In 2024, Serbia’s economy was one of the fastest-growing in Europe, with industrial production increasing by 0.4% in January despite challenges in the Eurozone and geopolitical risks. Serbia’s budget showed a surplus in January, and the average net salary reached 926 euros in December 2024. Inflation remained relatively low, with monthly inflation at 0.1% in December and 0.6% in January, while year-on-year inflation was 4.3% and 4.6% in the same months.
Key sectors like manufacturing and mining showed positive growth in January 2025, with manufacturing up by 2.6% and mining by 6.9%. However, the electricity, gas, and heating supply sector experienced a decline of 9.1%. This sector, which constitutes 15.3% of industrial production, has shown signs of recovery but is still about 5% lower compared to the previous year. Poor hydrological conditions have hampered hydroelectric power production, with a 31% drop in production in January and February 2025 compared to the same months in 2024.
The industrial sector faces risks, mainly from economic downturns in major trade partners like Germany. Serbia’s growth depends on political stability and the recovery of industries such as the automotive sector, where Fiat’s parent company Stellantis is in crisis.
In terms of foreign trade, Serbia’s current account deficit grew significantly in 2024, reaching 5.2 billion euros, driven by higher deficits in goods trade and a larger outflow of income from direct investments. However, Serbia’s net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in 2024 was 4.6 billion euros, a 7.9% increase from the previous year. The structure of FDI showed a higher share of proprietary investments, which rose from 77% to 79.7%.
In January 2025, Serbia recorded a budget surplus of 5.5 billion dinars, though it was 24.6 billion dinars lower than the surplus from January 2024. Real budget receipts were 0.7% lower compared to the same month last year.
