page_title: Niš
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Niš / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Čeština: Panorama náměstí krále Milana v Niši, Srbsko English: Panorama picture of the square of king Milan in Niš, Serbia Српски / srpski: Панорама слика трга краља Милана у Нишу
context_page_description: Niš is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 183,164, while its administrative area has a population of 260,237 inhabitants.
  Niš is the city of three Roman emperors: Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor and the founder of Constantinople; Constantius III; and Justin I. Later playing a prominent role in the history of the Byzantine Empire, the city's past would earn it the nickname The Emperor's City.
  After about 400 years of Ottoman rule, the city was liberated in 1878 and became part of the Principality of Serbia, though not without great bloodshed—remnants of which can be found throughout the city. Today, Niš is one of the most important economic centers in Serbia, especially in the electronics, mechanical engineering, textile, and tobacco industries. Constantine the Great Airport is Niš's international airport.
  In 2013, the city was host to the celebration of 1700 years of Constantine's Edict of Milan.
context_section_description: The city of Niš is the administrative, industrial, commercial, financial and cultural center of the south-eastern part of Republic of Serbia. The position of Niš is strategically important, at the intersection of European highway and railway networks connecting Europe with Asia. Niš is easily accessible, having an airport – Niš Constantine the Great Airport and being a point of intersection of numerous railroad and highway lines. 
  It is in Niš that the trunk road running from the north down the Morava River valley forks into two major lines:
  the south one, leading to Thessalonica and Athens, along the Vardar River valley,
  and the east one, running along the Nisava and the Marica, leading towards Sofia and Istanbul, and further on, towards the Near East.
  These roads have been widely known from ancient times, because they represented the beaten tracks along which peoples, goods and armies moved. Known as 'Via Militaris' in Roman and Byzantine periods, or 'Constantinople road' in Middle Ages, these roads still represent major European traffic arteries. Niš thus stands at a point of intersection of the roads connecting Asia Minor to Europe, and the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Nis had been a relatively developed city in the former Yugoslavia. In 1981, its GDP per capita was 110% of the Yugoslav average.
  As of September 2017, Niš has one of 14 free economic zones established in Serbia.
  Economic preview
  The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2019):
caption: Panorama picture of the Square of the King Milan I.
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