From October 2025 through September 2026, fossil fuels supplied about 58% of Serbia’s electricity consumption, with coal alone accounting for more than half and gas contributing around 4%. Low-carbon electricity covered almost a third: hydropower supplied about 24%, wind nearly 5%, and biofuels around 1%. Net imports met the remaining 11%; their generation mix is not specified, so they cannot be classified here as clean or fossil electricity. Serbia therefore remains heavily dependent on coal, making clean electricity expansion important for reducing climate-changing emissions and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in Serbia?

Serbia’s electricity consumption is barely growing on a per-person basis. The latest 2026 figure, 5,571 kWh per person, exceeds the previous record of 5,568 kWh in 2023 by just 3 kWh—essentially stagnation rather than substantial growth. More concerningly, low-carbon generation reached only 1,720 kWh per person, about 393 kWh, or 19%, below its 2023 record of 2,113 kWh. These figures show that record electricity consumption has not been matched by record clean electricity production. Stronger growth in low-carbon generation would help meet future demand from electrification and AI while reducing fossil-fuel dependence.

Suggestions

Serbia should prioritize a substantial expansion of solar electricity, develop nuclear generation, and continue building wind capacity alongside its existing hydropower. Nearby regions offer useful examples: North Macedonia generates 40% of its electricity from solar, while Hungary generates 23% and Bulgaria 19%, demonstrating solar’s strong regional potential. For nuclear electricity, Serbia could learn from Slovakia, where nuclear supplies about two-thirds of generation, and neighboring Hungary and Bulgaria, where it supplies around 30% and 37%, respectively. Greece, with wind supplying 21% of generation, offers another relevant regional example. Clear deployment plans, investment in electricity grids, and regional cooperation could help Serbia translate these examples into sustained clean electricity growth.

History

Serbia’s recorded low-carbon electricity history is dominated by substantial year-to-year changes in hydropower. During the 1990s, gains of 2 TWh in 1991, 1.1 TWh in 1995, and 1.6 TWh in 1996 were interrupted by declines of about 1 TWh in both 1993 and 1997. The 2000s remained uneven, including declines in 2000, 2003, and 2006, a 2 TWh recovery in 2004, and a 1 TWh increase in 2009. Growth of 1.4 TWh in 2010 was followed by a sharp 3.3 TWh drop in 2011; later declines in 2017 and 2019 surrounded a 1.6 TWh recovery in 2018. The 2020s brought still larger swings: generation rose 2.2 TWh in 2021, fell 2.7 TWh in 2022, and rebounded 3.7 TWh in 2023 before disappointing declines of 2.5 TWh in 2024 and 1.9 TWh in 2025. This uneven record reinforces the case for expanding solar, nuclear, and wind to support more sustained growth in Serbia’s low-carbon electricity supply.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.