The new Environmental Performance Index ranks Serbia 69th in the world, and among the worst-rated countries in Europe regarding biodiversity conservation, air pollution, and concretisation. When we recall individual cases where natural assets in Serbia have been compromised, the results can hardly surprise us.
Yale and Columbia Universities recently published the results of the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) for as many as 177 countries worldwide, including Serbia, reports the portal Klima 101.
The index is published every two years and is based on 47 indicators, which include climate change mitigation, air quality, waste management, and biodiversity. In terms of nature conservation, Serbia is among the lowest-ranked countries in the whole of Europe, while globally it sits in 69th place.
On the other hand, Serbia ranks first in the reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions over a ten-year period, where economic growth is deliberately excluded from the calculation in order to measure the actual success of state measures. Serbia achieved the maximum 100 points here, as did Finland, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
Estonia best in Europe, Moldova worst
Each country receives a sustainability score ranging from zero to 100. The best overall ranking this year was achieved by Estonia, with a score of 74.79/100, followed by Luxembourg (74.24) and the United Kingdom (71.51), writes Klima 101. Serbia’s index is 44.94, placing it 69th on the global list.
The only two European countries that ranked lower than Serbia are Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 76th place, and Moldova, at 109th on the list. As the Klima 101 portal writes, if we were to include transcontinental states whose smaller parts lie within Europe, Russia at 89th and Turkey at 125th would also rank behind Serbia. The situation in Serbia has worsened since the last Index: in 2024, it was in 62nd place with a score of 49.8.
Biodiversity in Serbia closer to destruction than conservation
Serbia is ranked particularly poorly in the Biodiversity Habitat Index, which assesses the effects of habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation based on remote sensing and other ecological diversity studies, reports Klima 101.
A maximum of 100 points means a country has lost almost none of its habitats, while a score of zero indicates complete destruction. Serbia scored 12.25 and sits in 169th place out of 175 analysed countries.
In the area of Mala Golaja – which is covered by plans for the expansion of the Čukaru Peki mining and metallurgical complex – the rare and protected plant species Androsace maxima L. (the giant androsace or “velika mužica”) was discovered, which was thought to have disappeared in Serbia. Other finds include the swallowtail butterfly (“lastin repak”), a strictly protected species, and several orchid species, such as the green-winged orchid (“šumski kaćumak”), which is also a protected species in Serbia.
However, despite a significant loss of biodiversity habitats, statistics show that Serbia’s remaining forests and changes in land use over the last decade have managed to maintain the status of a “carbon sink” – meaning that nature still manages to absorb more carbon dioxide than it emits into the atmosphere.
Deaths and illnesses due to PM2.5 particles
Serbia also performed poorly regarding the number of deaths and illnesses resulting from exposure to fine PM2.5 particulate matter, ranking 134th. According to the indicator measuring the risk of pesticide pollution, Serbia is 137th on the list.
Mašina also reported earlier about the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute (RERI) publishing an air quality analysis for Serbia for 2025. According to an official document signed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, air pollution causes nearly 10,000 premature deaths annually in the country.
During 2025, measuring stations across Serbia recorded an average of 104 days per year exceeding the permitted concentrations of fine PM2.5 particles – particles that penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
Champions in turning grasslands into concrete
Regarding the conversion of grasslands and pastures into arable land and concrete surfaces, Serbia ranks 127th on the Environmental Performance Index.
Mašin has previously reported about the construction of a residential-commercial complex in Košutnjak, the construction of an aquarium at Ušće and the threat to the park, illegal construction on Milićevo Brdo, the construction of a housing complex in Zvezdara Forest, and many other cases where nature was compromised for the sake of private interests.
Experts in natural sciences and urban planning have been warning for years that the rise in concrete structures (“concretisation”) at the expense of green and porous surfaces in Belgrade and other cities across Serbia is life-threatening for their populations.
https://www.masina.rs/srbija-medu-najlosije-ocenjenim-zemljama-u-evropi-po-ocuvanju-prirode/
