Subotica or Subotitsa (Hungarian, Szabadka), city in northern Serbia, near the Hungarian border. The city is in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia’s agricultural area. It is surrounded by a fertile area in which grain and tobacco are grown, and large herds of cattle are raised. The principal industries here include the manufacture of foodstuffs, metal furniture, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and railway equipment. Subotica is also an important rail junction. Before World War I, Subotica was a free city of Hungary. It was incorporated into the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later renamed Yugoslavia) in 1918, and remained part of that country until 1992, except for a period of Hungarian occupation during World War II. Population 99,471 (2002).