institute Detinje, Clinical Centre of Kragujevac, Clinical Centre of Niš, Clinical Center of Vojvodina and others.
Medical specialists from Serbia have performed a number of operations which have been described as "pioneer works".
Economy
Serbia has an emerging market economy in upper-middle income range. According to the International Monetary Fund, Serbian nominal GDP in 2022 is officially estimated at $65.697 billion or $9,561 per capita while purchasing power parity GDP stood at $153.076 billion or $22,278 per capita. The economy is dominated by Service (economics), services which accounts for 67.9% of GDP, followed by industry with 26.1% of GDP, and agriculture at 6% of GDP. The official currency of Serbia is Serbian dinar (ISO 4217, 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 capitalisation of $8.65 billion and BELEX15 as the main index representing the 15 most liquid stocks. The country is ranked 52nd on the List of countries by Social Progress Index, Social Progress Index as well as 51st on the Global Peace Index.
The economy has been affected by the Great Recession, global economic crisis. After almost a decade 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 and 2014 with −1% and −1.8%, respectively. As the government was fighting effects of crisis the public debt has more than doubled: from pre-crisis level of just under 30% to about 70% of GDP and trending downwards recently to around 50%. Labour force stands at 3.2 million, with 56% employed in services sector, 28.1% in industry and 15.9% in the agriculture. The average monthly net salary in May 2019 stood at 47,575 dinars or $525. The unemployment remains an acute problem, with rate of 12.7% .
Since 2000, Serbia has attracted over $40 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI). Blue-chip corporations making investments include: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Siemens, Robert Bosch GmbH, Bosch, Philip Morris International, Philip Morris, Michelin, Coca-Cola, Carlsberg Group, Carlsberg and others. In the energy sector, Russian energy giants, Gazprom and Lukoil have made large investments. In metallurgy sector, Chinese steel and copper giants, Hesteel and Zijin Mining have acquired key complexes.
Serbia has an unfavourable trade balance: imports exceed exports by 25%. Serbia's exports, however, recorded a steady growth in last couple of years reaching $19.2 billion in 2018. The country has free trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association, EFTA and CEFTA
The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is an international trade agreement between countries mostly located in Southeastern Europe. Founded by representatives of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, CEFTA expanded to Albania, Bosnia and ...
, a preferential trade regime with the European Union, a Generalized System of Preferences, Generalised System of Preferences with the United States, and individual free trade agreements with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.
Agriculture
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). In 2016, Serbia exported agricultural and food products worth $3.2 billion, and the export-import ratio was 178%. Agricultural exports constitute more than 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).
Agricultural production is most prominent in Vojvodina on the fertile Pannonian Plain. Other agricultural regions include Mačva, Pomoravlje, Tamnava, Rasina District, Rasina, and Jablanica District, Jablanica.
In the structure of the agricultural production, 70% is from the crop field production and 30% is from the livestock production. Serbia is world's second largest producer of plums (582,485 tonnes; second to China), second largest of Raspberry, raspberries (89,602 tonnes, second to Poland), it is also a significant producer of maize (6.48 million tonnes, ranked 32nd in the world) and wheat (2.07 million tonnes, ranked 35th in the world). Other important agricultural products are: sunflower, sugar beet, soybean, potato, apple, pork meat, beef, poultry and dairy.
There are 56,000 ha of Serbian wine, vineyards in Serbia, producing about 230 million litres of wine annually. The most famous viticulture regions are located in Vojvodina and Šumadija.
Industry
The industry was the economic sector hardest hit by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 757, UN sanctions and trade embargo and NATO bombing during the 1990s and transition to market economy during the 2000s. The industrial output saw dramatic downsizing: in 2013 it was expected to be only a half of that of 1989. Main industrial sectors include: automotive, mining, non-ferrous metals, food-processing, electronics, pharmaceuticals, clothes. Serbia has 14 free economic zones as of September 2017, in which many foreign direct investments are realised.
Automotive industry (with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as a forebearer) is dominated by cluster located in Kragujevac and its vicinity, and contributes to export with about $2 billion. Country is a leading steel producer in the wider region of Southeast Europe and had production of nearly 2 million tonnes of raw steel in 2018, coming entirely from Hesteel Serbia, Smederevo steel mill, owned by the Chinese Hesteel Group, Hesteel. Serbia's mining industry is comparatively strong: Serbia is the 18th largest producer of coal (7th in Europe) extracted from large deposits in RB Kolubara, Kolubara and Kostolac coal mine, Kostolac basins; it is also world's 23rd largest (3rd in Europe) producer of copper which is extracted by Zijin Bor Copper, a large copper mining company, acquired by Chinese Zijin Mining in 2018; significant gold extraction is developed around Majdanpek. Serbia notably manufactures intel smartphones named Tesla smartphones.
Food industry is well known both regionally and internationally and is one of the strong points of the economy. Some of the international brand-names established production in Serbia: PepsiCo and Nestlé in food-processing sector; Coca-Cola (Belgrade), Heineken (Novi Sad) and Carlsberg (Bačka Palanka) in beverage industry; Nordzucker in sugar industry. Serbia's electronics industry had its peak in the 1980s and the industry today is only a third of what it was back then, but has witnessed a something of revival in last decade with investments of companies such as Siemens (wind turbines) in Subotica, Panasonic (lighting devices) in Svilajnac, and Gorenje (electrical home appliances) in Valjevo. The pharmaceutical industry in Serbia comprises a dozen manufacturers of generic drugs, of which Hemofarm a.d., Hemofarm in Vršac and Galenika a.d., Galenika in Belgrade, account for 80% of production volume. Domestic production meets over 60% of the local demand.
Energy
The energy sector is one of the largest and most important sectors to the country's economy. Serbia is a net exporter of electricity and importer of key fuels (such as oil and gas).
Serbia has an abundance of coal, and significant reserves of oil and gas. Serbia's proven reserves of 5.5 billion tonnes of lignite, coal lignite are the fifth largest in the world (second in Europe, after Germany). Coal is found in two large deposits: Kolubara (4 billion tonnes of reserves) and Kostolac (1.5 billion tonnes). Despite being small on a world scale, Serbia's oil and gas resources (77.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent and 48.1 billion cubic metres, respectively) have a certain regional importance since they are largest in the region of former Yugoslavia as well as the Balkans (excluding Romania). Almost 90% of the discovered oil and gas are to be found in Banat and those oil and gas fields are by size among the largest in the Pannonian basin but are average on a European scale.
The production of electricity in 2015 in Serbia was 36.5 billion kilowatt-hours (KWh), while the final electricity consumption amounted to 35.5 billion kilowatt-hours (KWh). Most of the electricity produced comes from thermal-power plants (72.7% of all electricity) and to a lesser degree from hydroelectricity, hydroelectric-power plants (27.3%). There are 6 lignite-operated Fossil-fuel power station, thermal-power plants with an installed power of 3,936 MW; largest of which are 1,502 MW-TPP Nikola Tesla, Nikola Tesla 1 and 1,160 MW-Nikola Tesla 2, both in Obrenovac. Total installed power of 9 hydroelectric-power plants is 2,831 MW, largest of which is Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station, Đerdap 1 with capacity of 1,026 MW. In addition to this, there are mazute and gas-operated thermal-power plants with an installed power of 353 MW. The entire production of electricity is concentrated in Elektroprivreda Srbije, Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), public electric-utility power company.
The current oil production in Serbia amounts to over 1.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent and satisfies some 43% of country's needs while the rest is imported. National petrol company, Naftna Industrija Srbije, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), was acquired in 2008 by Gazprom Neft. The company's refinery in Pančevo (capacity of 4.8 million tonnes) is one of the most modern oil-refineries in Europe; it also operates network of 334 filling stations in Serbia (74% of domestic market) and additional 36 stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 in Bulgaria
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, and 28 in Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. There are 155 kilometres of crude oil pipelines connecting Pančevo and Novi Sad refineries as a part of trans-national Adria oil pipeline.
Serbia is heavily dependent on foreign sources of natural gas, with only 17% coming from domestic production (totalling 491 million cubic metres in 2012) and the rest is imported, mainly from Russia (via gas pipelines that run through Ukraine and Hungary). Srbijagas, public company, operates the natural gas transportation system which comprise of trunk and regional natural gas pipelines and a 450 million cubic metre underground gas storage facility at Banatski Dvor.
In November 2020 governments of Serbia and Srpska announced construction of three hydropower plants on the Drina estimated at EUR 520 million. In January 2021, Balkan Stream gas pipeline opened through Serbia.
Transport
Serbia has a strategic transportation location since the country's backbone, Morava Valley, represents the easiest land route from continental Europe to Asia Minor and the Near East.
Serbian road network carries the bulk of traffic in the country. Total length of roads is of which are "class-IA state roads" (i.e. motorways); are "class-IB state roads" (national roads); are "class-II state roads" (regional roads) and are "municipal roads". The road network, except for the most of class-IA roads, are of comparatively lower quality to the Western European standards because of lack of financial resources for their maintenance in the last 20 years.
Over of new motorways were constructed in the last decade and additional are currently under construction: A5 motorway (Serbia), A5 motorway (from north of Kruševac to Čačak) and -long segment of A2 motorway (Serbia), A2 (between Čačak and Požega, Serbia, Požega). Coach (bus), Coach transport is very extensive: almost every place in the country is connected by bus, from largest cities to the villages; in addition there are international routes (mainly to countries of Western Europe with large Serb diaspora). Routes, both domestic and international, are served by more than hundred intercity bus service, intercity coach services, biggest of which are Lasta Beograd, Lasta and Niš-Ekspres. , there were 1,999,771 registered passenger cars or 1 passenger car per 3.5 inhabitants.
Serbia has of rail tracks, of which are electrified and are double-track railroad. The major rail hub is Belgrade (and to a lesser degree Niš), while the most important railroads include: Belgrade–Subotica–Budapest (Hungary) (currently upgraded to high-speed status), Belgrade–Bar railway, Belgrade–Bar (Montenegro), Belgrade-Šid railway, Belgrade–Šid–Zagreb (Croatia)/Belgrade–Niš–Sofia (Bulgaria) (part of Pan-European Corridor X), and Niš–Thessaloniki (Greece). A Belgrade-Novi Sad high-speed rail line ''Soko'', a part of the Belgrade-Budapest railway on the Belt and Road initiative, was opened in March 2022. The train travels 36 minutes from Belgrade to Novi Sad. Rail services are operated by Srbija Voz (passenger transport) and Srbija Kargo (freight transport).
There are three airports with regular passenger traffic. Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport served 6.2 million passengers in 2019 and is a hub of flagship carrier Air Serbia which flies to 59 destinations in 32 countries and carried some 2.8 million passengers in 2019. Niš Constantine the Great Airport and Morava Airport are mainly catering low-cost airlines but also serving as secondary Air Serbia hubs.
Serbia has a developed inland water transport since there are of navigable inland waterways ( of navigable rivers and of navigable canals), which are almost all located in northern third of the country. The most important inland waterway is the Danube (part of Pan-European Corridor VII). Other navigable rivers include Sava, Tisza, Bega River (Tisza), Begej and Timiş Rivers, all of which connect Serbia with Northern and Western Europe through the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal and North Sea route, to Eastern Europe via the Tisza, Begej and Danube Black Sea routes, and to Southern Europe via the Sava river. More than 8 million tonnes of cargo were transported on Serbian rivers and canals in 2018 while the largest river ports are: Novi Sad, Belgrade, Pančevo, Smederevo, Prahovo and Šabac.
Telecommunications
Fixed telephone lines connect 81% of households in Serbia, and with about 9.1 million users the number of cellphones surpasses the total population of by 28%. The largest mobile operator is Telekom Srbija with 4.2 million subscribers, followed by Telenor Serbia, Telenor with 2.8 million users and A1 Srbija, A1 with about 2 million. Some 58% of households have fixed-line (non-mobile) broadband Internet connection while 67% are provided with pay television, pay television services (i.e. 38% cable television, 17% IPTV, and 10% satellite). Digital television transition has been completed in 2015 with DVB-T2 standard for signal transmission.[Jovanka Matic and Larisa Rankovic,]
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Tourism
Serbia is not a mass-tourism destination but nevertheless has a diverse range of touristic products. In 2019, total of over 3.6 million tourists were recorded in accommodations, of which half were foreign. Foreign exchange earnings from tourism were estimated at $1.5 billion.
Tourism is mainly focused on the mountains and spas of the country, which are mostly visited by domestic tourists, as well as Belgrade and, to a lesser degree, Novi Sad, which are preferred choices of foreign tourists (almost two-thirds of all foreign visits are made to these two cities). The most famous mountain resorts are Kopaonik ski resort, Kopaonik, Stara Planina ski resort, Stara Planina and Tornik ski resort, Zlatibor. There are also many spas in Serbia, the biggest of which are Vrnjačka Banja, Soko Banja, and Banja Koviljača. City-break and conference tourism is developed in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Other touristic products that Serbia offer are natural wonders like Djavolja varos, Đavolja varoš, Christian pilgrimage to the many List of Serbian Orthodox monasteries, Orthodox monasteries across the country and the river cruising along the Danube. There are several internationally popular music festivals held in Serbia, such as Exit (festival), EXIT (with 25–30,000 foreign visitors coming from 60 countries) and the Guča trumpet festival.
Education and science
According to 2011 census, literacy in Serbia stands at 98% of population while computer literacy is at 49% (complete computer literacy is at 34.2%). Same census showed the following levels of education: 16.2% of inhabitants have higher education (10.6% have bachelors or master's degrees, 5.6% have an associate degree), 49% have a secondary education, 20.7% have an elementary education, and 13.7% have not completed elementary education.
Education in Serbia is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Science. Education starts in either preschools or elementary schools. Children enroll in elementary schools at the age of seven. Compulsory education consists of eight grades of elementary school. Students have the opportunity to attend Gymnasium (school), gymnasiums and vocational schools for another four years, or to enroll in vocational training for 2 to 3 years. Following the completion of gymnasiums or vocational schools, students have the opportunity to attend university. Elementary and secondary education are also available in languages of recognised minorities in Serbia, where classes are held in Hungarian, Slovak, Albanian, Romanian, Rusyn, Bulgarian as well as Bosnian and Croatian languages. Petnica Science Center is a notable institution for extracurricular science education focusing on gifted students.
There are 19 universities in Serbia (nine public universities with a total number of 86 Faculty (division), faculties and ten private universities with 51 faculties). In 2018/2019 academic year, 210,480 students attended 19 universities (181,310 at public universities and some 29,170 at private universities) while 47,169 attended 81 "higher schools". Public universities in Serbia are: the University of Belgrade (oldest, founded in 1808, and largest university with 97,696 undergraduates and graduates), University of Novi Sad (founded in 1960 and with student body of 42,489), University of Niš (founded in 1965; 20,559 students), University of Kragujevac (founded in 1976; 14,053 students), University of Priština (North Mitrovica), University of Priština (located in North Mitrovica), State University of Novi Pazar, Public University of Novi Pazar as well as three specialist universities – University of Arts (Belgrade), University of Arts, Military Academy (Serbia), University of Defence and University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies. Largest private universities include Megatrend University and Singidunum University, both in Belgrade, and Educons University in Novi Sad. The University of Belgrade (placed in 301–400 bracket on Academic Ranking of World Universities, 2013 Shanghai Ranking of World Universities, being best-placed university in Southeast Europe after those in Athens and Thessaloniki) and University of Novi Sad are generally considered the best institutions of higher learning in the country.
Serbia spent 0.9% of GDP on scientific research in 2017, which is slightly below the European average. Serbia was ranked 54th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 57th in 2019. Since 2018, Serbia is a full member of CERN. Serbia has a long history of excellence in maths and computer sciences which has created a strong pool of engineering talent, although economic sanctions during the 1990s and chronic underinvestment in research forced many scientific professionals to leave the country. Nevertheless, there are several areas in which Serbia still excels such as growing information technology sector, which includes software development as well as outsourcing. It generated over $1.2 billion in exports in 2018, both from international investors and a significant number of dynamic homegrown enterprises. Serbia is one of the countries with the highest proportion of women in science.
Among the scientific institutes operating in Serbia, the largest are the Mihajlo Pupin Institute and Vinča Nuclear Institute, both in Belgrade. The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is a learned society promoting science and arts from its inception in 1841.
Culture
For centuries straddling the boundaries between East and West, the territory of Serbia had been divided among the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire; then between Byzantium and the Kingdom of Hungary; and in the early modern period between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Empire. These overlapping influences have resulted in cultural varieties throughout Serbia; its north leans to the profile of Central Europe, while the south is characteristic of the wider Balkans and even the Mediterranean. The Byzantine influence on Serbia was profound, first through the introduction of Eastern Christianity in the Early Middle Ages. The Serbian Orthodox Church has List of Serb Orthodox monasteries, many monasteries built in the Serbia in the Middle Ages, Serbian Middle Ages. Serbia was influenced by the Republic of Venice as well, mainly though trade, literature and Romanesque art, romanesque architecture.
Serbia has five cultural monuments inscribed in the list of World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage: the early medieval capital Stari Ras and the 13th-century monastery Sopoćani; the 12th-century Studenica monastery; the Roman complex of Gamzigrad, Gamzigrad–Felix Romuliana; medieval tombstones Stećci; and finally the endangered Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (the monasteries of Visoki Dečani, Our Lady of Ljeviš, Gračanica Monastery, Gračanica and Patriarchal Monastery of Peć).
There are two literary works on UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme: the 12th-century ''Miroslav Gospel'', and scientist Nikola Tesla's archive. The ''slava (patron saint veneration), slava'' (patron saint veneration), kolo (dance), kolo (traditional folk dance), singing to the accompaniment of the gusle and Zlakusa pottery are inscribed on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. The Minister of Culture (Serbia), Ministry of Culture and Information is tasked with preserving the nation's Cultural Heritage of Serbia, cultural heritage and overseeing its development, with further activities undertaken by local governments.
Art and architecture
Traces of Roman and early Byzantine Empire architectural heritage are found in many royal cities and palaces in Serbia, such as Sirmium, Felix Romuliana and Justiniana Prima, since 535 the seat of the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima.
Serbian monasteries were under the influence of Byzantine Art, particularly after the fall of Constantinople in 1204 when many Byzantine artists fled to Serbia. The monasteries include Studenica (built around 1190), which was a model for such later monasteries as Mileševa, Sopoćani, Žiča, Gračanica monastery, Gračanica and Visoki Dečani. Numerous monuments and cultural sites were destroyed at various stages of Serbian history, including Destruction of Serbian heritage in Kosovo, destruction in Kosovo. In the late 14th and the 15th centuries, an autochthonous architectural style known as Morava architectural school, Morava style evolved in the area around Morava Valley. A characteristic of this style was the wealthy decoration of the frontal church walls. Examples of this include Manasija, Ravanica and Kalenić Monastery, Kalenić monasteries.
Frescos include White Angel (Mileševa monastery), ''Crucifixion'' (Studenica monastery) and ''Dormition of the Virgin'' (Sopoćani).
The country is dotted with many well-preserved medieval fortifications and castles such as Smederevo Fortress (largest lowland fortress in Europe), Golubac Fortress, Golubac, Maglič, Soko Grad (Sokobanja), Soko grad, Belgrade Fortress, Ostrvica Fortress, Ostrvica and Ram Fortress, Ram.
Under Ottoman occupation, Serbian art was virtually non-existent outside the lands ruled by the Habsburg monarchy. Traditional Serbian art showed Baroque influences at the end of the 18th century as shown in the works of Nikola Nešković, Teodor Kračun, Zaharije Orfelin and Jakov Orfelin.
Serbian painting showed the influence of Biedermeier and Neoclassicism as seen in works by Konstantin Danil, Arsenije Teodorović and Pavel Đurković. Many painters followed the artistic trends set in the 19th century Romanticism, notably Đura Jakšić, Stevan Todorović, Katarina Ivanović and Novak Radonić.
Serbian painters of the first half of the 20th century include Paja Jovanović and Uroš Predić of Realism (arts), Realism, Cubist Sava Šumanović, Milena Pavlović-Barili and Nadežda Petrović of Impressionism, Expressionist Milan Konjović. Painters of the second half of 20th century include Marko Čelebonović, Petar Lubarda, Milo Milunović, Ljubomir Popović and Vladimir Veličković.
Anastas Jovanović was one of the earliest photographers in the world. Marina Abramović is a performance artist. Pirot carpet is a traditional handicraft in Serbia.
There are around 180 museums in Serbia, including the National Museum of Serbia, founded in 1844, houses one of the largest art collections in the Balkans, including many foreign pieces. Other art museums include the Museum of Contemporary Art (Belgrade), Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, the Museum of Vojvodina and the Gallery of Matica Srpska in Novi Sad.
Literature
Serbian uses the Cyrillic alphabet created by the students of the brothers Cyril and Methodius at the Preslav Literary School in Bulgaria. Serbian works from the early 11th century are written in Glagolitic. Starting in the 12th century, books were written in Cyrillic. The Miroslav Gospels from 1186 are considered to be the oldest book of Serbian medieval history and are listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.
Medieval authors include Saint Sava, Jefimija, Stefan Lazarević, Constantine of Kostenets and others. Under Ottoman occupation, when Serbia was not part of the European Renaissance, the tradition of oral story-telling through epic poetry was inspired by the Kosovo battle and folk tales rooted in Slavic mythology. Serbian epic poetry in those times was seen as the most effective way in preserving the national identity. The oldest known, entirely fictional poems, make up the ''Non-historic cycle'', which is followed by poems inspired by events before, during and after the Battle of Kosovo. Some cycles are dedicated to Serbian legendary hero, Prince Marko, Marko Kraljević, others are about hajduks and uskoks, and the last one is dedicated to the liberation of Serbia in the 19th century. Folk ballads include ''The Death of the Mother of the Jugović Family'' and Hasanaginica, ''The Mourning Song of the Noble Wife of the Asan Aga'' (1646), translated into European languages by Goethe, Walter Scott, Pushkin and Mérimée. A tale from Serbian folklore is The Nine Peahens and the Golden Apples.
Baroque trends in Serbian literature emerged in the late 17th ccentury. Baroque-influenced authors include Gavril Stefanović Venclović, Jovan Rajić, Zaharije Orfelin and Andrija Zmajević. Dositej Obradović was a prominent figure of the Age of Enlightenment, while Jovan Sterija Popović was a Classicism, Classicist writer whose works also contained elements of Romanticism. In the era of national revival, in the first half of the 19th century, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić collected Serbian folk literature, and reformed the Serbian language and spelling, paving the way for Serbian Romanticism. The first half of the 19th century was dominated by Romanticist writers, including Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, Branko Radičević, Đura Jakšić, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj and Laza Kostić, while the second half of the century was marked by Literary realism, Realist writers such as Milovan Glišić, Laza Lazarević, Simo Matavulj, Stevan Sremac, Vojislav Ilić, Branislav Nušić, Radoje Domanović and Borisav Stanković.
The 20th century was dominated by the prose writers Meša Selimović (''Death and the Dervish''), Miloš Crnjanski (''Migrations''), Isidora Sekulić (''The Chronicle of a Small Town Cemetery''), Branko Ćopić (''Eagles Fly Early (novel), Eagles Fly Early''), Borislav Pekić (''The Time of Miracles''), Danilo Kiš (''The Encyclopedia of the Dead''), Dobrica Ćosić (''Koreni (novel), The Roots''), Aleksandar Tišma (''The Use of Man''), Milorad Pavić and others. Notable poets include Milan Rakić, Jovan Dučić, Vladislav Petković Dis, Rastko Petrović, Stanislav Vinaver, Dušan Matić, Branko Miljković, Vasko Popa, Oskar Davičo, Miodrag Pavlović, and Stevan Raičković.
Pavić is a 21st century Serbian author whose ''Dictionary of the Khazars'' has been translated into 38 languages. Contemporary authors include David Albahari, Svetislav Basara, Goran Petrović, Gordana Kuić, Vuk Drašković and Vladislav Bajac. Serbian comics emerged in the 1930s and the medium remains popular today.
Ivo Andrić (''The Bridge on the Drina'') is a Serbian author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. Another writer was Desanka Maksimović, who for seven decades was ''the leading lady of Yugoslav poetry''. She is honoured with statues, postage stamps, and the names of streets across Serbia.
There are 551 public libraries, the largest of which are: the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade with about 6 million items, and Matica Srpska (the oldest matica and Serbian cultural institution, founded in 1826) in Novi Sad with nearly 3.5 million volumes. In 2010, there were 10,989 books and brochures published. The book publishing market is dominated by several major publishers such as Laguna and Vulkan (both of which operate their own bookstore chains) and the industry's centrepiece event, annual Belgrade Book Fair, is the most visited cultural event in Serbia with 158,128 visitors in 2013. The highlight of the literary scene is awarding of NIN Prize, given every January since 1954 for the best newly published novel in Serbian.
Music
Composer and musicology, musicologist Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac is considered the founder of modern Serbian music. The Serbian composers of the first generation Petar Konjović, Stevan Hristić, and Miloje Milojević maintained the national expression and modernised the romanticism into the direction of impressionism. Other famous European classical music, classical Serbian composers include Isidor Bajić, Stanislav Binički and Josif Marinković. There are three opera houses in Serbia: National Theatre in Belgrade, Opera of the National Theatre and Madlenianum Opera and Theatre, Madlenianum Opera, both in Belgrade, and Serbian National Theatre, Opera of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad. Four symphonic orchestra operate in the country: Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Niš Symphony Orchestra, Novi Sad Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphonic Orchestra of Radio Television of Serbia. The Choir of Radio Television of Serbia is a leading vocal ensemble in the country. The Belgrade Music Festival, BEMUS is one of the most prominent classical music festivals in the Southeastern Europe.
Traditional Serbian music includes various kinds of bagpipes, flutes, Blowing horn, horns, trumpets, lutes, psalteries, drums and cymbals. The ''kolo'' is the traditional collective folk dance, which has Serbian dances, a number of varieties throughout the regions. The most popular are those from Užice and Morava region. Sung epic poetry has been an integral part of Serbian and Balkan music for centuries. In the highlands of Serbia these long poems are typically accompanied on a one-string fiddle called the ''gusle'', and concern themselves with themes from history and mythology. There are records of ''gusle'' being played at the court of the 13th-century King Stefan Nemanjić.
Serbian pop, Pop music artist Željko Joksimović won second place at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest and Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Molitva", and Serbia was the host of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, 2008 edition of the contest. Pop singers include Zdravko Čolić, Vlado Georgiev, Aleksandra Radović, Jelena Tomašević and Nataša Bekvalac, among others.
Serbian rock was part of the SFR Yugoslav pop and rock scene, former Yugoslav rock scene during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. During the 1990s and 2000s, the popularity of rock music declined in Serbia, and although several major mainstream acts managed to sustain their popularity, an underground music, underground and independent music scene developed. The 2000s saw a revival of the mainstream scene and the appearance of a large number of notable acts. Serbian rock acts include Atheist Rap, Bajaga i Instruktori, Đorđe Balašević, Bjesovi, Block Out (band), Block Out, Crni Biseri, Darkwood Dub, Disciplina Kičme, Elipse, Ekatarina Velika, Električni Orgazam, Eva Braun (band), Eva Braun, Galija, Generacija 5, Goblini, Idoli, Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša, Kerber, Korni Grupa, Laboratorija Zvuka, Slađana Milošević, Neverne Bebe, Obojeni Program, Orthodox Celts, Partibrejkers, Pekinška Patka, Piloti (band), Piloti, Riblja Čorba, Ritam Nereda, Rambo Amadeus, SARS (band), S.A.R.S., Siluete, S Vremena Na Vreme, Šarlo Akrobata, Pop Mašina, Smak, U Škripcu, Van Gogh (band), Van Gogh, YU Grupa, Zana (band), Zana and others.
Folk music in its original form has been a prominent music style since World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
following the early success of Sofka Nikolić. The music has been further promoted by Danica Obrenić, Anđelija Milić, Nada Mamula, and during the 60s and 70s with performers like Silvana Armenulić, Toma Zdravković, Lepa Lukić, Vasilija Radojčić, Vida Pavlović and Gordana Stojićević.
Turbo-folk music is a subgenre that was developed in Serbia in the late 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s and has since enjoyed an immense popularity through acts of Dragana Mirković, Zorica Brunclik, Šaban Šaulić, Ana Bekuta, Sinan Sakić, Vesna Zmijanac, Mile Kitić, Snežana Đurišić, Šemsa Suljaković, and Nada Topčagić. It is a blend of folk music with Pop music, pop and Dance music, dance elements and can be seen as a result of the urbanisation of folk music. In recent years, turbo-folk has featured even more pop music elements, and some of the performers have been labeled as pop-folk. The most famous among them are Svetlana Ražnatović, Ceca (often considered to be the biggest music star of Serbia), Jelena Karleuša, Aca Lukas, Seka Aleksić, Dara Bubamara, Indira Radić, Saša Matić, Viki Miljković, Stoja and Lepa Brena, arguably the most prominent performer of former Yugoslavia.
Balkan Brass Band, Balkan Brass, or ''truba'' ("trumpet") is a popular genre, especially in Central and Southern Serbia where Balkan Brass originated. The music has its tradition from the First Serbian Uprising. The trumpet was used as a military instrument to wake and gather soldiers and announce battles, and it took on the role of entertainment during downtime, as soldiers used it to transpose popular folk songs. When the war ended and the soldiers returned to the rural life, the music entered civilian life and eventually became a music style, accompanying births, baptisms, weddings, and funerals. There are two main varieties of this genre, one from Western Serbia and the other from Southern Serbia, with brass musician Boban Marković being one of the most respected names in the world of modern brass band bandleaders.
The most popular music festivals are Guča Trumpet Festival, with over 300,000 annual visitors, and Exit (festival), EXIT in Novi Sad (won the Best Major Festival award at the European Festivals Awards for 2013 and 2017.), with 200,000 visitors in 2013. Other festivals include Nišville, Nišville Jazz Festival in Niš and Gitarijada rock festival in Zaječar.
Theatre and cinema
Serbia has a well-established theatrical tradition with Joakim Vujić considered the founder of modern Serbian theatre. Serbia has 38 professional theatres and 11 theatres for children, the most important of which are National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad, National Theatre in Subotica, National Theatre in Niš and Knjaževsko-srpski teatar in Kragujevac (the oldest theatre in Serbia, established in 1835). The Bitef, Belgrade International Theatre Festival – BITEF, founded in 1967, is one of the oldest theatre festivals in the world, and it has become one of the five biggest European festivals. Sterijino pozorje is, on the other hand, a festival showcasing national drama plays. The most important Serbian playwrights were Jovan Sterija Popović and Branislav Nušić, while recent renowned names are Dušan Kovačević and Biljana Srbljanović.
The foundation of Serbian cinema dates back to 1896. The first Serbian feature film, titled ''The Life and Deeds of the Immortal Leader Karađorđe'', was released in 1911.
Serbia's film scene is one of the most dynamic smaller European cinemas. Serbia's film industry is heavily subsidized by the government, mainly through grants approved by the Film Centre of Serbia. As of 2019, there were 26 feature films produced in Serbia, of which 14 were domestic films. There are 23 operating cinemas in the country, of which 13 are Multiplex (movie theater), multiplexes (all but two belonging to either Cineplexx Cinemas, Cineplexx or CineStar chains), with total attendance reaching 4.8 million. A comparatively high percentage of 20% of total tickets sold were for domestic films. Modern Pink International Company, PFI Studios located in Šimanovci is nowadays Serbia's only major film studio complex; it consists of 9 sound stages and attracts mainly international productions, primarily American and West European. The Yugoslav Film Archive used to be former Yugoslavia's and now is Serbia's national film archive – with over 100 thousand film prints, it is among the five largest film archives in the world.
Famous Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica won two Golden Palm, Palmes d'Or for Best Feature Film at the Cannes Film Festival, for ''When Father Was Away on Business'' in 1985 and then again for ''Underground (1995 film), Underground'' in 1995; he has also won a Jury Grand Prix, Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for ''Arizona Dream'' and a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival for ''Black Cat, White Cat''. Other renowned directors include Dušan Makavejev, Želimir Žilnik (Golden Berlin Bear winner), Aleksandar Petrović (film director), Aleksandar Petrović, Živojin Pavlović, Goran Paskaljević, Goran Marković (film director), Goran Marković, Srđan Dragojević, Srdan Golubović and Mila Turajlić among others. Serbian-American screenwriter Steve Tesich won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1979 for the movie Breaking Away.
Prominent movie stars in Serbia have left a celebrated heritage in the cinematography of Yugoslavia as well. Notable mentions are Zoran Radmilović, Pavle Vuisić, Ljubiša Samardžić, Olivera Marković, Mija Aleksić, Miodrag Petrović Čkalja, Ružica Sokić, Velimir Bata Živojinović, Danilo Bata Stojković, Seka Sablić, Olivera Katarina, Dragan Nikolić, Mira Stupica, Nikola Simić (actor), Nikola Simić, Bora Todorović and others. Milena Dravić was one of the most celebrated actresses in Serbian cinematography, winning the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980.
Serbian actress Jasna Đuričić was named the best actress in Europe for 2021 at the 34th European Film Awards (EFA) for the Bosnian movie Quo Vadis, Aida?, "Quo vadis, Aida".
Media
Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are guaranteed by the constitution of Serbia. Serbia is ranked 90th out of 180 countries in the 2019 Press Freedom Index report compiled by Reporters Without Borders. The report noted that media outlets and journalists continue to face partisan and government pressure over editorial policies. Also, the media are now more heavily dependent on advertising contracts and government subsidies to survive financially.
According to European Broadcasting Union, EBU research in 2018, Serbs on average watch five and a half hours of television per day, making it the second highest average in Europe. There are seven nationwide free-to-air television channels, with public broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) operating three (RTS1, RTS2 and RTS3) and private broadcasters operating four (RTV Pink, Pink, Prva Srpska Televizija, Prva, Happy TV, Happy, and B92, O2). In 2019, preferred usage of these channels was as follows: 19.3% for RTS1, 17.6% for Pink, 10.5% for Prva, 6.9% for Happy, 4.1% for O2, and 1.6% for RTS2. There are 28 regional television channels and 74 local television channels. Besides terrestrial channels there are dozens of Serbian television channels available only on cable or satellite. These include regional news N1 (TV channel), N1, commercial channel Nova S, and regional sports channels Sport Klub and Arena Sport, among others.
There are 247 radio stations in Serbia. Out of these, six are radio stations with national coverage, including two of public broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (Radio Belgrade, Radio Belgrade 1 and Radio Belgrade 2/Radio Belgrade 3) and four private ones (Radio S1, Radio S2, Play Radio, and Radio Hit FM). Also, there are 34 regional stations and 207 local stations.
There are 305 newspapers published in Serbia of which 12 are daily newspapers. Dailies ''Politika'' and ''Danas (newspaper), Danas'' are Serbia's papers of record, the former being the oldest newspaper in the Balkans, founded in 1904. Highest circulation newspapers are tabloids ''Večernje Novosti'', ''Blic'', ''Kurir'', and ''Informer (newspaper), Informer'', all with more than 100,000 copies sold. There is one daily newspaper devoted to sports (''Sportski žurnal''), one business daily (''Privredni pregled''), two regional newspapers (''Dnevnik (Serbia), Dnevnik'' published in Novi Sad and ''Narodne novine'' from Niš), and one minority-language daily (''Magyar Szo'' in Hungarian, published in Subotica).
There are 1,351 magazines published in the country. These include: weekly news magazines ''NIN (magazine), NIN'', ''Vreme'' and ''Nedeljnik''; popular science magazine ''Politikin Zabavnik''; women's magazine ''Lepota & Zdravlje''; auto magazine ''SAT revija''; and IT magazine ''Svet kompjutera''. In addition, there is a wide selection of Serbian editions of international magazines, such as ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'', ''Elle (magazine), Elle'', ''Men's Health (magazine), Men's Health'', ''National Geographic (magazine), National Geographic'', ''Le Monde diplomatique'', ''Playboy'', and ''Hello! (magazine), Hello!'', among others.
The main news agencies are Tanjug, Beta News Agency, Beta and Fonet.
, out of 432 web-portals (mainly on the .rs domain) the most visited are online editions of printed dailies Blic and Kurir, news web-portal B92 and classifieds Kupujemprodajem.com, KupujemProdajem.
Cuisine
Serbian cuisine is largely heterogeneous in a way characteristic of the Balkans and, especially, the former Yugoslavia. It features foods characteristic of lands formerly under Turkish cuisine, Turkish suzerainty as well as cuisine originating from other parts of Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
(especially Austrian cuisine, Austria and Hungarian cuisine, Hungary). Food is very important in Serbian social life, particularly during religious holidays such as Christmas, Easter and feast days i.e. slava (feast), slava.
Staples of the Serbian diet include bread, meat, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Bread plays an important role in Serbian cuisine and can be found in religious rituals. A traditional Serbian welcome is to offer bread and salt to guests. Meat is widely consumed, as is fish. The southern Serbian city of Leskovac is host to Roštiljijada, a yearly grilled meat barbecue-based festival that is considered the biggest barbecue festival in the Balkans.
Other Serbian specialties include ćevapčići (grilled and seasoned caseless sausages made from minced meat), pljeskavica (grilled spiced meat patty made from a mixture of pork, beef and lamb), gibanica (cheese pie), burek (baked pastry made from a thin flaky dough that is stuffed with meat, cheese or vegetables), sarma (food), sarma (stuffed cabbage), punjena paprika (stuffed pepper), moussaka (casserole made from minced meat, eggs, and potatoes), Karađorđeva šnicla (veal or pork schnitzel that is stuffed with kajmak), đuveč (meat and vegetable stew), pasulj (bean soup), podvarak (roast meat with sauerkraut), ajvar (roasted red pepper spread), kajmak (dairy product similar to clotted cream), čvarci (variant of pork rinds), proja (cornbread) and kačamak (corn-flour porridge).
Serbians claim their country as the birthplace of rakia (''rakija''), a highly alcoholic drink primarily distilled from fruit. Rakia in various forms is found throughout the Balkans, notably in Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Hungary and Turkey. Slivovitz (''šljivovica''), a plum brandy, is a type of rakia which is considered the national drink of Serbia. In 2021, Serbia's sljivovica was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, United Nations Intangible Cultural Heritage List as a "cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity".
Winemaking traditions in Serbia dates back to Roman times. Serbian wines are produced in 22 different geographical regions, with white wine dominating the total amount. Besides rakia and wine, beer is a very popular alcoholic beverage in the country. Pale lagers are currently and have been the traditional beer choice for Serbians. Meanwhile, dark lagers, while still being popular, are produced and consumed in much smaller quantities. The most popular domestic brands of beer are Jelen, followed by Lav, which are both pale lagers.
As in the rest of the former Yugoslavia, Coffee culture in former Yugoslavia, coffee drinking is an important cultural and social practice and Serbian coffee (a local variant of Turkish coffee) is the most commonly consumed non-alcoholic beverage in Serbia.
Sports
Sports play an important role in Serbian society, and the country has a strong sporting history. The most popular sports in Serbia are association football, football, basketball, tennis, volleyball, water polo and handball.
Professional sports in Serbia are organised by sporting federations and leagues (in the case of team sports). One of the particularities of Serbian professional sports is the existence of many multi-sport clubs (called "sports societies"), the biggest and most successful of which are SD Crvena Zvezda, Red Star, JSD Partizan, Partizan, and OSD Beograd, Beograd in Belgrade; SD Vojvodina, Vojvodina in Novi Sad; FK Radnički 1923, Radnički in Kragujevac; and FK Spartak Zlatibor Voda, Spartak in Subotica.
Football is the most popular sport in Serbia, and the Football Association of Serbia with 146,845 registered players, is the largest sporting association in the country. Dragan Džajić was officially recognised as "the best Serbian player of all time" by the Football Association of Serbia, and more recently the likes of Nemanja Vidić, Dejan Stanković, Branislav Ivanović, Aleksandar Kolarov and Nemanja Matić play for the elite European clubs, developing the nation's reputation as one of the world's biggest exporters of footballers. The Serbia national football team lacks relative success although it qualified for three of the last four FIFA World Cups. The two main football clubs in Serbia are Red Star Belgrade, Red Star (winner of the 1990–91 European Cup, 1991 European Cup) and FK Partizan, Partizan (a finalist at the 1965–66 European Cup, 1966 European Cup), both from Belgrade. The rivalry between the two clubs is known as the "Eternal derby (Serbia), Eternal Derby", and is often cited as one of the most exciting sports rivalries in the world.
Serbia is one of the traditional powerhouses of world basketball, as Serbian national basketball team, Serbia men's national basketball team have won two FIBA World Championship, World Championships (in 1998 and 2002), three EuroBasket, European Championships (1995, 1997, and 2001) and two Olympic silver medals (in Basketball at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996 and Basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016) as well. The Serbia women's national basketball team, women's national basketball team have won two EuroBasket Women, European Championships (2015, 2021) and an Basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics - Women's tournament, Olympic bronze medal in 2016. A total of 31 Serbian players have played in the NBA in the last three decades, including Nikola Jokić (2020-21 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, NBA MVP and three-time List of NBA All-Stars, NBA All-Star), Peja Stojaković, Predrag "Peja" Stojaković (2011 NBA champion and three-time NBA All-Star), and Vlade Divac (2001 NBA All-Star and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Famer). The renowned "Serbian coaching school" produced many of the most successful European basketball coaches of all time, such as Željko Obradović (who won a record 9 Euroleague titles as a coach), Dušan Ivković, Svetislav Pešić, and Igor Kokoškov (the first coach born and raised outside of North America to be hired as a head coach in the NBA). KK Partizan basketball club was the Euroleague Basketball, 1992 European champion.
The Serbia men's national water polo team is one of the most successful national teams, having won an Olympic gold medal in 2016 and 2020, three Water polo at the World Aquatics Championships, World Championships (2005, 2009 and 2015), and seven European Water Polo Championship, European Championships (2001, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018). VK Partizan has won a joint-record seven LEN Euroleague, European champion titles.
The recent success of Serbian tennis players has led to an immense growth in the popularity of tennis in the country. Novak Djokovic has won 21 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam singles titles and has held the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for a record total of 373 weeks. He became the eighth player in history to achieve the Grand Slam (tennis)#Career Grand Slam, Career Grand Slam, the third man to hold all four major titles at once, the first ever to do so on three different Tennis court, surfaces, and the first in the Open Era to achieve a double Career Grand Slam. Ana Ivanovic (champion of 2008 French Open) and Jelena Janković were both ranked No. 1 in the WTA rankings. There were two No. 1 ranked-tennis double players as well: Nenad Zimonjić (three-time men's double and four-time mixed double Grand Slam champion) and Slobodan Živojinović. The Serbia Davis Cup team, Serbia men's tennis national team won the 2010 Davis Cup and 2020 ATP Cup, while Serbia Fed Cup team, Serbia women's tennis national team reached the final at 2012 Fed Cup.
Serbia is one of the leading volleyball countries in the world. Its Serbia men's national volleyball team, men's national team won the Volleyball at the 2000 Summer Olympics, gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, the Men's European Volleyball Championship, European Championship three times, as well as the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World League, FIVB World League. The Serbia women's national volleyball team, women's national volleyball team are current FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, world Champions, have won Women's European Volleyball Championship, European Championship three times (2011, 2017 and 2019), as well as an Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics - Women's tournament, Olympic silver medal in 2016.
Jasna Šekarić, sport shooter, is one of the athletes with List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games, the most appearances at the Olympic Games. She has won a total of five Olympic medals and three World Championship gold medals. Other noted Serbian athletes include: swimmers Milorad Čavić (2009 World championships gold and silver medalist as well as 2008 Olympic silver medalist on 100-metre butterfly in Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre butterfly, historic race with American swimmer Michael Phelps) and Nađa Higl (2009 World champion in 200-metre breaststroke); track and field athletes Vera Nikolić (former 800 metres world record progression, world record holder in 800 metres) and Ivana Španović (long-jumper; four-time European champion, World indoor champion and bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympics); wrestler Davor Štefanek (2016 Olympic gold medalist and 2014 World champion), and taekwondoist Milica Mandić (2012 Olympic gold medalist and 2017 world champion).
Serbia has hosted several major sport competitions, including the 2005 EuroBasket, 2005 Men's European Basketball Championship, 2005 Men's European Volleyball Championship, 2006 and 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championships, 2009 Summer Universiade, 2012 European Men's Handball Championship, and 2013 World Women's Handball Championship. The most important annual sporting events held in the country are the Belgrade Marathon and the Tour de Serbie cycling race.
See also
*Index of Serbia-related articles
*Outline of Serbia
Notes
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External links
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National tourist organisation of Serbia
from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''.
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Serbia profile
from the BBC News.
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Key Development Forecasts for Serbia
from International Futures.
Serbia
''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
Serbia Corruption Profile
from the Business-Anti-Corruption Portal, Business Anti-Corruption Portal
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