Serbia’s real GDP grew by approximately 2.2% in the period January–July 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, driven by a notably positive performance in industry, according to the latest issue of Macroeconomic Analyses and Trends (MAT).
Industrial production in July increased by 5.5% year-on-year, with growth observed in 17 sectors accounting for 81% of total industrial output. The automotive sector emerged as a key driver of manufacturing growth and export value.
Merchandise exports steadily rose over the first seven months of the year, improving the export-to-import coverage ratio to 81.3% in May–July 2025, up from 76.9% in the same period last year, and reaching a historical high of 86.8% in June.
Budget data shows a deficit of 22.9 billion dinars since the start of the year, which is 93.7 billion dinars worse than last year’s result but 118.8 billion better than the planned budget. Monthly inflation was 0.9% in June and 0.6% in July, with year-on-year inflation at 4.6% and 4.9%, respectively.
Within industrial production, manufacturing contributed the most to growth (+2.8 percentage points), followed by mining (+0.46 pp), while the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply sector had a negative impact (-0.3 pp).
Mining production rebounded in June and July after declines in April and May, led by coal extraction (+29.4% YoY in July) and metal ore extraction (+7.1% YoY).
