Regional differences in Serbia – Who works more and who builds more?
The Belgrade region, with a 40% share, holds the leading position as the main region in the country generating Serbia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Behind it is the Vojvodina region with a 26.4% share, according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia’s publication “Regions in the Republic of Serbia.”
Next are the Šumadija and Western Serbia region with an 18.4% share and the Southern and Eastern Serbia region with 15.2%.
The GDP per capita in the Belgrade region is 1.6 million dinars, which is 58.3% higher than the national average, according to the publication.
Income data for each region
In 2023, the average monthly income in cash and in kind per household amounted to 87,973 dinars.
Household expenditures for personal consumption amounted to 88,244 dinars.
Compared to 2022, average monthly income in cash and in kind increased by 12.2%, and household expenditures for personal consumption rose by the same percentage.
The largest share of cash income comes from regular employment, specifically 52.5%, followed by pensions at 30.9%, income from agriculture, hunting, and fishing at 4%, in-kind consumption at 2.6%, income outside of regular employment at 2.4%, social security benefits at 2.4%, and 5.2% from other sources.
The largest share of personal consumption expenditures is for food and non-alcoholic beverages, at an average of 36.8%. This percentage is highest in the Southern and Eastern Serbia region (37.9%) and lowest in Belgrade (34.5%).
On the other hand, expenditures for housing and utilities (electricity, water, or gas) hold the largest share in the Šumadija and Western Serbia region (16.6%) and the smallest in the Southern and Eastern Serbia region (16.1%).
Biggest construction activity in Vojvodina
The value of construction work carried out in Serbia in 2023 was approximately 717 billion dinars.
By region, the most construction in 2023 was done in Vojvodina (31%), followed by the Belgrade region (28.4%), Šumadija and Western Serbia (25.2%), and lastly, the Southern and Eastern Serbia region (15.3%).
By type of construction, 40.3% of the value was in buildings.
Close to 60% of the work was on other structures—such as transport infrastructure, pipelines, communication and electrical lines, complex industrial facilities, and other unspecified buildings.
Focusing only on buildings, 40.1% of the value of work was related to residential buildings, and almost 60% to non-residential buildings.
In 2023, a total of 35,652 apartments were completed. The average size of constructed apartments was 75.5 m².
The Belgrade region also leads in salaries
The average gross salary in Serbia in 2023 was 118,599 dinars, while the average salary without taxes and contributions (net) was 86,007 dinars.
Compared to 2022, the average gross and net salaries increased nominally by 14.8%, and in real terms by 2.4%.
The highest average net salary was recorded in the Belgrade region, amounting to 109,431 dinars, which is nominally 15.4% higher than in 2022.
The lowest average net salary, amounting to 71,642 dinars, was recorded in the Šumadija and Western Serbia region.
It was nominally 14.3% higher compared to the previous year’s average.
Unemployment rate highest in southern and eastern Serbia
The highest employment rate was recorded in the Belgrade region (55.5%), and the lowest in the Southern and Eastern Serbia region (44.7%).
The unemployment rate was lowest in the Belgrade region (7.1%), while in the Vojvodina region and the Šumadija and Western Serbia region, it stood at 9% and 9.8%, respectively.
The Southern and Eastern Serbia region recorded the highest unemployment rate at 12.8%.
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