Serbia: The Balkan leader in crime and dirty air

In recent years, in Serbia, ruled by Aleksandar Vucic, a lot of things have been happening that should not be happening. Each bad event "burys" the previous one and it is forgotten, so today few people remember how many times trains have derailed on the tracks, how the citizens of Serbia breathe the dirtiest air in Europe and why crime in the Balkan country has been elevated to a cult.

Many times the Balkan peoples hear that Serbia is the first in the region, the leader in this or that, so fortunately (or unfortunately) the country is also the record holder for the number of hours spent at work. The European statistics office Eurostat announced on September 20 that workers in Serbia worked an average of 43.3 hours per week last year, almost six hours more than the European Union average.

In terms of the number of derailed railway trains, Serbia exceeded all the countries of the European Union combined. From 2020 to the end of 2022, the total number of train derailments on Serbian railways was 195, while in the same period in 18 EU countries the number was 180.

In terms of air pollution, Serbia took a shameful second place after North Macedonia, according to N1.

Serbia also leads in terms of air pollution. The air in Belgrade is worse than any other European city.

Another achievement that the Serbs should not be proud of is the number of Strategic Lawsuits against Civil Participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation suits). In the past year, more than 250 SLAPP cases were registered in Europe and 35 in Serbia, which places the country in 10th place in this category.

Serbia is also the leader in terms of crimes committed according to the Global Index of Organized Crime for 2023. Belgrade is in third place in Europe. The country is placed high even compared to the rest of the world - out of 193 countries, Serbia is in 40th position.

Life in Serbia may not be sweet, but the honey that the residents consume is too sweet. Of the 25 honey samples that were tested using the new accredited food and beverage labeling method, 22 failed the tests. It was found that in these 88% of the samples some sugar was added to the honey to varying degrees. /BGNES