• The closest neighbor of the EU - Eastern Serbia has 330 km of border with the EU (Romania and Bulgaria).
• Area of 7,133 km²
• Two administrative districts - Zajecar and Bor, two cities - Zajecar and Bor and six municipalities: Knjazevac, Boljevac, Sokobanja, Negotin, Majdanpek and Kladovo.
• 217,000 inhabitants
• More than 6,000 entrepreneurs and 1,500 companies.
• About 53,000 people are employed with an average salary of about 50,500 dinars (net), while there are about 18,000 unemployed.

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ECONOMY

Population:

CITY/MUNICIPALITY	DISTRICT	POPULATION
Bor	Bor district	44.639
Kladovo		18.332
Majdanpek		16.174
Negotin		32.007
District total		111.152
Boljevac	Zajecar district	11.148
Knjaževac		27.476
Sokobanja		13.967
Zaječar		53.509
District total		106.100
Eastern Serbia Total		217.252

People with secondary school education dominate the educational structure of the region, including 35.2% women and 48% men, while there are 10% women and 11.6% men with university and master degree.

 It is estimated that today more than 30,000 people are in the diaspora.

Total investments in assets in 2018 in Eastern Serbia amounted to 121.5 million euros, and the structure of investments looked like this:

Territory	Construction works	Land	Domestic equipment	Imported equipment	Cultivated biological resources	Intellectual property
Ukupno istočna Srbija	121.523	17.890	8.202	24.572	44.133	141
Boljevac	1.848	1.421	8	158	254	0
Bor	81.733	5.647	7.076	2.931	40.082	0
Zaječar	6.562	1.270	5	3.930	1.323	0
Kladovo	2.900	1.526	15	1.224	90	0
Knjaževac	2.329	687	30	863	450	135
Majdanpek	9.851	930	41	8.075	658	6
Negotin	14.502	5.246	996	7.093	1.027	0
Sokobanja	1.795	1.160	29	296	246	0

Source: Chamber of Commerce of Zajecar and Bor administrative districts

In the period from 2015 to 2019, the total exports of the region of Eastern Serbia more than doubled and had a fairly even growth. Compared to 2015, when it amounted to slightly more than 34 billion dinars, it increased to more than 71 billion in 2019.

The increase in exports in that period amounted to 209%, which is significantly higher than the growth of exports of the Republic of Serbia, which in the same period had a total growth of 142%.

Total exports by years in the period 2015-2019 (in millions of RSD)

Territory	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Bor	11.252	15.616	24.897	24.844	42.930
Kladovo	1.071	1.370	1.745	1.823	2.109
Majdanpek	6.829	6.082	7.071	7.439	6.644
Negotin	2.100	3.421	2.774	2.221	7.726
Boljevac	606	631	911	713	851
Zaječar	8.473	8.056	8.320	7.750	5.341
Knjaževac	3.781	4.579	4.581	4.875	5.735
Sokobanja	3	5	7	11	15
Eastern Serbia Total	34.115	39.763	50.308	49.679	71.353

Imports had a similar trend of export growth, which increased from close to 35 billion dinars in 2015 to almost 73 billion in 2019. This represents the same increase as in the case of exports (209%), which is also significantly more than the increase recorded by the Republic (155%). In that period, Eastern Serbia mostly recorded a surplus.

Total imports by years in the period 2015-2019  (in millions of RSD)

Territory	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Bor	13.541	15.858	22.618	25.017	49.616
Kladovo	2.978	1.204	1.632	1.769	1.816
Majdanpek	7.096	6.083	8.543	7.697	6.233
Negotin	1.218	1.401	2.078	2.391	3.026
Boljevac	274	441	498	377	437
Zaječar	7.669	7.906	9.954	9.460	9.064
Knjaževac	2.084	2.265	2.621	2.643	2.689
Sokobanja	4	29	27	35	50
Total Eastern Serbia	34.866	35.190	47.974	49.390	72.934

On the territory of Eastern Serbia in 2019, about 53,000 people were employed, ie about a quarter of the total population. The structure of the number of employees by activities is dominated by services. Today, about a quarter of the total number of employees work in the processing industry of Eastern Serbia, and mining with nearly 10% of employees is of exceptional importance for the region.

Average salaries without taxes, in the period from 2015-2019 recorded a significant increase from 41,149 dinars in 2015 to 50,474 dinars in 2019.

In 2020, there were 17,963 registered unemployed in Eastern Serbia. The number of the unemployed has been decreasing in the last three years, from 20,710 unemployed in 2018 and 18,967 unemployed in 2019.

In Eastern Serbia in 2019, there were 1,524 active companies and almost 4 times more registered entrepreneurs (6,045). The number of active entrepreneurs has been constantly growing in the last five years.

One of the most significant investments in Eastern Serbia is certainly the purchase of the Bor Mining and Smelting Complex by the Chinese company Zijin, which has so far invested nearly 700 million dollars, and the planned investments in the mine are more than 3 billion dollars in the municipalities of Bor and Majdanpek.

The largest investment in tourism in Serbia is located in Eastern Serbia - in the municipality of Knjazevac, and that is the construction of a ski center on Stara Planina - construction of ski and supporting infrastructure and hotels) in which over 42 million euros have been invested so far.

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Significant investments in the region:

Zijin (China) Bor   Poseidon Property (United Kingdom) Zaječar United Serbian Breweries („Heineken” i „Efes”) Zaječar   Rhein-Donau Yard (Netherlands – Romania) Kladovo  Telefonica Cable (Poland) Zaječar   Falc East (Italy) Knjaževac Strabag (Austria) Zaječar   Dutch Desing Studio (Netherlands) Kladovo Hatiba (Germany) Knjaževac   Bio Energy Point (Serbia) Boljevac Eliksir (Serbia) Negotin    Agromehanika (Serbia) Boljevac

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The region of Eastern Serbia also has significant resources for tourism development: the Danube River with Iron Gate Gorge and Djerdap National Park, mountain massifs dominated by Stara Planina, with a ski center, but also Crni Vrh, Kučaj Mountains, Deli Jovan, Mali and Veliki Krš, Miroč, Veliki Greben, Homolje mountains, Ozren, Rtanj, Devica, Tupižnica, Tresibaba, and Vrlejica, then thermo-mineral springs - primarily Sokobanja, as well as Gamzigradska Banja Spa and Brestovačka Banja Spa. There are potentials for further development of tourism in Nikoličevska Banja Spa, Rgoška Banja Spa, Jošanica Banja spa and many others.

Cultural heritage is represented by archeological sites, cultural monuments, ethno-values of traditional villages: archeological sites Gamzigrad-Felix Romuliana (under UNESCO protection), Lepenski Vir, Ravna-Timacum minus, Diana-Zanes, Fetislam, Trajan's tablet, Trajan's bridge, Vrelo -Šarkaman, Sokograd, Vrmdžanski grad, wine cellars in Rajac, Rogljevo and Smedovac, as well as numerous churches and monasteries.  

Number of tourists and number of overnight stays in 2019:

By municipalities	Tourists			Tourist overnights			Average number of tourist overnights
	total	domestic	foreign	total	domestic	foreign	domestic	foreign
Bor	16.215	11.276	4.939	40.327	27.138	13.189	2,4	2,7
Kladovo	36.875	28.462	8.413	79.758	64.296	15.462	2,3	1,8
Majdanpek	29.372	23.642	5.730	75.058	63.394	11.664	2,7	2,0
Negotin	5.932	5.197	733	13.512	11.714	1.798	2,3	2,5
Zaječar	20.780	13.972	6.808	61.114	38.792	25.322	2,8	3,7
Boljevac	8.905	7.141	1.764	25.865	14.071	11.794	2,0	6,7
Knjaževac	24.286	15.548	5.738	81.347	65.516	15.831	3,5	2,8
Sokobanja	124.877	105.151	16.726	588.422	540.928	47.494	5,0	2,8
Total Eastern Serbia	267.240	216.389	50.851	968.403	825.849	142.554	3,5	2,7

Source: Republic Statistical Office

By tourist resorts	Tourists			Tourist overnights			Average number of tourist overnights
	total	domestic	foreign	total	domestic	foreign	domestic	foreign
Gamzigradska banja	2.072	1.685	387	21.991	16.537	5.454	9,8	14,1
Sokobanja	124.877	108.151	16.726	588.422	540.928	47.494	5,0	2,8
Majdanpek	5.134	3.189	1.945	14.615	9.688	4.927	3,0	2,5
Rajac	2.737	2.510	227	8.424	8.056	368	3,2	1,6
Rtanj	2.886	2.671	215	5.609	5.176	433	1,9	2,0
Stara planina	21.873	17.342	4.531	75.534	62.011	13.523	3,6	3,0
Bor	14.178	9.798	4.380	32.843	21.565	11.278	2,2	2,6
Donji Milanovac	24.238	20.453	3.785	60.443	53.706	6.737	2,6	1,8
Zaječar	18.122	11.971	6.151	40.997	21.654	19.343	1,8	3,1
Kladovo	33.719	25.513	8.206	67.513	52.406	15.107	2,1	1,8

Source: Republic Statistical Office