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SERBIA
Society

Cities in SERBIA

Belgrade

Society

State institution

The current Serbian constitution was adopted after a referendum in October 2006. It declares Kosovo an integral part of Serbia and grants Vojvodina financial autonomy. Kosovar Albanians were not entitled to vote.

The legislature is formed by a 250-seat directly elected National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia or "Narodna skupština Republike Srbije". Municipal councils are directly elected every four years.

The Serbian president is elected by direct elections for five years. He must get at least 50% of the vote, and if that doesn't happen, a second round of elections is needed. The president can be re-elected once. The president nominates the prime minister, after which the parliament has to give its approval. For the current political situation see chapter history.

Administrative division

Serbia also includes the provinces of Kosovo with the capital Pristina, and Vojvodina with the capital Novi Sad. Until 1990, these provinces were autonomous.

Serbia consists of 29 districts (okrug) and 108 municipalities (opština):

DistrictCapitalPopulation
Backa NorthSubotica205,000
Backa SouthNovi Sad560,000
Backa WestSombor220,000
Banat SouthPancevo330,000
Banat NorthKikinda180,000
Banat CentralZrenjanin225,000
BorskiBor180,000
BranicevskiPozarevac230,000
JablanickiLeskovac260,000
KolubarskiValjevo205,000
KosovskiPristina680,000
Kosovsko-MitrovackiKosovsko-Mitrovacki280,000
Kosovsko-PomoravskiGnjilane220,000
MacvanskiSabac345,000
MoravickiCacak235,000
NisavskiNis385,000
PcinjskiVranje245,000
PeckiPec420,000
PodunavskiSmederevo230,000
PomoravskiJagodina315,000
PirotskiPirot120,000
PrizrenskiPrizren380,000
RaskiKraljevo305,000
RasinskiKrusevac300,000
SremskiSremska Mitrovica310,000
SumadijaKragujevac315,000
ToplickiProkuplje115,000
ZaljecarskiZajecar160,000
ZlatiborskiUzice340,000

Education

Primary education in Serbia, for children between the ages of seven and fifteen, is free and after eight years of primary school, children can opt for vocational training or general secondary education (‘sredjna skola’). These follow-up courses last three or four years. However, about a third of the students go to the 'gimnazija', where a general education forms the basis for a university career.

University studies last four to six years, depending on the chosen field. Serbia has universities in Belgrade (2x), Nis, Kragujevac, Novi Sad (Vojvodina) and Pristina (Kosovo).


Sources

Detrez, R. / Servië-Montenegro : mensen, politiek, economie, cultuur, milieu
Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen ; Novib

Milivojevic, J. / Serbia
Children’s Press

Mitchell, L. / Serbia
Bradt Travel Guides

Schuman, M.A. / Serbia and Montenegro
Facts On File

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated October 2024
Copyright: Team The World of Info