CASA Survey: 68% of Serbs in Kosovo See Worsening Conditions
A survey by CASA shows two thirds of Serbs in Kosovo believe their position has worsened, and nearly half say they would leave if Pristina unilaterally integrates health care and education.
The Center for Affirmative Social Actions (CASA) presented a survey on August 24 titled “Insight into the Challenges, Needs and Attitudes of the Serb Community in Kosovo,” carried out among 600 members of the Serb community in 17 municipalities. The findings show that almost 68 percent of respondents believe the community’s position has worsened over the past year, while 47.09 percent say they would consider leaving Kosovo if Pristina unilaterally carries out the integration of health care and education.
The survey was accompanied by 12 in depth interviews with health and education workers, experts, a journalist and a civil society representative. The sample is split almost evenly, with 48.12 percent of respondents from north of the Ibar and 51.88 percent from south of it. Sources disagree on the exact survey period: the KoSSev portal states the fieldwork ran from December 8 to 22, 2025, while Radio Gorazdevac writes that the survey was conducted in late 2025 and early 2026.
The phrase “for the first time” is notably absent here. CASA compares the new results with an earlier survey using the same methodology, so this year’s data reads as a continuation rather than a first check on the community’s mood. Support for the return of Serbs to Kosovo institutions, for instance, rose by ten to fifteen percentage points compared to the previous round, and the share of those choosing the most negative assessment of their position, “worsened a great deal,” is also smaller than before.
Health and Education Push Jobs Off the Top of the Worry List
The economy and security used to top the list of problems facing the Serb community in Kosovo. This time the top spot went to the announced unilateral integration of health care and education into the Kosovo system, which 78.60 percent of respondents rate as a “very big problem.” The north and the south differ here: 85.77 percent hold that view in the north, compared with 71.95 percent south of the Ibar.
The reason is direct. As many as 59.06 percent of employed respondents work in institutions belonging to the Serbian system, and only 9.06 percent in Kosovo institutions. Changing the status of those institutions, CASA warns, would affect not only students and patients but also the household income of entire communities.
If integration were carried out unilaterally, without an agreement with representatives of the Serb community, 47.09 percent of respondents say they would leave Kosovo. Only 17.47 percent say it would not affect their decision to stay, while 35.45 percent do not know how they would react.
Yes to Returning to Institutions, No to Unilateral Integration
Although opposition to unilateral integration tops 70 percent both in the north and in the south, the same survey finds that about 85 percent of respondents support the return of Serbs to Kosovo institutions in the north. CASA highlights that contrast as one of the key findings: according to the authors, the community is not rejecting institutional inclusion as such, but rather a model it considers unilateral and without guarantees.
Asked what would contribute most to making any future integration successful and fair, 40.66 percent of respondents rank the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities first, 33.72 percent call for clear legal guarantees of the community’s rights, and 14.78 percent point to the active participation of local Serbs in negotiations.
If institutional changes were to happen regardless, respondents most insist on preserving:
- teaching in the Serbian language, 79.36 percent
- Serbia’s curriculum, about 74 percent
- stable salaries and regular payments, about 72 percent
- recognition of diplomas and qualifications, more than two thirds
Emigration Accelerates, Especially Among Students
According to the survey, 79.11 percent of respondents say the number of people around them permanently leaving Kosovo has increased compared to the previous year, 83.63 percent in the north and 74.92 percent in the south. The reasons differ: in the south, the lack of jobs leads with 75.17 percent, while in the north security concerns dominate at 34.16 percent, against just 8.61 percent in the south.
As for personal intentions, 21.75 percent of all respondents plan to permanently leave Kosovo within the next three years, while among students that share climbs to 48.50 percent. A third of respondents, 33.39 percent, remain undecided, and 44.86 percent say they do not plan to leave.
One of the interviewees summed up the fear in the in depth interviews: “The biggest risk is definitely emigration.” Other interviewees stressed that “the bulk of our population works in healthcare and education,” directly tying the fate of those institutions to the survival of families.
What keeps people in place, however, is not political signals but immediate life ties. Family and friends are the top reason to stay for 40.20 percent of respondents in the north and 33.77 percent in the south, well ahead of jobs, roots and property.
Trust in Institutions Low, Trust in Serbia’s President Almost Negligible
Only 7.37 percent of respondents believe the Serb community is included, partially or fully, in decisions about the future of health care and education. In the north, as many as 77.92 percent say the community participates “insufficiently” or “not at all” in the process, and 67.31 percent say the same in the south.
One detail stands out in particular. Among respondents who do not plan to leave or are undecided, only 0.85 percent cite trust in President Aleksandar Vucic as the main reason for staying, and just 0.43 percent believe the Kosovo authorities want Serbs to stay. CASA describes this as a mismatch between the traditionally high electoral support for the SNS among Serbs in Kosovo and the almost negligible role that trust plays when people decide their own future.
The survey is part of the project “From Integration to a New Social Contract for a Truly Multiethnic Kosovo,” which CASA is carrying out with the organization Spaces for Societal Changes, with support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Pristina. In their recommendations, the authors call for greater institutional transparency, communication in the Serbian language, and consideration of a temporary moratorium on unilateral integration processes. A specific date for when Pristina might begin integrating health care and education has not been announced.
