The Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia and UNICEF have issued today the new data on the position of women and children in Serbia, collected in the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey on the position of women and children in 2019 (MICS 6).

The data were collected with the financial assistance of UNICEF, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

The obtained data indicate progress in key areas, including breastfeeding and attending preschool education, but also stagnation in the areas of child marriage and violent disciplining of children.

Number of live births in the Republic of Serbia in the period January – September 2020 amounted to 46 270. Compared with the same period of the previous year, when total number of live births was 47 068, noted was the decrease in live births by 798, i.e. 1.7%.

Number of deaths in the Republic of Serbia in the period January –September 2020 amounted to 78 445, and if related to the same period 2019, when it was 75 727, it recorded increase by 2 718, or 3.6%.

Average gross salaries and wages calculated for August 2020 amounted to 80 901 RSD, while average net salaries and wages amounted to 58 513 RSD.

In the period January-August 2020, average net salaries and wages increased by 9,2% in nominal terms and by 7,6% in real terms compared to the same period last year.

Median net salaries and wages for August 2020 amounted to 45 000 RSD, meaning that 50% of employees realised wages and salaries up to the mentioned amount.

The United Nations in 2010 decided to mark World Statistics Day, recognizing the importance of the statistical data and their impact on the creation of global strategies and plans. Every five years, around the world, this day is celebrated on October 20^th.

The main goal of celebrating this day is pointing out to the importance of statistical data in modern society and the significance of their reliability, as these data present the basis for decision-making - both at global and national levels. Previous slogans indicated that professionalism and integrity are the most valuable for statistics, and that the better world is being built thanks to better data, and this year's, successively the third anniversary, World Statistics Day carries the slogan – “Connecting the world with the data we can trust”.

Based on the results of a comprehensive analysis and risk assessment, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has decided that, due to the unfavourable epidemiological situation, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which may significantly jeopardize the preparations and field implementation of 2021 Census, to delay conduction of this most complex and expensive statistical survey for six months, i.e. to conduct the field implementation of the Census in October 2021 instead of April 2021.

According to the results, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was 23.2% in 2019, and compared to 2018, it was lower by 1.1 percentage points.

Beside this, the at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate amounted to 31.7%, and it was lower by 2.6 percentage points relative to 2018.

In August 2020, 2 041 building permits were issued, presenting the decrease of 4.4% related to August 2019. Out of the total number of permits issued in August 2020, 84.1% related to buildings and 15.9% to civil engineering.

Prices of goods and services used for personal consumption in September 2020 in relation to August 2020 decreased by 0.5% on average (index 99.5).