Annual Cebr Report: Strong Recovery of Serbia in 2021

Serbia, an emerging economy in Eastern Europe, saw a strong economic recovery in 2021 with GDP growth estimated at 6.5%, says the annual economic report by Cebr, one of the leading British consulting houses.

The section of the report pertaining to Serbia says that the robust performance was supported by rapidly increasing exports and by the fact that no significant COVID-19 restrictions were in place for much of the year.

– Despite 2021’s rapid growth rate the country continues to face various medium-term economic obstacles, including unfavorable labor market dynamics. An ageing population and emigration of skilled workers will continue to pose problems as the country works to bring living standards closer to Western European levels – says the WELT (World Economic League Table) report.

The report adds that the unemployment rate peaked at just under 13% at the start of 2021. In terms of favorable growth factors, Serbia continues to enjoy robust FDI inflows from the European Union as well as China.

Cebr expects GDP growth to average around 4% per annum in the medium and long term, after more robust growth in 2022 and 2023.

Serbia is expected to climb from 79th in the World Economic League Table in 2022 to 74th by 2036, according to Cebr.

Cebr

economic recovery

WELT

World Economic League Table

unemployment rate

foreign direct investments

FDI

GDP