In 2015, the population of Serbia was estimated to be around 7 million people. The economy of Serbia was largely based on industry and services, and it had strong ties with other European countries as well as the European Union. It had a high level of foreign investments which contributed to its economic growth. Politically, Serbia was a parliamentary republic ruled by President Tomislav Nikolic since 2012. In 2015, His Excellency Aleksandar Vucic served as Prime Minister while His Excellency Tomislav Nikolic served as President of the Republic. The Parliament of Serbia was composed of two chambers: National Assembly and Federal Assembly. In terms of defence, Serbia had strong military ties with Russia which it joined in 2006 as part of its post-Yugoslav security policy. Serbia also maintained strong diplomatic relations with its neighboring countries in Europe as well as other countries around the world. See ehealthfacts for Serbia in the year of 2005.
Yearbook 2015
Serbia. Parts of the growing influx of refugees sought a path through Serbia and tens of thousands of people passed through the year on their way to the EU. According to COUNTRYAAH, Belgrade is the capital of Serbia which is located in Southern Europe. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić protested when Hungary began building a fence along the 17-mile border in the summer to stop migrants. During the autumn, unrest erupted as refugees were prevented from entering Hungary.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for Serbia country abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
Eventually, like several neighboring countries, Serbia also decided to basically only allow refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, which caused hundreds of refugees from other countries to be stranded mainly at the Macedonian border.
Prime Minister Vučić visited Bosnia in July to attend the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre. However, he was evicted and expelled from the site by Bosnians who accused Serbia of participating in genocide. Eight people arrested earlier in the year were indicted in September for the murder of several hundred Muslims outside Srebrenica in 1995.
Following talks during the EU mediation, in August Serbia and Kosovo signed several agreements on, for example, Kosovo Serbian autonomy as well as telecommunications and energy. The settlement of the Kosovo Serbs in northern Kosovo prompted Albanians in southern Serbia to demand similar autonomy.
It cracked in the mere year-old government coalition between Vučić’s Nationalist Party SNS (Serbian Progressive Party) and the Socialist Party SPS (Serbian Socialist Party) and speculation was made at the end of the year. Vučić announced in October that no immediate new election was in question. He stated as a reason that it would be “politically irresponsible” given Serbia’s ongoing campaign to prevent Kosovo from joining the UN agency UNESCO.
Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić was dismissed in December after causing a protest after sexist statements about women journalists.