information:classification
Education and science

According to 2011 census, literacy in Serbia stands at 98% of population while computer literacy is at 49% (complete computer literacy is at 34.2%). Same census showed the following levels of education: 16.2% of inhabitants have higher education (10.6% have bachelors or master's degrees, 5.6% have an associate degree), 49% have a secondary education, 20.7% have an elementary education, and 13.7% have not completed elementary education.

Education in Serbia is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Science. Education starts in either preschools or elementary schools. Children enroll in elementary schools at the age of seven. Compulsory education consists of eight grades of elementary school. Students have the opportunity to attend gymnasiums and vocational schools for another four years, or to enroll in vocational training for two to three years.

Following the completion of gymnasiums or vocational schools, students have the opportunity to attend university. Elementary and secondary education are also available in languages of recognised minorities in Serbia, where classes are held in Hungarian, Slovak, Albanian, Romanian, Rusyn, Bulgarian as well as Bosnian and Croatian languages. Petnica Science Center is a notable institution for extracurricular science education focusing on gifted students.

There are 19 universities in Serbia (nine public universities with a total number of 86 faculties and ten private universities with 51 faculties). In 2018/2019 academic year, 210,480 students attended 19 universities (181,310 at public universities and some 29,170 at private universities) while 47,169 attended 81 "higher schools". Public universities in Serbia are: the University of Belgrade, University of Novi Sad, University of Niš, University of Kragujevac, University of Priština, Public University of Novi Pazar as well as three specialist universities – University of Arts, University of Defence and University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies. Largest private universities include Megatrend University and Singidunum University, both in Belgrade, and Educons University in Novi Sad. The University of Belgrade (placed in 301–400 bracket on 2013 Shanghai Ranking of World Universities, being best-placed university in Southeast Europe after those in Athens and Thessaloniki) and University of Novi Sad are generally considered the best institutions of higher learning in the country.

Serbia spent 0.9% of GDP on scientific research in 2017, which is slightly below the European average. Serbia was ranked 53rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2023, up from 57th in 2019. Since 2018, Serbia is a full member of CERN. Serbia has a long history of excellence in maths and computer sciences which has created a strong pool of engineering talent, although economic sanctions during the 1990s and chronic underinvestment in research forced many scientific professionals to leave the country. Nevertheless, there are several areas in which Serbia still excels such as growing information technology sector, which includes software development as well as outsourcing. It generated over $1.2 billion in exports in 2018, both from international investors and a significant number of dynamic homegrown enterprises. Serbia is one of the countries with the highest proportion of women in science. Among the scientific institutes operating in Serbia, the largest are the Mihajlo Pupin Institute and Vinča Nuclear Institute, both in Belgrade. The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is a learned society promoting science and arts from its inception in 1841.