Transparency Serbia: Serbia’s Budget Transparency Score Slightly Up  

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Serbia has made moderate progress in its budget transparency score, placing 59th out of 120 countries surveyed, but is still among the lowest ranked countries in the region, according to the latest open budget index survey.  

With a transparency score of 46 out of 100 points, Serbia is among the countries with “limited information available,” Transparency Serbia (TS) reported on May 31.

Serbia’s overall score, which is six points up from the 2019 survey, is exclusively due to the fact that the practice of adopting annual financial statements has finally been established as part of the budget process, while serious weaknesses particularly those relating to public participation have not been resolved, according to TS.

Out of the surveyed countries in the region, only Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with a score of 32 ranks below Serbia.

The lowest score of only two out of 100 points, Serbia registered in public participation category, where the world average is 14 points. Out of the countries in the region, Albania scored six points and BiH nine points, while Croatia, with a score 17 points is above the world average, according to the survey.