Material flows include material flows between a national economy and the natural environment, and these consist of the extraction of raw materials and other primary materials from and the discharge into the natural environment, as well as material flows between a national economy and the rest of the world (imports and exports).

In 2017, domestic extraction amounted to 107 949 thousand tonnes; compared to the previous year it decreased by 7.2%. Observed by categories, the largest share in domestic extraction was noted for the categories of fossil energy (40 730 thousand tons) and biomass (29 245 thousand tons).

In 2017, the total imports amounted to 18 083 thousand tonnes, which is by 10% higher when related to 2016. Categories with the largest share in imports were fossil fuels (39.4%) and metal ores (23.6%).

In 2017, the total exports noted the value of 13 477 thousand tonnes, which is by 1.8% more than in 2016. Biomass had the largest share in the total exports (47.4%), followed by metal ores (18.3%).

In 2017, domestic material consumption amounted to 112 555 thousand tons, which is by 5.8% less if compared to 2016. The greatest consumption related to the category of fossil fuels (46 272 thousand tons) and biomass (25 741 thousand tons). In 2017, domestic material consumption per capita amounted to 16 ton, i.e. it decreased by 0.9 ton when compared to the previous year.

Resource productivity is the ratio between Gross domestic product (GDP) and domestic material consumption and in 2017, it amounted to 41 RSD per kilogram, which is by 10% more than in 2016, meaning that decrease of material consumption was lower than GDP increase, when related to the previous year.