Serbia’s public debt stood at 39.3 billion euros at the end of last year, or 44.4 per cent of GDP.
Of this total, the share of debt in the domestic currency amounted to 22.5 per cent, while the share of debt in euros was at a level of 59.5 per cent, and debt in US dollars accounted for 11.9 per cent.
The primary method of borrowing last year consisted of government securities issuances on the domestic and international financial markets, alongside borrowing from domestic and foreign creditors via long-term loans for investment and programme projects. The Government of Serbia submitted these figures to the National Assembly in its report on the state of public debt for 2025. The report was published on the Assembly’s website on 26 June.
External debt significantly higher than domestic debt
Public debt includes all direct and indirect liabilities (guarantees issued by Serbia) to domestic and foreign creditors.
When looking at domestic debt – that owed to domestic creditors – Serbia had 11.22 billion euros in liabilities at the end of 2025. A further 567.7 million euros related to indirect liabilities, meaning guarantees provided.
When looking at external debt, i.e., the state’s liabilities to foreign creditors, these amount to around 26.4 billion. The value of indirect liabilities (guarantees) was an additional 1.16 billion euros.
The total debt of the general government sector – which, in addition to public debt, includes the non-guaranteed debt of local authorities and the non-guaranteed debt of Roads of Serbia and Corridors of Serbia – stood at 39.6 billion euros at the end of 2025. This equates to 44.7 per cent of GDP.
How much local authorities owed in 2025
The debt of local authorities at the end of 2025 amounted to 48 billion dinars, which is approximately 409 million euros. Of this, the debt of local authorities guaranteed by Serbia amounted to 13.7 billion dinars (117.2 million euros). The non-guaranteed debt of local authorities stood at 34.2 billion dinars (291.9 million euros).
“The debt of local authorities in 2025 increased by five billion dinars compared to 2024,” the Government’s report states. The largest portion of the local authority debt relates to the debt of the City of Belgrade, which amounted to 32.8 billion dinars – 280 million euros. Thus, Belgrade’s debt accounted for 68.5 per cent of the total borrowing by local authorities.
This is followed by the debt of the City of Novi Sad in the amount of 5.7 billion dinars, or 48.8 million euros (11.9 per cent of the total). The debt of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina amounted to 1.3 billion dinars at the end of last year, or 11 million euros (2.7 per cent of the total local authority debt), the report notes.
In which currencies does the state borrow
According to data in the report, the share of debt in the domestic currency within the total public debt was 22.5 per cent. The share of debt in euros was 59.5 per cent, and in US dollars 11.9 per cent. Debt in Special Drawing Rights (IMF) made up 5.8 per cent of the public debt at the end of 2025.
Indebtedness in “other” currencies accounted for just 0.2 per cent of the public debt.
Growth of debt in the domestic currency
Alongside the figure showing that the share of debt in dinars stood at 2.6 per cent in 2008, the report points out that a significant increase in borrowing in the domestic currency occurred during the period from 2016 to 2020. This is attributed to the “development of the domestic financial market through the issuance of government securities in dinars”.
However, during the coronavirus pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, which led to rising inflation and interest rates, Serbia had to turn to the international financial market to a greater extent in order to minimise borrowing costs.
“During 2024 and 2025, market conditions stabilised and interest rates fell, leading to a certain increase in debt in the domestic currency. A gradual and continuous growth of debt in the domestic currency is expected in the coming years.”
Reducing exposure to the dollar, converting into euros
It is also stated that a significant decline in US dollar debt has occurred over the last 10 years. It fell from a 32.9 per cent share in that currency at the end of 2015 to 11.9 per cent at the end of 2025. On the other hand, the share of debt in euros grew over the same period—from 39 per cent to 59.5 per cent.
“The volatility of the euro exchange rate against the dinar is minimal, unlike the movements of the US dollar exchange rate, and during the aforementioned period, swap transactions were executed through which US dollar debt was converted into euros. Liabilities in Chinese yuan and UAE dirhams were also converted into euros,” the report explains.
Public debt at the end of March 2026
According to available data, as of March this year, public debt stood at 39.35 billion euros.
The share of public debt in GDP at the end of this month was 41.7 per cent, as seen in the “Public Finance Bulletin” document. At the end of March, debt in euros accounted for 61 per cent of the borrowing, around 21.2 per cent of public debt was in dinars, and 12.1 per cent was in US dollars. Special Drawing Rights accounted for 5.6 per cent of public debt, while the remainder of the debt was in other currencies, March data shows.
Around 66 per cent of Serbia’s public debt is contracted at fixed interest rates, and 34 per cent at variable interest rates, the March report indicates.
To whom we owe for infrastructure
The state of public debt at the end of 2025, based on long-term securities denominated in dinars, stood at 853.6 billion dinars at the end of the year. According to data up to the end of March, the state of debt on the exact same basis was 785.4 billion dinars, or 6.6 billion euros.
Based on long-term government securities in euros, the state owed 1.79 billion euros, or 210 billion dinars, at the end of the year. Meanwhile, according to data from the end of March this year, the debt balance on this same basis now stands at 1.84 billion euros, or 216.9 billion dinars.
When looking at domestic creditors, Serbia has three loans with UniCredit Bank. All three relate to financing the Ruma – Šabac – Loznica road project. The state is repaying a loan to the same bank for the line infrastructure for the National Stadium in Surčin. With OTP Bank, Serbia has a loan for the reconstruction and modernisation project of the Subotica – Horgoš – Hungarian border (Szeged) railway line. Two loans with the same bank were contracted for the construction of the fast road – the Požarevac – Golubac section, the so-called Danube Highway. A loan was also taken out with OTP for the construction of the Kragujevac bypass.
With Banca Intesa in Serbia, Serbia has four loans to finance the Ruma – Šabac – Loznica road project.
Among domestic creditors is also Poštanska Štedionica (Postal Savings Bank), with which the state has two loan agreements concerning the National Stadium. One loan was taken out for the stadium’s line infrastructure project. The second was for the project to construct urban infrastructure and the national stadium with access roads.
Additionally, a loan was taken out with Poštanska Štedionica for roads with infrastructure on Makiško Polje. Furthermore, a loan was taken for the construction of the tunnel connection between Karađorđeva Street and the Danube slope.
Regarding domestic banks, Serbia has also taken out loans with NLB Komercijalna Banka. Loans have been agreed with this bank for the Danube Highway, the construction of the Kragujevac bypass, and the design and construction of the Belgrade – Zrenjanin – Novi Sad motorway.
Loans from foreign banks
When it comes to creditors from abroad, the state has loans with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Chinese Export-Import Bank. Loans have also been contracted with the Council of Europe Development Bank, the German Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Paris Club of creditors.
Serbia is also repaying loans to foreign governments. Among others, these include the Government of the Russian Federation, the Government of France, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and the Saudi Fund for Development.
Among foreign commercial banks, Serbia has obligations to JP Morgan Chase, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and the Bank of China, among others.
(Forbes Serbia, 30.06.2026)