Table of Contents Chapter 1 1 Country Overview 1 Country Overview 2 Key Data 4 Serbia 5 Southeastern Europe 6 Chapter 2 8 Political Overview 8 History 9 Political Conditions 19 Political Risk Index 72 Political Stability 86 Freedom Rankings 101 Human Rights 113 Government Functions 116 Government Structure 117 Principal Government Officials 122 Leader Biography 124 Leader Biography 124 Foreign Relations 126 National Security 148 Defense Forces 150 Appendix: Kosovo 152 Chapter 3 161 Economic Overview 161 Economic Overview 162 Nominal GDP and Components 169 Population and GDP Per Capita 170 Real GDP and Inflation 171 Government Spending and Taxation 172 Money Supply, Interest Rates and Unemployment 173 Foreign Trade and the Exchange Rate 174 Data in US Dollars 175 Energy Consumption and Production Standard Units 176 Energy Consumption and Production QUADS 178 World Energy Price Summary 179 CO2 Emissions 180 Agriculture Consumption and Production 181 World Agriculture Pricing Summary 184 Metals Consumption and Production 185 World Metals Pricing Summary 188 Economic Performance Index 189 Chapter 4 201 Investment Overview 201 Foreign Investment Climate 202 Foreign Investment Index 204 Corruption Perceptions Index 217 Competitiveness Ranking 229 Taxation 238 Stock Market 238 Partner Links 239 Chapter 5 240 Social Overview 240 People 241 Human Development Index 243 Life Satisfaction Index 247 Happy Planet Index 258 Status of Women 267 Global Gender Gap Index 269 Culture and Arts 279 Etiquette 279 Travel Information 280 Diseases/Health Data 289 Chapter 6 295 Environmental Overview 295 Environmental Issues 296 Environmental Policy 296 Greenhouse Gas Ranking 298 Global Environmental Snapshot 309 Global Environmental Concepts 320 International Environmental Agreements and Associations 334 Appendices 358 Bibliography 359 Serbia Chapter 1 Country Overview Serbia Review 2016 Page 1 of 371 pages Serbia Country Overview SERBIA Serbia is located in Southeastern Europe, between Macedonia and Hungary. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918, with Serbia as the dominant partner in this state, which in 1929 adopted the name Yugoslavia. During World War II, the Axis powers occupied Yugoslavia. The military and political movement headed by Tito took full control of Yugoslavia when the German forces were defeated in 1945, and the Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia was proclaimed, comprising Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, and Macedonia. With the death of Tito in 1980, separatist and nationalist tensions emerged in Yugoslavia. In 1989, Slobodan Milosevic became president of the Serbian Republic and his ultranationalist calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakup of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence, followed by Bosnia-Hercegovina in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992. FRY elections in September 2000 led to the ouster of Milosevic and installed Vojislav Kostunica as president. A broad coalition of democratic reformist parties known as DOS (the Democratic Opposition of Serbia) was subsequently elected to parliament in December 2000 and took control of the government. DOS arrested Milosevic in 2001 and allowed for him to be tried in The Hague for crimes against humanity. (Milosevic died in March 2006 before the completion of his trial.) In 2003, the FRY became Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics with a federal level parliament. In May 2006, Montenegro invoked its right to secede from the federation and - following a successful referendum - it declared itself an independent nation in June 2006. Then, Kosovo -- a semi-autonomous province of Serbia with a predominantly Albanian population -- declared independence in February 2008 after the failure of United Nations-brokered talks on its status. Consequently, Serbia remained as the successor state of the former Yugoslavia. Though left landlocked after its separation from Montenegro, Serbia has great potential for fast economic development. The country is rich in natural and mineral resources, and agricultural land is fertile and arable. The Serbian economy has undergone significant changes since 2000 as a result of macroeconomic stabilization efforts and structural reforms. Serbia Review 2016 Page 2 of 371 pages Serbia Serbia Review 2016 Page 3 of 371 pages Serbia Key Data Key Data Region: Southeastern Europe Population: 7176794 Continental climate (cold winter and hot, humid summers with well Climate: distributed rainfall) Serbian is the main language; a Serbo-Croatian typology, Albanian and Languages: various other spoken languages have also been recorded Currency: Dinar and Euro used Holiday: St. Vitus Day is June 28, Republic Day is November 29 Area Total: 88361 Area Land: 88361 Coast Line: 0 Serbia Review 2016 Page 4 of 371 pages Serbia Serbia Country Map Serbia Review 2016 Page 5 of 371 pages Serbia Southeastern Europe Regional Map Serbia Review 2016 Page 6 of 371 pages Serbia Serbia Review 2016 Page 7 of 371 pages Serbia Chapter 2 Political Overview Serbia Review 2016 Page 8 of 371 pages Serbia History Editor's Note: In March 2002, an agreement on governance between Serbia and Montenegro was signed, officially changing the name of the country from the Republic of Yugoslavia to Serbia and Montenegro and changing the federation into a new "Union of States" (also referred to as a "community of states"). The move essentially ended the country once known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). A new structure for constitutional government was also promulgated and ratified at that time. In May 2006, Montenegro voted in favor of independence from Serbia. Thus ended the country known only for a few years as Serbia and Montenegro. Serbia became the successor state of what had once been the Yugoslav Federation. Montenegro became the world's newest independent state, followed in 2008 by Kosovo's declaration of independence. The histories of Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo follow. Serbia Byzantine sources report that some Serbs migrated southward in the 7th century of the common era (C.E.) and eventually settled in the lands that now make up southern Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Rival chiefs, or "zupani," vied to control the Serbs for 5 centuries after the migration. Zupan Vlastimir formed a Serbian principality under the Byzantines around 850, and the Serbs soon converted to Eastern Christianity. The Serbs had two political centers in the 11th century: Zeta, in the mountains of present-day Montenegro, and Raska, located in modern southwestern Serbia. The zupan of Raska, Stefan I Nemanja (1159-96), threw off Byzantine domination and laid the foundation for medieval Serbia by conquering Zeta and part of southern Dalmatia. In this way, the first Serbian autonomous state was formed. The zupan's son and successor, Stefan II Nemanja (1196-1228), transformed Serbia into a stable state, friendly with Rome but with religious loyalty to Constantinople. In 1218, Pope Honorius III recognized Serbian political independence and crowned Stefan II king. The writings of Stefan II and his brother (canonized as St. Sava) were the first works of Serbian literature. Serbia Review 2016 Page 9 of 371 pages Serbia Later kings in the Nemanja line overcame internal rivalries and pressure from Bulgaria and Constantinople. They also rejected papal invitations to link the Serbian Orthodox Church with Rome, and they ruled their country through a golden age. Serbia expanded its economy, and Dalmatian merchants sold Serbian goods throughout Europe and the Levant. The Nemanje dynasty left to Serbia masterpieces of religious art combining Western, Byzantine and local styles. Serbia dominated the Balkans under Stefan Dusan (1331-55), who conquered lands extending from Belgrade to present-day southern Greece. He proclaimed himself emperor, elevated the archbishop of Pec to the level of patriarch, and wrote a new legal code combining Byzantine law with Serbian customs. Dusan had ambitions toward a weakened Byzantine Empire, but the Byzantine emperor suspected his intentions and summoned the Turks to restrain him. Dusan repelled assaults in 1345 and 1349, but was defeated in 1352. He then offered to lead an alliance against the Turks and recognize the pope, but those gambits also were rejected. Rival nobles divided Serbia after the death of Dusan in 1355, and many switched loyalty to the sultan after the last Nemanja died in 1371. The most powerful Serbian prince, Lazar Hrebeljanovic, raised a multinational force to engage the Turks in the Battle of Kosovo Polje on St. Vitus Day in 1389. The Turks barely defeated Lazar, and both he and the sultan were killed. The defeat did not bring immediate Turkish occupation of Serbia, but during the centuries of Turkish domination that followed, the Serbs endowed the battle with myths of honor and heroism that helped them preserve their dignity and sense of nationhood. Serbs still recite epic poems and sing songs about the nobles who fell at Kosovo Polje. The anniversary of the battle is the Serbian national holiday, Vidovdan (St. Vitus's Day), June 28. Civil war in the Turkish Empire saved Serbia in the early 15th century, but the Turks soon reunited their forces to conquer the last Serbian stronghold at Smederjevo in 1459 and subjugate the whole country. Serbs fled to Hungary, Montenegro, Croatia, Dalmatia and Bosnia, and some formed outlaw bands. In response to the activities of the latter, the Turks disinterred and burned the remains of St. Sava. By the 16th century, southern Hungary had a sizable Serbian population that remained after the Turks conquered the region in 1526. Montenegro, which emerged as an independent principality after the death of Dusan, waged continual guerrilla war on the Turks, and was never conquered. The Turkish threat, however, did force Prince Ivan of Montenegro to move his capital high into the mountains. There, he founded a monastery and set up a printing press. In 1516 Montenegro became a theocratic state. Social and economic life in Serbia changed radically under the absolute rule of the Turkish sultan.