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Serbia. (2026). In Q-files Encyclopedia, Geography, Europe. Retrieved from
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"Serbia." Geography, Europe, Q-files Encyclopedia, 31 Mar. 2026.
https://www.q-files.com/geography/europe/serbia.
Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.
Serbia 2026. Geography, Europe. Retrieved 31 October 2026, from
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Geography, Europe, s.v. "Serbia," accessed October 31, 2026.
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Serbia
Serbia came into existence in its own right in 2006 when Montenegro split away from it. For much of the 20th century (1929–91) it was united with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia and Macedonia to form a bigger country called Yugoslavia. The southern region of Kosovo, which has a majority ethnic Albanian population, declared itself an independent country in 2008, although its independence is not recognized by Serbia. In the north of Serbia, the province of Vojvodina is made up of the flat, fertile Pannonian Plain, over which the rivers Sava and Danube and their tributaries flow. In this lowland part of Serbia, the climate is continental: summers are hot and dry and winters extremely cold. Further south, in the forested mountains, the climate is much cooler all year round. It often snows heavily in winter.
People
Most of the country’s people are ethnic Serbs, a South Slavic people whose ancestors settled in the region in the 6th century. A small population of Hungarians lives in Vojvodina, north of Belgrade. Belgrade, Serbia’s capital, is home to around a sixth of the entire population. Many people live in high-rise apartment blocks in Belgrade’s suburbs, built very quickly at the beginning of the 1950s as the city expanded rapidly.
Farming
Just under a quarter of Serbia’s workforce is employed in agriculture. Its richest farmland is in Vojvodina; here, farmers grow maize, wheat and sunflowers. Fruits such as raspberries, strawberries and plums are also major crops; much of the harvest is frozen before being exported. Serbia is the world’s third largest producer of raspberries (after Russia and Mexico)—more than 100,000 tonnes are grown there every year. They are such an important export they are known as “the red gold”.
Industry
During the 1990s Serbia’s economy was hit hard by trading restrictions, called sanctions, placed on the country by the United Nations. Its industries are still recovering from the wars of the 1990s. Many of its factories and power plants were also bombed by NATO in 1999 during the war with Kosovo. Today, factories in Belgrade and western Serbia make a range of products, including chemicals, cement and cars.
Jadarite
Lithium, a valuable metal, was discovered by chance by geologists in Serbia's Jadar valley in 2004. The mineral ore was named jadarite, after the valley. A proposal by the giant mining company, Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ), to open what it says will be Europe’s biggest lithium mine, is the subject of debate in Serbia. Lithium is a vital raw material used in the production of batteries for electric vehicles and the storage of renewable energy. The urgent need to switch to low-carbon technologies to arrest global warming means its value is high.
Environmentalists and much of the local population are against the project, pointing out that the mining process will use up vast quantities of water from local rivers, generate millions of tonnes of waste material, potentially contaminate thousands of acres of fertile arable land with toxic chemicals and threaten the habitats of more than 145 protected species, including wolves, beavers and turtles. RTZ say the project, which will create thousands of jobs, will follow strict anti-pollution measures. The company also claims the waters of the Jadar (and Drina, into which it flows) will be safe and that the impact on biodiversity will be minimal.
Belgrade
Belgrade, whose name means "White City", is situated at the confluence (meeting) of the rivers Sava and Danube. It was founded by an ancient tribe, the Thraco-Dacians, before being taken over by the Celts in 279 BC. It was conquered by the Romans, then settled by the Slavs in the 520s. Belgrade came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire, the Frankish Empire, the Bulgarian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary before it became the capital of Serbia in 1282. It was taken over firstly by Ottoman, and then Habsburg rulers, before becoming capital of Yugoslavia after the defeat of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I.
Today, Belgrade is once again the capital of an independent Serbia. A modern administrative and cultural centre, it is undergoing a major development with the building of a new part of the city on a riverside area that was previously a wasteland. Called the Belgrade Waterfront, the project includes office and luxury apartment buildings, hotels, a shopping centre and a new skyscraper, the 168-metre (551-foot) Belgrade Tower (Kula Beograd), which opened in 2023.
Consultant: Nicholas Harris
Facts about Serbia
Population 6,605,168 (excluding Kosovo, 2024 estimate)
Area 77,474 sq km (excluding Kosovo)
Highest point Midzor 2169 m (7116 ft)
Capital Belgrade, metro area population 1,685,563
Other major cities Novi Sad (pop. 414,718), Niš (260,237), Kragujevac (171,186), Subotica (123,952)
Languages Serbian (a variety of Serbo-Croat), Albanian, Hungarian, Bosnian
Religions Christian (Serbian Orthodox) 85%, Christian (Catholic) 5%, Muslim 3%, Christian (Protestant) 1%, others and none 6%
Ethnicity Serbian 83%, Hungarian 4%, Romany 2%, Bosniak 2%, others 9%
Currency Serbian dinar (RSD)
Chief exports iron and steel, rubber, clothes and textiles, wheat, electrical appliances, ammunition, cars
History of Serbia
2nd century BC
Romans conquer much of the territory that is present-day Serbia, completing the conquest in 106 AD after the Dacian Wars.
6th century
Slavic peoples migrate to the region and begin to settle there
768
Višeslav unites several South Slavic tribes as the Principality of Serbia
1217
Serbian Kingdom is recognized by the Byzantine Empire
1346
Stefan Dušan (Dušan the Mighty), having greatly expanded the Serbian Kingdom, is crowned Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks.
1389
Serbia is defeated by the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Kosovo; Serbian principalities are gradually taken over by the Ottomans, with the fall of Smederevo in 1459 marking the end of the Serbian state.
15th–18th centuries
Serbia is part of the Ottoman Empire, although some parts come under Habsburg rule for short periods, the area of modern Vojvodina from 1718 onwards.
1804–17
Serbian Revolution: national uprising against Ottoman rule
1835
Principality of Serbia is formally recognized by the Ottomans as a vassal state: it adopts the First Serbian Constitution on 15th February (commemorated as Statehood Day in present-day Serbia)
1878
Already effectively independent, Serbia's independence from the Ottoman Empire is internationally recognized at the Congress of Berlin in 1878
1882
Principality of Serbia becomes the Kingdom of Serbia, ruled by King Milan I
1903
In a violent coup, Serbian king Alexander Obrenovic, his wife, Queen Draga, and the Prime Minister are assassinated by a group of army officers. A new anti-Austrian government takes power.
1918
After World War I, Serbia joins a union of countries: the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
1929
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia
1945
Along with Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Montenegro, Serbia becomes a republic within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, led by Josep Tito
1980
Tito dies
1987
Serb nationalism gathers pace when Slobodan Milošević, a Serbian Communist Party official, visits Kosovo in support of the region’s ethnic Serbs
1989
Milošević becomes President of Serbia
1991
Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia all declare from Yugoslavia (made up of only Serbia and Montenegro). The Yugoslav Wars break out, with most conflicts taking place in Croatia and Bosnia where the large ethnic Serb communities oppose independence from Yugoslavia. Lasting until 1995, the are marked by many war crimes, including crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and massacres.
1912–13
Balkan Wars: the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First Balkan War (1912) and the defeat of Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War (1913) results in Serbia (on the winning side in both wars) enlarging its territory by 80% and its population by 50%
1914
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28th June in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb, leads to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia on 28th July 1914. This sparks the beginning of World War I.
1941
During World War II, the Axis powers invade Yugoslavia. Hundreds of thousands of Serbs flee the Axis puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia to German-occupied Serbia, seeking to escape the genocide of Serbs being committed by the fascist Ustaše regime.
1992
Serbia joins with Montenegro to form the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; the United Nations (UN) places sanctions (restrictions on trade) on the new country
1998
Uprising in Serbian province of Kosovo as the Kosovo Liberation Army rebels against Serbian rule. Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians flee to neighbouring countries to escape the violence
1999
After international efforts fail to stop the Kosovo conflict, NATO begins aerial bombardment of Serb targets; Yugoslav forces respond with a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Kosovar Albanians, causing around 1 million people to flee; following a peace agreement, Yugoslav and Serbian forces withdraw from Kosovo and a UN administration takes over
2000
Mass protests force the resignation of President Milosevic
2001
Former president Milosevic arrested and charged with war crimes
2004
Violence breaks out between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo
2006
Montenegro votes to become a separate country from Serbia and it declares its independence
2008
Kosovo declares itself independent; Serbia declares the claim is illegal
2013
Peace talks are held between Kosovo and Serbia; they reach an agreement that grants autonomy to Serb-majority areas in northern Kosovo
2014
Serbia starts accession talks (discussions intended to lead to future membership) with the European Union
2022–24
Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo are heightened after expiration of agreement on the use of vehicle licence plates. A deal mediated by the EU brings the crisis to an end.
2024–25
Mass protests erupt in Novi Sad after the collapse of the railway station canopy, killing 16 people, and spread across Serbia, including Belgrade. Led by university students, the demonstrations against government corruption and incompetence are peaceful.
pics
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