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 2018, domestic extraction amounted to 114 585 thousand tonnes; compared to the previous year it increased by 4.9%. Observed by categories, the largest share in domestic extraction was noted for the categories of biomass (40 682 thousand tons) and fossil energy (38 885 thousand tons).

In 2018, the total imports amounted to 18 593 thousand tonnes, which is by 2.8% higher when related to 2017. Categories with the largest share in imports were fossil fuels (39.9%) and metal ores (24.2%).

In 2018, the total exports noted the value of 14 328 thousand tonnes, which is by 6.3% more than in 2017. Biomass had the largest share in the total exports (47.0%), followed by metal ores (18.5%).

In 2018, domestic material consumption amounted to 118 850 thousand tons, which is by 4.4% more if compared to 2017. The greatest consumption related to the category of fossil fuels (44 585 thousand tons) and biomass (36 775 thousand tons). In 2018, domestic material consumption per capita amounted to 17 ton, i.e. it increased by 0.8 ton when compared to the previous year.

Resource productivity is the ratio between Gross domestic product (GDP) and domestic material consumption and in 2018, it amounted to 31.4 RSD per kilogram, which is by 0.04% more than in 2017, meaning that increase of material consumption was lower than GDP increase, when related to the previous year.