Serbia - WikiHQ

Education in Serbia is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Science. Education starts in either preschools or elementary schools. Children enroll in elementary schools at the age of seven. Compulsory education consists of eight grades of elementary school. Students have the opportunity to attend gymnasiums and vocational schools for another four years, or to enroll in vocational training for two to three years.

Following the completion of gymnasiums or vocational schools, students have the opportunity to attend university. Elementary and secondary education are also available in languages of recognised minorities in Serbia, where classes are held in Hungarian, Slovak, Albanian, Romanian, Rusyn, Bulgarian as well as Bosnian and Croatian languages. Petnica Science Centre is a notable institution for extracurricular science education focusing on gifted students.

thumb|The [[Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade, founded in 1841]]

There are 19 universities in Serbia (nine public universities with a total number of 86 faculties and ten private universities with 51 faculties). In 2018/2019 academic year, 210,480 students attended 19 universities (181,310 at public universities and some 29,170 at private universities) while 47,169 attended 81 "higher schools". Public universities in Serbia are: the University of Belgrade, University of Novi Sad,

Serbia spent 0.9% of GDP on scientific research in 2017, which is slightly below the European average. Serbia was ranked 54th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025.Since 2018, Serbia is a full member of CERN. Serbia has a long history of excellence in maths and computer sciences which has created a strong pool of engineering talent, although economic sanctions during the 1990s and chronic underinvestment in research forced many scientific professionals to leave the country. Nevertheless, there are several areas in which Serbia still excels such as growing information technology sector, which includes software development as well as outsourcing. It generated over $1.2 billion in exports in 2018, both from international investors and a significant number of dynamic homegrown enterprises. Serbia is one of the countries with the highest proportion of women in science.

Among the scientific institutes operating in Serbia, the largest are the Mihajlo Pupin Institute and Vinča Nuclear Institute, both in Belgrade. The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is a learned society promoting science and arts from its inception in 1841.

Health

The healthcare system in Serbia is organised and managed by the two primary institutions: the Ministry of Health and the Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr Milan Jovanović Batut". The Serbian public health system is based on the principles of equity and solidarity, organised on the model of compulsory health insurance contributions. Private health care is not integrated into the public health system, but certain services may be included by contracting. The National Health Insurance Fund finances the functioning of health care at all levels, and also provides and implements the compulsory health insurance.

The University Clinical Centre of Serbia spreads over 34 hectares in Belgrade and consists of about 50 buildings. With 3,150 beds, it is considered to have the most beds in Europe.

Other important medical centres include Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Clinical Centre of Kragujevac, Clinical Centre of Niš, Military Medical Academy and others.

Culture

For centuries straddling the boundaries between East and West, the territory of Serbia had been divided among the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire; then between Byzantium and the Kingdom of Hungary; and in the early modern period between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Empire. These overlapping influences have resulted in cultural varieties throughout Serbia; its north leans to the profile of Central Europe, while the south is characteristic of the wider Balkans and even the Mediterranean. Serbia was influenced by the Republic of Venice as well, mainly though trade, literature and romanesque architecture.

Serbia has five cultural monuments inscribed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage: the early medieval capital Stari Ras (including three nearby medieval monasteries: Sopoćani, Đurđevi Stupovi, and the Church of Saint Peter); the 12th-century Studenica monastery; the Roman complex of Gamzigrad–Felix Romuliana; medieval tombstones Stećci; and finally the endangered Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (the monasteries of Visoki Dečani, Our Lady of Ljeviš, Gračanica and Patriarchal Monastery of Peć).

There are four literary works on UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register: the 12th-century Miroslav Gospel, the electrical engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla's archive, the telegram of Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia, and the 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement archives. The slava (patron saint veneration), kolo (traditional folk dance), singing to the accompaniment of the gusle, Zlakusa pottery, slivovitz (plum brandy) and naïve painting practices of Kovačica are inscribed on UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. The Ministry of Culture and Information is tasked with preserving the nation's cultural heritage and overseeing its development, with further activities undertaken by local governments.

Art and architecture

thumb|[[Manasija|Manasija Monastery, a 15th-century fortified complex, Morava architectural school.]]

Traces of Roman and early Byzantine Empire architectural heritage are found in many royal cities and palaces in Serbia, such as Sirmium, Viminacium, Mediana, Felix Romuliana and Justiniana Prima, since 535 the seat of the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima.

Serbian monasteries were under the influence of Byzantine art, particularly after the fall of Constantinople in 1204 when many Byzantine artists fled to Serbia. The monasteries include Studenica (built around 1190), which was a model for such later monasteries as Mileševa, Sopoćani, Žiča, Gračanica and Visoki Dečani. Numerous monuments and cultural sites were destroyed at various stages of Serbian history, including destruction in Kosovo. In the late 14th and the 15th centuries, an autochthonous architectural style known as Morava style evolved in the area around Morava Valley. A characteristic of this style was the wealthy decoration of the frontal church walls. Examples of this include Manasija, Ravanica and Kalenić monasteries.

thumb|right|[[Subotica Synagogue|Jakab and Komor Square Synagogue in Subotica, an art Nouveau city in northern Serbia.]]

Frescos include White Angel (Mileševa monastery), Crucifixion (Studenica monastery) and Dormition of the Virgin (Sopoćani).

The country is dotted with many well-preserved medieval fortifications and castles such as Smederevo Fortress (largest lowland fortress in Europe), Golubac, Maglič, Soko grad, Belgrade Fortress, Ostrvica and Ram.

Under Ottoman occupation, Serbian art was virtually non-existent outside the lands ruled by the Habsburg monarchy. Traditional Serbian art showed Baroque influences at the end of the 18th century as shown in the works of Nikola Nešković, Teodor Kračun, Zaharije Orfelin and Jakov Orfelin. Serbian painting showed the influence of Biedermeier and Neoclassicism as seen in works by Konstantin Danil, Arsenije Teodorović and Pavel Đurković. Many painters followed the artistic trends set in the 19th century Romanticism, notably Đura Jakšić, Stevan Todorović, Katarina Ivanović and Novak Radonić. Serbian painters of the first half of the 20th century include Paja Jovanović and Uroš Predić of Realism, Cubist Sava Šumanović, Milena Pavlović-Barili and Nadežda Petrović of Impressionism, Expressionist Milan Konjović. Painters of the second half of 20th century include Marko Čelebonović, Petar Lubarda, Milo Milunović, Ljubomir Popović and Vladimir Veličković.

Anastas Jovanović was one of the earliest photographers in the world. Marina Abramović is a performance artist. Pirot carpet is a traditional handicraft in Serbia.

There are around 170 museums in Serbia, including the National Museum of Serbia, founded in 1844, houses one of the largest art collections in the Balkans. Other art museums include the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belgrade, the Museum of Vojvodina and the Gallery of Matica Srpska in Novi Sad.

Literature

thumb|upright=1.0|[[Miroslav's Gospel (1186) is a 362-page illuminated manuscript on parchment listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.]]

Serbian uses the Cyrillic alphabet created by the students of the brothers Cyril and Methodius at the Preslav Literary School in Bulgaria. Serbian works from the early 11th century are written in Glagolitic. Starting in the 12th century, books were written in Cyrillic. The Miroslav Gospels from 1186 are considered to be the oldest book of Serbian medieval history and are listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.

There are 551 public libraries, the largest of which are the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade with about 6 million items, and Matica Srpska (the oldest matica and Serbian cultural institution, founded in 1826) in Novi Sad with nearly 3.5 million volumes. In 2010, there were 10,989 books and brochures published. The highlight of the literary scene is awarding of NIN Prize, given every January since 1954 for the best newly published novel in Serbian.

Medieval authors include Saint Sava, Jefimija, Stefan Lazarević, Constantine of Kostenets and others. Under Ottoman occupation, when Serbia was not part of the European Renaissance, the tradition of oral story-telling through epic poetry was inspired by the Kosovo battle and folk tales rooted in Slavic mythology. Serbian epic poetry in those times was seen as the most effective way in preserving the national identity. The oldest known, entirely fictional poems, make up the Non-historic cycle, which is followed by poems inspired by events before, during and after the Battle of Kosovo. Folk ballads include The Death of the Mother of the Jugović Family and The Mourning Song of the Noble Wife of the Asan Aga (1646), translated into European languages by Goethe, Walter Scott, Pushkin and Mérimée. A tale from Serbian folklore is The Nine Peahens and the Golden Apples.

Baroque trends in Serbian literature emerged in the late 17th century. Baroque-influenced authors include Gavril Stefanović Venclović, Jovan Rajić, Zaharije Orfelin and Andrija Zmajević. Dositej Obradović was a prominent figure of the Age of Enlightenment, while Jovan Sterija Popović was a Classicist writer whose works also contained elements of Romanticism. In the era of national revival, in the first half of the 19th century, Vuk Stefanović Karadžić collected Serbian folk literature, and reformed the Serbian language and spelling, paving the way for Serbian Romanticism. The first half of the 19th century was dominated by Romanticist writers, including Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, Branko Radičević, Đura Jakšić, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj and Laza Kostić, while the second half of the century was marked by Realist writers such as Milovan Glišić, Laza Lazarević, Simo Matavulj, Stevan Sremac, Vojislav Ilić, Branislav Nušić, Radoje Domanović and Borisav Stanković.

The 20th century was dominated by the prose writers Meša Selimović (Death and the Dervish), Miloš Crnjanski (Migrations), Isidora Sekulić (The Chronicle of a Small Town Cemetery), Branko Ćopić (Eagles Fly Early), Borislav Pekić (The Time of Miracles), Danilo Kiš (The Encyclopedia of the Dead), Dobrica Ćosić (The Roots), Aleksandar Tišma (The Use of Man), Milorad Pavić and others. Notable poets include Milan Rakić, Jovan Dučić, Vladislav Petković Dis, Rastko Petrović, Stanislav Vinaver, Dušan Matić, Branko Miljković, Vasko Popa, Oskar Davičo, Miodrag Pavlović, and Stevan Raičković.

thumb|Writers [[Ivo Andrić, Nobel Prize winner, and NIN Award winner Dobrica Ćosić.]]

Pavić is a 21st-century Serbian author whose Dictionary of the Khazars has been translated into 38 languages. Contemporary authors include David Albahari, Svetislav Basara, Goran Petrović, Gordana Kuić, Vuk Drašković and Vladislav Bajac. Serbian comics emerged in the 1930s and the medium remains popular today.

Ivo Andrić (The Bridge on the Drina) is a Serbian author who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. Another writer was Desanka Maksimović, who for seven decades was the leading lady of Yugoslav poetry.

Music

Composer and musicologist Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac is considered the founder of modern Serbian music. The Serbian composers of the first generation Petar Konjović, Stevan Hristić, and Miloje Milojević maintained the national expression and modernised the romanticism into the direction of impressionism. Other famous classical Serbian composers include Isidor Bajić, Stanislav Binički and Josif Marinković. There are three opera houses in Serbia: Opera of the National Theatre and Madlenianum Opera, both in Belgrade, and Opera of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad. Four symphonic orchestra operate in the country: Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Niš Symphony Orchestra, Novi Sad Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphonic Orchestra of Radio Television of Serbia. The Choir of Radio Television of Serbia is a leading vocal ensemble in the country. The BEMUS is one of the most prominent classical music festivals in the Southeastern Europe.

thumb|left|[[Filip Višnjić sings to the gusle by Sreten Stojanović]]

Traditional Serbian music includes various kinds of bagpipes, flutes, horns, trumpets, lutes, psalteries, drums and cymbals. The kolo is the traditional collective folk dance, which has a number of varieties throughout the regions. The most popular are those from Užice and Morava region. Sung epic poetry has been an integral part of Serbian and Balkan music for centuries. In the highlands of Serbia these long poems are typically accompanied on a one-string fiddle called the gusle, and concern themselves with themes from history and mythology. There are records of gusle being played at the court of the 13th-century king Stefan the First-Crowned.

Balkan Brass, or truba ("trumpet") is a popular genre, especially in Central and Southern Serbia where Balkan Brass originated. There are two main varieties of this genre, one from Western Serbia and the other from Southern Serbia, with brass musician Boban Marković being one of the most respected names in the world of modern brass band bandleaders.

The most popular music festivals are Guča Trumpet Festival, with over 300,000 annual visitors, and Exit in Novi Sad (won the Best Major Festival award at the European Festivals Awards for 2013 and 2017.), with 200,000 visitors in 2013. Other festivals include Nišville Jazz Festival in Niš and Gitarijada rock festival in Zaječar.

Pop music artist Željko Joksimović won second place at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest and Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Molitva", and Serbia was the host of the 2008 edition of the contest. Pop singers include Zdravko Čolić, Vlado Georgiev, Aleksandra Radović, Jelena Tomašević and Teya Dora among others.

Serbian rock was part of the former Yugoslav rock scene during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. During the 1990s and 2000s, the popularity of rock music declined in Serbia, and although several major mainstream acts managed to sustain their popularity, an underground and independent music scene developed. The 2000s saw a revival of the mainstream scene and the appearance of a large number of notable acts. Serbian rock acts include Atheist Rap, Bajaga i Instruktori, Đorđe Balašević, Bjesovi, Block Out, Crni Biseri, Darkwood Dub, Disciplina Kičme, Elipse, Ekatarina Velika, Električni Orgazam, Eva Braun, Galija, Generacija 5, Goblini, Idoli, Kanda, Kodža i Nebojša, Kerber, Korni Grupa, Laboratorija Zvuka, Slađana Milošević, Neverne Bebe, Obojeni Programme, Orthodox Celts, Partibrejkers, Pekinška Patka, Piloti, Riblja Čorba, Ritam Nereda, Rambo Amadeus, S.A.R.S., Siluete, S Vremena Na Vreme, Šarlo Akrobata, Pop Mašina, Smak, U Škripcu, Van Gogh, YU Grupa, Zana and others.thumb|[[Exit (festival)|Exit Festival in Novi Sad, proclaimed as the Best Major European festival at the EU Festival Awards.]]

Folk music in its original form has been a prominent music style since World War I following the early success of Sofka Nikolić. The music has been further promoted by Danica Obrenić, Anđelija Milić, Nada Mamula, and during the 60s and 70s with performers like Silvana Armenulić, Toma Zdravković, Lepa Lukić, Vasilija Radojčić, Vida Pavlović and Gordana Stojićević.

Turbo-folk music is a subgenre that was developed in Serbia in the late 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s and has since enjoyed an immense popularity through acts of Dragana Mirković, Zorica Brunclik, Šaban Šaulić, Ana Bekuta, Sinan Sakić, Vesna Zmijanac, Mile Kitić, Snežana Đurišić, Šemsa Suljaković, and Nada Topčagić. It is a blend of folk music with pop and dance elements and can be seen as a result of the urbanisation of folk music. In recent years, turbo-folk has featured even more pop music elements, and some of the performers have been labeled as pop-folk. The most famous among them are Ceca (often considered to be the biggest music star of Serbia), Jelena Karleuša, Aca Lukas, Seka Aleksić, Dara Bubamara, Indira Radić, Saša Matić, Viki Miljković, Stoja and Lepa Brena, arguably the most prominent performer of former Yugoslavia.

Theatre and cinema

Serbia has a well-established theatrical tradition with Joakim Vujić considered the founder of modern Serbian theatre. Serbia has 37 professional theatres and 13 theatres for children, the most important of which are National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad, National Theatre in Subotica, National Theatre in Niš and Knjaževsko-srpski teatar in Kragujevac (the oldest theatre in Serbia, established in 1835). The Belgrade International Theatre Festival – BITEF, founded in 1967, is one of the oldest theatre festivals in the world, and it has become one of the five biggest European festivals. Sterijino pozorje is, on the other hand, a festival showcasing national drama plays. The most important Serbian playwrights were Jovan Sterija Popović and Branislav Nušić, while recent renowned names are Dušan Kovačević and Biljana Srbljanović.

The country has a rich cinematic legacy. Serbia's film scene is one of the most dynamic smaller European cinemas. The film industry is heavily subsidised by the government, mainly through grants approved by the Film Centre of Serbia. As of 2025, there were 36 feature films produced in Serbia. There are 98 operating cinemas in the country, with total attendance reaching more than 4 million. A comparatively high percentage of 20% of total tickets sold were for domestic films. Modern PFI Studios located in Šimanovci is nowadays Serbia's only major film studio complex. The Yugoslav Film Archive used to be former Yugoslavia's and now is Serbia's national film archive – with over 100 thousand film prints, it is among the five largest film archives in the world.

Famous Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica won two Palmes d'Or for Best Feature Film at the Cannes Film Festival, for When Father Was Away on Business in 1985 and then again for Underground in 1995; he has also won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for Arizona Dream and a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival for Black Cat, White Cat. Other renowned directors include Dušan Makavejev, Želimir Žilnik (Golden Berlin Bear winner), Aleksandar Petrović, Živojin Pavlović, Goran Paskaljević, Goran Marković, Srđan Dragojević, Srdan Golubović and Mila Turajlić among others. Serbian-American screenwriter Steve Tesich won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1979.

Prominent movie stars in Serbia have left a celebrated heritage in the cinematography of Yugoslavia as well. Notable mentions are Zoran Radmilović, Pavle Vuisić, Ljubiša Samardžić, Olivera Marković, Mija Aleksić, Miodrag Petrović Čkalja, Ružica Sokić, Velimir Bata Živojinović, Danilo Bata Stojković, Seka Sablić, Dragan Nikolić, Mira Stupica, Bora Todorović, Nebojša Glogovac, Miloš Biković and others. Milena Dravić was one of the most celebrated actresses in Serbian cinematography, winning the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980.

Media

thumb|The headquarters of the country's paper of record, [[Politika (center), and the Radio Belgrade complex (right).]]

Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are guaranteed by the constitution of Serbia. Serbia is ranked 96th out of 180 countries in the 2025 Press Freedom Index report compiled by Reporters Without Borders. The report noted that media outlets and journalists continue to face partisan and government pressure over editorial policies.

According to EBU research in 2018, Serbs on average watch five and a half hours of television per day, making it the second highest average in Europe. There are seven nationwide free-to-air television channels, with public broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) operating three (RTS1, RTS2 and RTS3) and private broadcasters operating four (Pink, Prva, Happy, and O2). There are 28 regional television channels and 74 local television channels. Out of these, six are radio stations with national coverage, including two of public broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (Radio Belgrade 1 and Radio Belgrade 2/Radio Belgrade 3) and four private ones (Radio S1, Radio S2, Play Radio, and Radio Hit FM). Also, there are 34 regional stations and 207 local stations.

There are 305 newspapers published in Serbia of which 12 are daily newspapers. Dailies and Danas are Serbia's papers of record, the former being the oldest newspaper in the Balkans, founded in 1904. Highest circulation newspapers are tabloids Večernje Novosti, Blic, Kurir, and Informer, all with more than 100,000 copies sold. There is one daily newspaper devoted to sports (Sportski žurnal), one business daily (Privredni pregled), two regional newspapers (Dnevnik published in Novi Sad and Narodne novine from Niš), and one minority-language daily (Magyar Szo in Hungarian, published in Subotica).

There are 1,351 magazines published in the country.

, out of 432 web-portals (mainly on the .rs domain) the most visited are online editions of printed dailies Blic and Kurir, news web-portal B92 and classifieds KupujemProdajem.

Cuisine

thumb|right|upright=1.0|A Serbian Christmas meal with roast pork, [[Russian salad and red wine]]

thumb|right|upright=1.0|[[Moskva shnit, a cake made with fruits and almonds]] Serbian cuisine is largely heterogeneous in a way characteristic of the Balkans and, especially, the former Yugoslavia. It features foods characteristic of lands formerly under Turkish suzerainty as well as cuisine originating from other parts of Central Europe (especially Austria and Hungary). Food is very important in Serbian social life, particularly during religious holidays such as Christmas, Easter and feast days i.e. slava.

Staples of the Serbian diet include bread, meat, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Bread plays an important role in Serbian cuisine and can be found in religious rituals. A traditional Serbian welcome is to offer bread and salt to guests. Meat is widely consumed, as is fish. The southern Serbian city of Leskovac is host to Roštiljijada, considered the biggest barbecue festival in the Balkans.

Other Serbian specialties include ćevapčići (grilled and seasoned caseless sausages made from minced meat), pljeskavica (grilled spiced meat patty made from a mixture of pork, beef and lamb), gibanica (cheese pie), burek (baked pastry made from a thin flaky dough that is stuffed with meat, cheese or vegetables), sarma (stuffed cabbage), punjena paprika (stuffed pepper), moussaka (casserole made from minced meat, eggs, and potatoes), Karađorđeva šnicla (veal or pork schnitzel that is stuffed with kajmak), đuveč (meat and vegetable stew), pasulj (bean soup), podvarak (roast meat with sauerkraut), ajvar (roasted red pepper spread), kajmak (dairy product similar to clotted cream), čvarci (variant of pork rinds), proja (cornbread) and kačamak (maize porridge).

Serbians claim their country as the birthplace of rakia (rakija), a highly alcoholic drink primarily distilled from fruit. Rakia in various forms is found throughout the Balkans, notably in Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Hungary and Turkey. Slivovitz (šljivovica), a plum brandy, is a type of rakia which is considered the national drink of Serbia. In 2021, Serbia's sljivovica was added to the United Nations Intangible Cultural Heritage List as a "cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity".

Serbian wines are produced in 22 different geographical regions, with white wine dominating the total amount. Besides rakia and wine, beer is a very popular alcoholic beverage in the country. Pale lagers are currently and have been the traditional beer choice for Serbians. The most popular domestic brands of beer are Jelen, followed by Lav.

As in the rest of the former Yugoslavia, coffee drinking is an important cultural and social practice and Serbian coffee (a local variant of Turkish coffee) is the most commonly consumed non-alcoholic beverage.

Sports

thumb|upright=1.2|[[Serbia men's national water polo team held the Olympic Games, World Championship, European Championship, World Cup and World League titles simultaneously from 2014 to 2016]]

Serbia has hosted a number of major international sport competitions. The most important annual sporting events in the country are the Belgrade Marathon and the Tour de Serbie cycling race.

Football is the most popular sport in Serbia, with the Football Association of Serbia being the largest sporting association, with 110,339 registered players. Dragan Džajić was recognised as "the best Serbian player of all time" by the association. More recently, players like Nemanja Vidić, Dejan Stanković, Branislav Ivanović, Aleksandar Kolarov, Nemanja Matić, Dušan Tadić and Aleksandar Mitrović have achieved significant success in the UEFA Champions League, boosting Serbia's reputation as a leading exporter of footballers. The national team has qualified for three of the last four FIFA World Cups but lacks significant success. Serbia's two main football clubs, Red Star Belgrade and Partizan, have storied histories, with Red Star winning the 1990–91 European Cup and Partizan reaching the 1965–66 European Cup final. Their rivalry is known as the "Eternal Derby".

The country is a powerhouse in world basketball, with the men's national team winning two World Championships, three EuroBasket titles, two Olympic silver medals, and a bronze medal in 2024. The women's team has won two EuroBasket Women titles and an Olympic bronze medal. Serbia's men's 3x3 team has won six FIBA 3x3 World Cups and five FIBA 3x3 Europe Cups. A total of 34 Serbian players have played in the NBA over the last three decades, including Nikola Jokić, a three-time NBA MVP and 2023 NBA Finals MVP. The "Serbian coaching school" has produced many of Europe's most successful basketball coaches, including Željko Obradović, who has won a record 9 Euroleague titles. KK Partizan won the 1992 EuroLeague, and KK Crvena zvezda won the 1974 FIBA Saporta Cup.

The Serbia men's national water polo team is one of the most successful, with three Olympic gold medals, three World Championships, and seven European Championships. VK Partizan has won seven Champions League titles.

The recent success of Serbian tennis players, especially Novak Djokovic, who holds a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, has led to a surge in the sport's popularity in Serbia. Djokovic has held the No. 1 ATP ranking for a record 428 weeks and achieved a Career Super Slam with his Olympic gold in 2024. Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Janković and Nenad Zimonjić have also been ranked No. 1 in the WTA rankings. The men's national tennis team won the 2010 Davis Cup and 2020 ATP Cup.

Serbia's men's national volleyball team won the 2000 Olympic gold medal, three European Championships, and the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World League. The women's team has won two World Championships, three European Championships, and two Olympic medals.

Serbian chess players excelled from 1950 to 1980, winning 15 Olympic medals. The men's team won the 2023 European Team Competition, and women's clubs have won the European Champions Cup five times. Svetozar Gligorić and Ljubomir Ljubojević were among the world's best players outside the USSR.

Notable Serbian athletes include sport shooters Jasna Šekarić and Damir Mikec, handball player Svetlana Kitić, volleyball player Nikola Grbić, swimmer Milorad Čavić, track and field athlete Ivana Španović, wrestler Davor Štefanek, and taekwondoist Milica Mandić.

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

External links

National tourist organisation of Serbia
Serbia from UCB Libraries GovPubs (archived 29 August 2012)
Serbia profile from BBC News
Key Development Forecasts for Serbia from International Futures
Serbia. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
Serbia Corruption Profile from The Business Anti-Corruption Portal (archived 10 April 2014)