town in the autonomous province of Vojvodina in Serbia. It lies along the Belgrade-Budapest railway line near the Hungarian border. It is the market centre of the Bačka, a fertile agricultural district in which paprika is a specialty. The town is also an industrial centre, with a large thermal-power station. Leading industries include electrometallurgy, chemicals, and plastics. The town has several advanced vocational schools and economic and law faculties.

Subotica was first mentioned in 1391, and it was included in Austria's military frontier after the defeat of the Turks in the late 17th century. In spite of its large population of Hungarian descent, it became part of Yugoslavia in 1918. The town is home to the economics faculty of the University of Novi Sad. Pop. (2002) 99,981.