Background and political system
With a population just under 6.7 million people, Serbia is located in Southeastern Europe, bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Romania. Serbia’s first multiparty elections were held in 1990, during the last phases before the dissolvement of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Constitution of Serbia, adopted in 2006, provides the framework for the country’s political institutions and governance. Serbia is a unitary parliamentary republic, divided into 145 local self-government units (117 municipalities and 28 cities), and governs via central, intermediate, and local government structures.
Serbia’s government consists of the Executive and Legislative branches, complemented by the Judicial branch. The central government is led by the President of the Republic, who is elected by the public for a five-year term and acts as Head of State. The Prime Minister is both the Head of Government and leader of the Executive branch, and is elected by the National Assembly. The executive branch’s Government consists of the Prime Minister, the First Deputy Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Ministers and ministers presented by the Prime Minister to be elected by the National Assembly. The legislative Assembly, called the Narodna Skupstina, is formed by members elected directly by the public and serve in a unicameral parliament. The judicial branch hosts the Serbian Supreme Court of 45 judges, including the President of the Court, and the Constitutional Court of 15 judges, in addition to subordinate courts.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment
Women’s right to vote and to stand for election was first ensured in 1946 when Serbia formed part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and confirmed after independence. The first woman elected to parliament after independence was in 1993.
Traditional patriarchal values and gender stereotypes have persisted in the Serbian society, both beneath the surface of the communist era despite formal gender equality, and following the country’s democratic transition, creating barriers to practical socioeconomic and political equality and participation. Work still needs to be done in Serbia to achieve gender equality as only 66.7 percent of legal frameworks that promote, enforce and monitor gender equality under SDG 5, with a focus on violence against women, are in place.
Serbia places well in the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Index, ranking 26th out of 146 countries. However, this is a slight decline compared to 2022 results, where Serbia ranked 23rd, but a relevant improvement from its 2023 ranking of 38th. Key challenges persist, especially in the areas of political empowerment and health. Moreover, gender stereotypes and patriarchal attitudes still play a key barrier to women’s empowerment, especially in the employment and business areas, where women face the harmful effects of the glass ceiling, and differential/unequal treatment at work.
Structure of parliament
The Parliament is composed of 250 members elected to four-year terms, through a proportional representation system in a single nationwide constituency. The Parliament is responsible for adopting and amending the constitution, enacting laws and other general acts, electing the government, adopting defense strategies, appointing and dismissing the Constitutional Court judges, the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation and other state officials.
The electoral code, amended through 2022, establishes that for each electoral zone, at least 40 percent of those on the electoral list must be from the underrepresented gender, and among each group of five candidates on the list, three must belong to one gender and two to the other.
Women's representation in parliament
As of July 2024, the Serbian Parliament has 94 women members out of 247 members of parliament, representing 38.1 percent. The next elections are due to happen in 2027.
Forecast based on past trends
If changes continue at the current pace, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of improvement from 1995 to 2023 and projecting it into the future.
Forecast based on recent trends
If changes registered in the past five years continue, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the average rate of change in the past five years and projecting it into the future.
Best case forecast
If the situation improves similarly to the country performing best in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the rate of improvement from the country performing best in the region and accelerating the change with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Worst case forecast
If the situation deteriorates similarly to the country registering the worst drop in the region, this is how women's representation in parliament will look like by 2030.
We calculated this forecast by taking the drop rate in the country performing worst in the region and deteriorating the situation with this amount over five years and then keeping it constant.
Women Chairpersons of Parliament Committees
The Serbian parliament has 20 specialized Committees on the topics of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management; Administrative, Budgetary, Mandate and Immunity issues; Constitutional and Legislative issues; Education, Science, Technological Development and the Information Society; Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending; Human and Minority Rights and Gender Equality; Kosovo and Metohija; Labour, Social Issues, Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction; Spatial Planning, Transport, Infrastructure and Telecommunications; Diaspora and Serbs in the Region; Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy; Judiciary, Public Administration and Local Self-Government; Rights of the Child; Culture and Information; Defense and Internal Affairs; Environmental Protection; European Integration; Foreign Affairs; Health and Family; and Security Services Control.
As of July 2024, women are the chairpersons of the European Integration Committee (Elvira Kovac), the Committee on Constitutional and Legislative Issues (Milica Nikolic), the Committee on Education, Science, Technological Development and the Information Society (Bogdanka Koljevic Grifit), the Committee on Kosovo and Metohija (Danijela Vujicic), the Committee on the Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy (Snezana Paunovic), the Culture and Information Committee (Nevena Djuric), and the Foreign Affairs Committee (Marina Ragus).
Structure of government
Central government
The Serbian President is responsible for decisions regarding foreign policy, declaring a state of war and immediate danger of war, and passing enactments falling within the competence of the National Assembly for the duration of such a situation.
The Government of Serbia is led by the Prime Minister and composed of 28 members, and is responsible for the development and implementation of laws and policies through the respective ministries and associated departments. The Government is held accountable by the Parliament, for enforcement of laws and other acts and for the work of public administration bodies.
The current Prime Minister of Serbia is Milos Vucevic, who has been in power since 2024, while the current President is Aleksandar Vucic, who has been in power since 2017. Following the October 2017 elections, Ana Brnabic became the first woman, and LGBTQ+ person, to be elected Prime Minister in Serbia. Natasa Micic served as Acting President of Serbia from 2002 to 2004 and Slavica Dukic Dejanovic served as acting President of Serbia in 2012.
There are nine women members of the Serbian Government: Irena Vujovic (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environmental Protection); Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic (Minister of Mining and Energy); Maja Popovic (Minister of Justice); Tanja Miscevic (Minister of European Integration); Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic (Minister of Education); Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski (Minister of Family Care and Demography); Jelena Begovic (Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation); Adrijana Mesarovic (Minister of Economy); and Jelena Zaric Kovacevic (Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government).
Ministers or Cabinet Members
Irena Vujovic
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environmental Protection
Adrijana Mesarovic
Minister of Economy
Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic
Minister of Mining and Energy
Maja Popovic
Minister of Justice
Jelena Zaric Kovacecic
Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government
Tanja Miscevic
Minister of European Integration
Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic
Minister of Education
Milica Djurdjevic Stamenkovski
Minister for Family Care and Demography
Jelena Begovic
Minister of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation
Autonomous Province of Vojvodina government
Serbia also includes the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The legislative assembly, called the Assembly of Vojvodina, consists of members directly elected by the public and sit in a unicameral parliament. The government is composed of the Provincial President, who is proposed by the Assembly President and elected by the legislative body, together with vice-presidents and other members proposed by the Provincial President to be elected by the legislative body.
Local government
At the local level, the government is organized in one tier of 28 city-level local government units and 117 municipalities, that hold political, administrative, and financial authority over local matters. Local government is comprised of deliberative bodies and executive bodies. Local deliberative bodies are made up of elected officials, the number of which is proportional to the population they represent. The head of each deliberative body is elected by and from the assembly itself. The gender quota also extends to local government representation, with a 40 percent minimum gender representation requirement for each electoral zone, as well as a condition that at least two members in every five candidates must be from the underrepresented gender. Local executive bodies consist of members elected by and from the deliberative body.
For more information on gender quotas adopted at the national level, visit the women in parliament section.
Structure of public administration
The central government's roles and responsibilities include developing and implementing laws and policies through the following ministries and departments: Finance; Economy; Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management; Environmental Protection; Construction, Transport and Infrastructure; Mining and Energy; Domestic and Foreign Trade; Justice; Public Administration and Local Self-Government; Defense; Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue; the Interior; European Integration; Foreign Policy and Security; Education; Health; Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs; Family Welfare and Demography; Sport; Culture; Rural Welfare; Science, Technological Development and Innovation; Tourism and Youth; Information and Telecommunications; Public Investment; Development of Underdeveloped Municipalities; Relations between the Republic of Serbia and the Diaspora; Balanced Regional Development.
Local government bodies are largely responsible for Serbia’s public administration when it comes to local matters of politics, administration, and finance. Within each local jurisdiction, local government is in charge of levying taxes, managing its assets, and passing statutes and regulations regarding local planning and development, social welfare, and infrastructure, in accordance with laws of the central government.
Women’s representation as employees and decision-makers in public administration
This visualization was developed based on data provided by GIRL@University of Pittsburgh.
Data across countries and territories is not comparable. For more information about the methodology and sources used, read here.
Serbia’s public administration field tells a story of progress and challenges in women’s representation. At the employee level, the rise in representation has been steady, with women comprising 43.3 percent of public administration employees in 2022, an increase from 41.3 percent in 2011 and a slight decrease from its peak of 44.5 percent in 2019. This reflects a clear trend towards a more balanced public administration. Comparatively, at the decision-making level, women’s percentage in public administration has risen to 43.2 percent in 2023. This percentage has experienced extreme fluctuations, reaching as low as 24.1 percent in 2012, and as high as 47.3 percent in 2016, highlighting the ongoing challenges in reaching gender equality in Serbia’s public administration.