The latest survey carried out by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), dubbed 'Life in Transition,' shows that the number of Serbian citizens who are completely satisfied with their life is on the rise and adds up to almost a third of the country's population.

According to the EBRD survey, the number of people who are fully satisfied with their life now totals 30 per cent, which is 3 per cent more than in 2006. Zorica Vasiljevic of the Belgrade University assessed that this is most likely the result of improvements in the quality of certain public services, health protection and social benefits in Serbia which took place during the said period.

Vasiljevic told Tanjug on Tuesday that one of the positive elements that contributed to the increase in the number of citizens who are satisfied with life is greater certainty when it comes to Serbia's EU accession. She underscored that more intensive EU accession process also opens various possibilities for exploitation of EU accession funds, which should increase investments and employment and also have a positive effect on the living standard.

In spite of the positive trends, high living costs, low standards and high unemployment rate remain the biggest problem for Serbian citizens, Vasiljevic stated.

The EBRD survey shows that countries with the so-called transition economy are among those most afflicted by the global economic crisis, because their BDP dropped by 5.2 per cent on average at the peak of the economic standstill in 2009. However, the drop of Serbia's BDP in the critical year was considerably slighter and the country's economy exited the recession as soon as mid-2010, and according to the assessments, it should record a solid 3 per cent growth in 2011.

Experts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) say that Serbia should keep recording a positive growth rate by mid-decade, adding that the figure should exceed five per cent in 2016, which is a record increase also predicted for Bosnia-Herzegovina.

According to IMF assessments, other countries in the region, including those in the western Balkans, should have a positive growth, although it would be within the scope of as few as 3 to 4.5 per cent.

When it comes to the evaluation of the quality of life now as against that in the previous period, however, Serbia is one of the transition countries on the bottom of the list and according to this criterion, it leaves behind only Georgia, Armenia, Hungary and Romania.

The level of satisfaction in the most developed European countries such as Sweden, Germany and France is two or three times higher than that in Serbia and majority of other transition countries.