Original article (in Serbian) was published on 23/12/2025; Author: Stefan Kosanović
During the morning news programme on Serbia’s public broadcaster, RTS, on December 18, a brief item described as a “curiosity” was read out, claiming that Serbia ranks third globally among countries considered most favourable for young people under the age of 30. The report aired after a year marked by intense protests, university blockades and attacks on young people – particularly those under 30. The claim was subsequently carried by dozens of other domestic media outlets. None of them, however, mentioned a key detail: that the research in question is nearly two years old, nor that Serbia’s ranking represents only one segment of a much broader World Happiness Report, in which the country performs significantly worse in other categories.
In mid-December, a large number of media outlets in Serbia reported that the country ranked third globally among the happiest places to live for people under the age of 30.
According to reports by Serbia’s public broadcaster RTS, the news agency Tanjug, RTV, B92, Politika, Novosti, Telegraf, Alo, Republika, K1, 24sedam, Srbija danas, Red portal, RT Balkan, NS Uživo, Vojvođanski, Niš TV, BizLife, Top portal, Kruševac grad and Zaječar online, the data were published by the popular X account Spectator Index, while the research itself was conducted by the polling organisation Gallup.
Neither RTS nor the other outlets verified when the research was conducted, which is evident from the fact that their reports did not include any time reference. Instead, they cited the post by Spectator Index as the trigger for their coverage, even though the same information had been recycled on that account at least seven times – published in March, May, November and December 2024, as well as in May, September and December 2025.
The timing of the research is of particular importance given that, over the past year, protests and university blockades across Serbia have been largely driven by young people, who have emerged as the main carriers of the current wave of dissent, fuelled in part by concerns over crime and corruption.
The research is publicly available and free of charge and can be accessed through a simple online search. Had journalists at RTS and other pro-government outlets attempted to locate the original source, they would have easily established that the data now being presented as current are in fact almost two years old.
The figures originate from the World Happiness Report, published in March 2024, which is produced through a partnership between Gallup, the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the World Happiness Report’s editorial board.
Although the report was published in March 2024, its methodology is based on respondents’ self-assessments of their lives during the years 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Survey participants rated their overall life satisfaction on a scale from zero to ten. These responses – collected from around 1,000 respondents per country and averaged over a three-year period—form the basis for the ranking of countries by happiness levels. The study also tracked everyday emotions, including positive feelings such as laughter and enjoyment and negative ones such as worry or sadness, although these were treated as supplementary indicators, as the report notes they can easily be influenced by short-term circumstances.
Serbian media outlets also failed to report the full findings of the study, instead highlighting only the most favourable segment for Serbia.
In the category of people under 30, Serbia did indeed rank third.
However, the report covered three additional age groups. Among the younger middle-aged population, Serbia ranked 29th; among the older middle-aged group, 44th; and in the oldest category – people aged 60 and over – it ranked 54th. In the overall average score table, Serbia placed 37th.
The report notes that, compared with the 2006 – 2010 period, Serbia recorded the largest increase in overall happiness levels worldwide. At the same time, it highlights that Serbia is among the countries with a particularly wide gap in life satisfaction between younger and older generations.
RTS Airs Claim in Morning Programme as Tabloid Alo Gives It Prominent Front-Page Play
During the morning news programme on Serbia’s public broadcaster RTS on December 18, a brief segment on the topic was aired, which the anchor introduced and read out as a “curiosity to end the programme.”
On social media, users largely responded with ridicule, questioning the credibility of the claims in light of the ongoing protests and unrest led by young people across Serbia.
The tabloid Alo devoted nearly half of its front page to the story, replacing its usual attacks on young “blockers” with the headline: “Black on white: Young people in our country are more satisfied than in Scandinavia. Serbia is the third happiest country in the world.”
“This shows that young people’s happiness is not measured solely by living standards, but also by the quality of interpersonal relationships, freedom and a sense of purpose in life,” Alo wrote.
The tabloid did not, however, question whether young people in Serbia feel safe or free in 2025.
In November, the National Youth Council of Serbia (KOMS) presented a study titled Security Compass: An Expert Analysis of Youth Safety and Violence Against Young People. The report found that young people perceive the most serious threats to their personal safety as the potential violation of civil rights by state authorities, the spread of disinformation and fake news, and political polarisation and hate speech.
Among the highest-rated threats identified in the study were violations of the right to a fair trial and freedom of expression, as well as threats to the physical and psychological integrity of young people – also attributed to state authorities.
The KOMS study effectively confirms – and reflects – the developments witnessed over the past year, including the arrest and detention of students, violence against them, and frequent threats by police officers, many of which have been documented.
Translated in English using AI tools, then thoughtfully refined by a human editor.
