Assessing socio-economic vulnerability aiming for sustainable development in Serbia

ABSTRACT

The most cited definition of sustainable development was created more than three decades ago, by the Brundtland Commission. The problem that was defined then is equally present today. There are various definitions of ‘sustainable development’, and thus, in the past, different countries have made different frameworks. However, the current framework has been presented by the 2030 Agenda and specifically divided into 17 goals, defined by the United Nations. It is not the same starting point for countries with developed and underdeveloped economies. This paper highlights the economic and educational structure of the population as a potential for economic and social development, but also for the Gross Value Added. These are the main parameters that were analysed to extract the most sensitive areas. The analysed data refer to the 25 administrative areas (NSTJ 3) in Serbia. The most endangered areas that should be emphasized in further research and action plans are distinguished. The results of the paper should serve as a starting point for further and more in-depth research, as well as for creating projects for the more balanced regional development of Serbia.

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainable development
• inactive population
• educational structure
• GVA, Serbia
• areas

Acknowledgments

The paper is part of the research results carried out within the project “Geography of Serbia” (No. 47007), financed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.