While officials emphasize that Serbia is breaking all possible records in IT exports, the percentage of domestic companies using business software is even lower than the Western Balkan average. Only 1% of local firms apply artificial intelligence, and less than 10% of the total workforce in the IT industry works for the domestic market. That’s the reality of digitalization in the Serbian economy.
According to the announcements from the government, Serbia is expected to welcome the EXPO exhibition in 2027 with a Level 5 autonomous vehicle, meaning it moves entirely without a driver. This could further propel our country on the global investment map and revitalize the domestic automotive industry.
Instead of assembling parts, we would have the opportunity to shift to sophisticated software production for autonomous vehicles, an area in which the world’s largest companies currently invest around 100 billion euros.
Meanwhile, officials promise that 99% of villages in Serbia will have fast internet by the end of 2025, provided there are people there to use it. An even higher priority for the government is the introduction of artificial intelligence into the operations of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. They argue that this will significantly increase their productivity, improve the competitiveness of the domestic economy, and thereby ensure salary growth and joy for pensioners by increasing their income.
According to authorities, the progress of Serbia in the digital realm is best illustrated by the growth in the export of IT products and services, as they constantly highlight these figures. Since 2017, when our country supposedly took giant steps toward transforming the domestic economy into a knowledge-based economy, the export of the domestic IT sector has grown at an average annual rate of 25%.
Records are set every year, with last year’s exports increasing by 45%, reaching almost 2.7 billion euros, while the surplus in the foreign trade of IT services exceeded 1.5 billion euros, with an annual growth of 48.8%.
This year, despite news of crises and layoffs in the domestic IT industry due to the cancellation of contracts with foreign partners, especially in outsourcing services, exports have reportedly increased by 40% in the first six months to 1.6 billion euros, with a surplus of 1.24 billion euros. According to the government’s website, the top export destinations remain the United States (453 million euros), the United Kingdom (220 million euros), and Switzerland (183 million euros).
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