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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Good indicators for reaching planned GDP growth in 2023

Belgrade, 4 September 2023

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic presided today over a session of the Council for the Coordination of Activities and Measures for the Growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at which it was concluded that the Serbian economy is accelerating and that, if it continues at the current pace of development, it can achieve the planned GDP growth of 2.5 percent in 2023, despite the significant slowdown of the European economy and especially the economies of the countries on which we are most focused.

In the second quarter, our economy recorded a growth of 1.7 percent, while in the same period, the growth of the economies of the European Union was about 0.5 percent. The good trend from the second quarter continued in the first month of the third quarter, in July, in which growth stood at 2.5 percent.

The construction and ICT sectors are on the rise in the second quarter - the construction sector achieved a growth of as much as 15.1 percent, while the ICT sector had a growth of 10.1 percent.

When it comes to employment growth, the fact that Serbia recorded a 2.3 percent increase in employment in the second quarter is particularly encouraging, so that the number of employed persons in Serbia is currently 2,364,140, which is over half a million more than in 2014.

Improved procedures in the cities - Belgrade, Novi Sad, Nis and Kragujevac have made significant steps in facilitating the issuance of location conditions and building permits, which additionally stimulates economic growth.

Participants in the session also discussed foreign labour and investments. There are currently 72,876 foreigners residing in Serbia with temporary permits, and in August alone, 2,692 foreigners requested work permits. Despite the challenges at the global level, it is expected that the level of foreign direct investment will be at the level of last year, and maybe even exceed expectations.

There are numerous challenges ahead of us, but indicators suggest that Serbia is successfully dealing with them and positioning itself as a stable economic partner in the region and beyond.

The GDP Council will continue to monitor the development of the situation and implement strategies that will enable sustainable and stable economic growth, it was stated at the session.