Serbia

Location: Serbia is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares borders with Hungary on the north, Romania and Bulgaria on the east, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the west, and Montenegro, North Macedonia and the disputed territory of Kosovo on the south. 

Area: Serbia spreads across 88,361sq km. The country is covered mainly by plains with the Pannonian Plain situated on the northern part of the country and the Wallachian Plain in the easternmost tip. The remaining third of the land is occupied by mountains, such as the Dinaric Alps in the west. 

Major cities: Belgrade is the capital and most populated city in Serbia. It has a population of 1.7 million people. Novi Sad (289,128 inhabitants) is the second largest city located on the banks of the Danube river, followed by Nis (185,987 inhabitants). 

Local time: GMT +1

Population: 6.908 million 

Major ethnic groups: Serbians (83.3%), Hungarians (3.5%), Roma (2.1%), Bosniaks (2%), others (9%)

Religions: Orthodox Christian (84.5%), Roman Catholics (6%), Muslim (3%), Protestant (1%)

Languages: Serbian 

Climate: Serbia has a typical continental climate with wide temperature ranges. Summer are very warm and sunny, while winters are cold with snow. 

Currency: Dinar 

Government: Unitary parliamentary republic

Country code: +381

Official holidays:

January 1 & 2 – New Year

January 7 – first day of Orthodox Christmas

February 15 – Statehood Day of the Republic Serbia

May 1 & 2 – International Labor Day

Orthodox Easter – from Good Friday to the second day of Easter

Transportation: The majority of transportation is done by road. Serbia has 45,419 km of roads, including 962 km of motorways. There are three main airports with Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport being the largest.

Taxation: 20% VAT. A reduced rate of 10% is for basic food supplies, newspapers, medicines, bottled water. 

Electricity: The standard voltage is 230V and 50 Hz frequency. Sockets and plugs are standard European.

Important phone numbers: 

112 – Emergency 

192  – Police 

193 – Fire brigade 

194 – Ambulance

Working hours: Monday through Friday, stores are open from 8:00 to 20:00. Banks and post offices work from 08:00 till 19:00. On Saturdays, the working hours are shortened from 08:00 to 15:00.