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Country Snapshot - Serbia  

HighlightsRankingsQuantitative DataLegislationAnalytical WorkProject Portfolio
  • Eastern Europe & Central Asia
  • Upper middle income
  • 7,289,300 (2011)
  • 5,820
Serbia Flag
Below are select highlights for the data included in the profile.

  1. Serbia is ranked 89th out of 183 economies in Doing Business 2011. A significant improvement was recorded in the Closing a Business indicator since the country passed a new bankruptcy law that introduced out-of-court workouts and a unified reorganization procedure.
  2. According to the latest Enterprise Surveys (2009), the top three constraints to firm investment include Political Instability, Practices of the Informal Sector and Access to Finance. Among the firms surveyed, 53.62% of them reported competing against unregistered or informal firms, compared with 44.67% in the region.
  3. According to the latest World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Report (2009), Serbia ranks near the 50th percentile for the Regulatory Quality, Government Effectiveness and Control of Corruption Indicators.
  4. As reported by the Economist Intelligence Unit in May 2011, Serbia's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter of 2011 on the back of growing exports and industrial production. GDP grew by 3% year on year in the three months through March, the statistics office said in a preliminary estimate on April 29th, 2011, accelerating from 1.7% growth in the final quarter of 2010. The Economist Intelligence Unit expects GDP growth to accelerate to 3% this year (2011), from 1.8% in 2010, and to average 4.5% per year in 2011-15.
  5. Serbia’s economic freedom score is 58, making its economy the 101st freest in the 2011 Index. Its score has increased by 1.1 points since last year, reflecting modest improvements in six of the 10 economic freedoms. Serbia is ranked 38th out of 43 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is below the world average. Serbia has implemented significant structural reforms in many parts of its economy over the past decade. Facilitated by a reform process involving privatization and consolidation, the once-defunct banking sector has revived and continues to evolve. Serbia’s economic competitiveness is supported by low, flat tax rates and relatively flexible employment regulations that fuel entrepreneurial activity. Deeper reforms are needed to tackle bureaucracy, reduce corruption, and reform a weak judicial system that is vulnerable to political interference. Overall economic freedom in Serbia suffers from insufficient institutional support or political will for the bold reforms that are required. Government spending is high and poorly managed, holding back Serbia’s economic potential.

Subnational Doing Business Report

Doing Business in South East Europe 2008 compares business regulations across 7 economies (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo,* the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) in 4 key areas: starting a business, dealing with licenses, registering property, and enforcing contracts. The study provides comparable data for 22 cities that can inspire reforms at the national and local level and add to the reform momentum of the region.

* Under UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), Kosovo was administered by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Main Findings

  • If one city were to adopt all the best existing practices in South East Europe, it would rank 9th among the 178 economies measured by Doing Business 2008, similar to Ireland and Canada.
  • Overall, Bitola (Macedonia, FYR) was the easiest city for doing business.
  • Construction licenses were costly throughout South East Europe, averaging 1,427% of income per capita—higher than in most regions of the world and in many new European Union member countries.

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