Serbia Has Become an Autocracy, Says BTI Transformation Index

Presentation of the Serbia 2030-2035 Strategy (BetaPhoto/Serbian Presidency/Dimitrije Goll)

Due to years of the regime’s stranglehold, its undermining of state institutions and intense electoral manipulations, Serbia has fallen into the category of moderate autocracies, with limited economic transformation and weak governance, says the latest BTI Transformation Index report, published by the German Bertelsmann Stiftung foundation on March 26.

Referencing the period from Feb. 1, 2023 to Jan. 31, 2025, the report states that “[d]emocracy in Serbia continued to deteriorate, with a significant decline in electoral conditions, the rule of law and media freedom, and rising political polarization.”

The report goes on to compare Serbia and Georgia, claiming both countries’ ruling parties have tightened their hold on the state in the past years, undermining democratic and constitutional institutions and resulting in elections that do not meet even the minimal democratic standards due to severe regime manipulations.

According to the BTI, Serbia and Georgia have both faced long-term protests against increasingly prevalent nepotism and autocracy, leading to them being categorized as autocracies.

Compared to the previous BTI report, which labeled Serbia a “defective democracy,” the country’s assessment parameters are nearly universally worse.

Thus, Serbia received a 5.18 out of 10 for political transformation, ranking 61^st among the 137 countries analyzed, which is 10 places lower than in 2024, while its status ranking fell by nine places, ranking 47^th, with a mark of 5.98/10.