The economy of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) was a unique system of socialist self-management that operated from the end of World War II until the country's dissolution in the 1990s. The Yugoslav economy was characterized by a combination of market mechanisms and state planning, with a focus on worker self-management and a decentralized approach to decision-making. Despite facing numerous challenges, including political instability and external pressures, the Yugoslav economy achieved significant growth and modernization during its existence, with a particularly strong emphasis on education, health care, and social welfare. However, the system ultimately proved unsustainable in the face of the global economic changes of the 1980s and the political tensions that led to the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Despite common origins, the Yugoslav economy was significantly different from the economies of the Soviet Union and other Eastern European socialist states, especially after the Yugoslav-Soviet break-up in 1948.

The Informbiro period was an era of Yugoslavia's history following the Tito–Stalin split in mid-1948 that lasted until the country's partial rapprochement with the Soviet Union in 1955 with the signing of the Belgrade declaration. After World War II in Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia's new leadership under Josip Broz Tito pursued a foreign policy that did not align with the Eastern Bloc. Eventually, this led to public conflict, but the Yugoslav leadership decided not to acquiesce to Soviet demands, despite significant external and internal pressures. The period saw the persecution of the political opposition in Yugoslavia, resulting in thousands being imprisoned, exiled, or sent to forced labour. 100 Yugoslav citizens were seriously wounded or killed between 1948 and 1953 while some sources claim 400 victims during the existence of Goli otok prison camp. The purges included a significant number of members of Yugoslavia's security apparatus and its military.