6.2.2 Public cultural expenditure broken down by level of government
Table 9: Public cultural expenditure: by level of government, 2012
| Level of government | Total expenditure in EUR | % share of total |
|---|---|---|
| State (central, federal) | 54.217.954 | 33% |
| Regional (provincial) | 14.227.000 | 9% |
| Local (municipal, incl. counties) | 94.850.000 | 58% |
| TOTAL | 163 348 954 | 100% |
Source: Mikić H. (2013) Cultural industries and diversity of cultural expression in Serbia, Belgrade: Creative Economy Group, pp. 26
The present statistical system does not provide precise data concerning the share of different levels of government in the public financing of culture. In 2012, government subsidies at national level accounted for about 33% of the total public cultural expenditure; municipalities accounted for about 58%, and the Province of Vojvodina took up the remainder (9%). In 2016, these percentages were more or less the same. In the structure of public cultural expenditure of municipalities, Belgrade City government subsidies account for about 58% of the total public cultural expenditure of municipalities, while Belgrade municipalities account for about 17%. The growing participation of local governments in the public expenditure for culture is due to an increasing level of financing local media by the public media purchasing model.
The share of the Ministry of Culture and Information regarding the total government budget in 2018 was 1.0% (but part of the budget devoted to culture is 0,6 of the total government budget, which represents quite same level as a year before). . The amount of money intended for competitions as well as ad hoc cultural projects accounts for approximately 16% of the total budget of the Ministry of Culture. In 2011, the share of the Ministry of Culture in the total government budget has reached the lowest level in the last 10 years (0.65%). Out of the total budget of the Ministry of Culture, 25% goes to central government administration of culture, while the amount of money intended for public competitions and ad hoc projects accounts for approximately 20% (11 million EUR), while the budget for public cultural institutions funded by central government accounts for 50%.
Table 10: Share of the budget of the Serbian Ministry of Culture and Information in the total government budget,
in thousand CSD and in EUR, 1997-2018
| Year | Budgetary expenses of the Republican government (000 EUR) | Budgetary expense of the Ministry of Culture | Proportion of the budget of the Ministry of Culture | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSD | EUR | |||
| 1997 | 13 820 981 | 311 834 | – | 2.26% |
| 1998 | 16 807 473 | 289 154 | – | 1.72% |
| 1999 | 17 640 691 | 245 088 | – | 1.57% |
| 2000 | 32 702 454 | 557 690 | 15 934 000 | 1.71% |
| 2001 | 127 339 827 | 1 074 235 | 23 871 000 | 0.84% |
| 2002 | 217 379 629 | 1 389 625 | 22 818 000 | 0.64% |
| 2003 | 318 691 919 | 2 954 919 | 47 814 000 | 0.93% |
| 2004 | 362 045 252 | 5 851 070 | 85 305 000 | 1.62% |
| 2005 | 400 767 778 | 5 608 642 | 70 548 000 | 1.40% |
| 2006* | 459 407 647 | 6 376 627 | 78 240 000 | 1.38% |
| 2007* | 551 126 440 | 4 942 284 | 60 345 000 | 0.89% |
| 2008 | 695 959 075 | 6 888 157 | 81 000 000 | 0.98% |
| 2009 | 748 652 903 | 6 895 770 | 72 587 000 | 0.92% |
| 2010 | 738 645 297 | 5 860 797 | 58 607 970 | 0.79% |
| 2011 | 846 919 908 | 5 541 260 | 55 412 600 | 0.65% |
| 2012 | 797 994 245 | 5 698 555 | 54 271 954 | 0.68% |
| 2013 | 1 012 997 900 | 5 755 421 | 48 774 754 | 0.56% |
| 2014 | 1 127 944 700 | 15 659 118 | 139 759 000 | 1,38% |
| 2015 | 1 062 758 700 | 14 640 194 | 124 069 441 | 1,36% |
| 2016 | 1 049 867 600 | 10 845 073 | 91 907 398 | 1.03% |
| 2017 | 1 119 142 100 | 13 369 016 | 113 296 746 | 1,19% |
| 2018 | 1 201 000 100 | 13 320 754 | 112 887 746 | 1,10% |
Source:
Statistical Yearbook 2000 and 2002, Office of Statistics of the Republic of Serbia, Law on Budget of Republic of Serbia for 2000-2018: Bulletin of public finance 2018.
Notes:
* Excluded is expenditure of the National Investment Plan.
By the end of 2003, the Radio-Television of Serbia (public broadcasting service), the Regulatory Agency for Broadcasting, and the public enterprise PANORAMA were financed through the budget of the Ministry of Culture.
The share of the Ministry of Culture in the total government budget increased in the period from 2004 to 2006, but this budget growth doesn’t mean a real increase of financial resources for cultural and art production (programmes). Starting from 2004, Radio-Television of Serbia (public broadcasting service), the Regulatory Agency for Broadcasting, the public enterprise PANORAMA, and the publishing organisation “Bratstvo” (journals, newspapers, magazines in the Bulgarian language), were financed through the budget of the Ministry of Culture. Financing activities of these organisations took up around 45% of the budget of the Ministry of Culture. By the end of 2006, financing of those organisations was cut, due to the introduction of new legal forms of their financing (e.g. broadcasting license fees, TV subscriptions, etc.). This is one of the reasons why the share of the budget of the Ministry of Culture is reduced in 2007, as there are no more “media” expenditures in it, while the rate of participation in payment of TV subscriptions has finally achieved the desired level of 80% (the resistance to the “renewal” of TV subscription in Serbia was great, as the “boycotting” of the payment of the subscription was part of the democratic battle at the end of 1980s and beginning of 1990s). In 2014, the budgetary expenses for culture increased again – this was partly an increase of cultural expenses, but again added new media expenses (expenses for public broad casting company) to the Ministry of Culture and Information’s budget as well media open calls.
In total, between 40% and 50% of the Ministry’s budget usually go to culture and the rest goes to media projects. The increase of the total budget in the past three years is caused by infrastructural expenses for the National Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Arts.
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