Local authorities in Serbia are indebted for 48 billion dinars, according to data from the Public Debt Administration as of December 31, 2025. This is five billion dinars more than a year earlier. The potential level of debt of municipalities and cities based on contracted borrowings now amounts to 59.6 billion dinars, while a year earlier it stood at 51.8 billion dinars.
The total public debt of Serbia on the last day of 2025 amounted to 39.34 billion euros (4,614 billion dinars), or 44.5 percent of gross domestic product, according to data from the Public Debt Administration.
Although it may seem that the share of local government debt is not large – the mentioned 48 billion dinars (which is 0.4 percent of GDP) is certainly not negligible.
Namely, only five local self-government units in Serbia account for 86.7 percent of total local debt, of which Belgrade alone accounts for 68.5 percent.
The value of principal repayments due in 2026 amounts to 9.5 billion dinars, and in the following year to 6.7 billion dinars.
More than half of total local debt is denominated in euros (63.6%), while the ratio of debt with a fixed interest rate is almost equal to debt repaid at variable interest rates (49.7% versus 50.3%).
According to data from the Public Debt Administration, the entire amount of local debt relates to project loans.
The data also show that out of the total debt, 14 billion dinars is guaranteed debt, while the larger portion of 34 billion dinars relates to non-guaranteed debt.
Who owes the most?
Belgrade, as already mentioned, is the most indebted. Data from the Public Debt Administration show that the amount is 32.84 billion dinars.
This is followed by Novi Sad with 5.7 billion dinars in debt, and then AP Vojvodina with 1.29 billion dinars in debt.
Close behind them is Vranje, with public debt of 1.18 billion dinars. Then Kragujevac with 537.6 million dinars.
All other municipalities and cities have public debt below half a billion dinars;
Pančevo 490 million dinars,
Jagodina 477.9 million dinars,
Novi Pazar 468.8 million dinars,
Čačak 420.4 million dinars,
Bačka Palanka 387.5 million dinars.
These ten local self-government units account for 91.3 percent of total debt.
A year earlier, according to the report of the Public Debt Administration as of December 31, 2024, Belgrade also held first place on the list of the most indebted, with debt seven billion dinars lower than now (25.6 billion dinars).
As now, Novi Sad followed, then AP Vojvodina, then Vranje and Kragujevac, while the order up to tenth place was somewhat different: Novi Pazar, Pančevo, Čačak, Jagodina, and Bačka Palanka.
Who do we owe to?
The largest creditor of local self-government debt is the European Investment Bank (EIB). The amount is 14.6 billion dinars.
This is followed by Banca Intesa, which is owed 13.2 billion dinars, and then Poštanska štedionica Bank, which is owed 10.5 billion dinars.
Local self-government units owe significantly less to other creditors. These are:
NLB Komercijalna banka 3.9 billion dinars,
EBRD 3.1 billion dinars,
OTP banka 1.9 billion dinars,
AIK banka 300 million dinars,
Erste banka 200 million dinars,
Unicredit banka 200 million dinars,
Other creditors 200 million dinars.
The share of the 10 largest creditors in the total debt balance amounts to 99.2 percent, according to data from the Public Debt Administration.
The share of foreign creditors in total debt is 36.7 percent.
“The share of project loans in the total debt portfolio is 100 percent,” the Public Debt Administration states. Namely, only five local self-government units in Serbia in the total local debt
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Source: n1, Foto: NBS