Demographics of Serbia explained

Place:Serbia
Size Of Population: 6,647,003[1]
Growth: −10.9 per 1,000 inhabitants (2021)[2]
Birth: 9.2 per 1,000 pop. (2023)
Death: 14.7 per 1,000 pop. (2023)
Life: 72.7 years (2021)
Life Male:73.1 years [3]
Life Female:78.4 years
Infant Mortality: 4.8 deaths/1,000 infants (2019)
Fertility: 1.63 children born/woman (2022)
Net Migration: –0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 pop. (2022)
Age 0-14 Years: 14.3% (2021)
Age 15-64 Years: 64.4% (2021)
Age 65 Years: 21.3% (2021)
Sr Total Mf Ratio:0.94 male(s)/female (2011)
Sr At Birth:1.06 male(s)/female
Sr Under 15:1.06 male(s)/female
Sr 15-64 Years:1.00 male(s)/female
Sr 65 Years Over:0.75 male(s)/female
Nation:noun: Serbian(s) adjective: Serbian
Major Ethnic:Serbs (80.6%) / (86.6%)
Minor Ethnic:Hungarians (2.8%) / (3.0%)
Bosniaks (2.31%) / (2.5%)
Roma (2%) / (2.1%)
other minorities around 5.3% / (5.8%)
undeclared and unknown 6.9%
Official:Serbian at national level;
Hungarian, Bosnian, Croatian, Slovak, Albanian, Romanian, Montenegrin and Rusyn are in official use in Vojvodina. Minority languages are used in municipalities which harbor minorities.
Spoken:Serbian (84.36%)
Hungarian (2.5%)
Bosnian (2.1%)
Romani (1.2%)
other minority languages less than 1%

Demographic features of the population of Serbia include vital statistics, ethnicity, religious affiliations, education level, health of the populace, and other aspects of the population.

History

See main article: Demographic history of Serbia. Censuses in Serbia ordinarily take place every 10 years, organized by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. The Principality of Serbia had conducted the first population census in 1834; the subsequent censuses were conducted in 1841, 1843, 1846, 1850, 1854, 1859, 1863 and 1866 and 1874. During the era Kingdom of Serbia, six censuses were conducted in 1884, 1890, 1895, 1900, 1905 and the last one being in 1910. During the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, censuses were conducted in 1921 and 1931; the census in 1941 was never conducted due to the outbreak of World War II. Socialist Yugoslavia conducted censuses in 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, and 1991. The two most recent censuses were held in 2011 and 2022.

The years since the first 1834 Census saw frequent border changes of Serbia, first amidst the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary, then the subsequent formation and later disintegration of Yugoslavia and, finally, the partially recognized independence of Kosovo in 2008, which affected territorial scope in which all these censuses have been conducted.

Total fertility rate 1860–1949

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.

Vital statistics

Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Data for Serbia excluding Kosovo.

Average populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)Crude migration change (per 1000)Total fertility rateFemale fertile population (15–49 years)
19505,969,977163,29776,85186,44627.412.914.53.111,667,489
19516,045,982145,19780,03465,16324.013.210.81.92.701,679,515
19526,106,976161,30667,87093,43626.411.115.3-5.22.941,691,530
19536,186,015151,67268,16883,50424.511.013.5-0.6'2.691,703,548
19546,271,014152,56962,61089,95924.310.014.3-0.62.661,714,614
19556,369,436140,39665,17975,21722.010.211.83.92.421,725,685
19566,422,999132,07867,10564,97320.610.410.1-1.72.261,736,751
19576,481,984118,53561,88556,65018.39.58.70.52.031,739,485
19586,535,020118,42555,56462,86118.18.59.6-1.42.051,742,115
19596,587,014114,87260,85054,02217.49.28.2-0.22.021,739,287
19606,638,992119,29861,87257,42618.09.38.6-0.72.121,733,296
19616,689,077115,22257,99057,23217.28.78.6-1.12.081,727,303
19626,740,264110,00862,83047,17816.39.37.00.72.031,735,235
19636,787,950108,32457,77850,54616.08.57.4-0.32.021,750,899
19646,832,855103,84762,10041,74715.29.16.10.51.961,769,796
19656,876,624106,69958,85647,84315.58.67.0-0.62.021,807,362
19666,927,969103,77555,47148,30415.08.07.00.51.981,843,693
19676,966,522103,49162,91540,57614.99.05.8-0.21.961,887,344
19687,007,586103,62160,93242,68914.88.76.1-0.21.951,945,878
19697,123,249105,47868,15237,32614.89.65.211.31.931,972,004
19707,164,993102,45367,21135,24214.39.44.91.01.812,012,702
19717,211,716104,07065,87238,19814.49.15.31.21.832,020,324
19727,267,030106,85970,82236,03714.79.75.02.71.832,019,717
19737,322,344108,36167,15241,20914.89.25.62.01.842,036,056
19747,377,659110,45866,45744,00115.09.06.01.61.862,020,513
19757,432,973112,94569,59043,35515.29.45.81.71.882,010,021
19767,488,287114,03568,56545,47015.29.26.11.31.892,002,713
19777,543,601111,51068,92442,58614.89.15.61.81.861,994,191
19787,598,916110,62271,98638,63614.69.55.12.21.861,974,022
19797,654,230109,95372,30637,64714.49.44.92.41.871,986,006
19807,709,544109,59776,18033,41714.29.94.32.91.861,997,988
19817,736,787103,40778,08625,32113.410.13.30.21.761,977,061
19827,763,335106,57578,47328,10213.710.13.6-0.21.841,947,609
19837,788,100108,00383,50624,49713.910.73.10.11.891,914,434
19847,813,549107,03682,74224,29413.710.63.10.21.901,921,422
19857,835,902101,93881,83620,10213.010.42.60.31.841,920,627
19867,853,82499,41983,97715,44212.710.72.00.31.821,911,361
19877,868,02798,27983,42614,85312.510.61.9-0.11.821,919,612
19887,884,21897,47183,61613,85512.410.61.80.31.821,899,146
19897,893,78791,27085,2566,01411.610.80.80.41.721,895,541
19907,897,93790,46785,5154,95211.510.80.6-0.11.721,899,883
19917,824,58990,37889,0721,30611.611.40.2-9.51.821,813,520
19927,787,89786,87793,475-6,59811.212.0-0.8-3.91.761,821,688
19937,751,20587,93195,121-7,19011.312.3-0.9-3.81.781,833,456
19947,714,51385,29293,011-7,71911.112.1-1.0-3.71.721,846,610
19957,677,82186,23693,933-7,69711.212.2-1.0-3.81.741,860,970
19967,641,12982,54898,370-15,82210.812.9-2.1-2.71.661,868,882
19977,604,43779,71698,068-18,35210.512.9-2.4-2.41.611,864,628
19987,567,74576,33099,376-23,04610.113.1-3.0-1.81.541,855,228
19997,540,40172,222101,444-29,2229.613.5-3.90.31.461,844,875
20007,516,34673,764104,042-30,2789.813.8-4.00.81.481,831,994
20017,503,43378,43599,008-20,57310.513.2-2.71.01.581,821,493
20027,500,03178,101102,785-24,68410.413.7-3.32.81.571,810,526
20037,480,59179,025103,946-24,92110.613.9-3.30.71.591,789,668
2004[9] 7,463,15778,186104,320-26,13410.514.0-3.51.21.571,770,053
20057,440,76972,180106,771-34,5919.714.3-4.61.61.451,750,845
20067,411,56970,997102,884-31,8879.613.9-4.30.41.431,733,316
20077,381,57968,102102,805-34,7039.213.9-4.70.71.381,718,428
20087,350,22269,083102,711-33,6289.414.0-4.60.41.411,704,735
20097,320,80770,299104,000-33,7019.614.2-4.60.61.441,691,363
2010[10] 7,291,43668,304103,211-34,9079.414.2-4.80.81.411,677,562
20117,236,51965,598102,935-37,3379.114.2-5.2-2.31.401,632,708
20127,201,49767,257102,400-35,1439.314.2-4.90.11.451,615,898
20137,166,55265,554100,300-34,7469.114.0-4.8-0.11.431,599,129
20147,131,78766,461101,247-34,7869.314.2-4.901.471,582,643
20157,095,38365,657103,678-38,0219.314.6-5.40.31.461,566,064
20167,058,32264,734100,834-36,1009.214.3-5.1-0.11.461,550,651
20177,020,85864,894103,722-38,8289.214.8-5.50.21.481,537,044
2018[11] 6,982,60463,975101,655-37,6809.214.6-5.401.481,523,675
2019[12] [13] 6,945,23564,399101,458-37,0599.314.6-5.3-0.11.521,510,363
2020[14] [15] 6,899,12661,692116,850-55,1588.916.9-8.01.41.481,496,982
2021[16] [17] 6,834,32662,180136,622-74,4429.120.0-10.91.51.521,482,691
20226,664,44962,700109,203-46,503 9.416.4-7.0-17.91.631,410,619
20236,623,18361,05297,081-36,0299.214.7-5.41.61

Current vital statistics

[18] [19]

PeriodLive birthsDeathsNatural increase
January - June 202329,20349,618-20,415
January - June 202428,60648,864-20,258
Difference -597 (-2.05%) -754 (-1.3%) +157

Birth statistics by districts

2021 data
DistrictPopulation Live birthsCrude birth rate (‰)
1,688,667 17,803 10.5‰
158,579 1,292 8.1‰
270,844 2,337 8.6‰
194,072 1,604 8.3‰
191,260 1,322 6.9‰
215,629 1,554 7.2‰
302,042 3,351 11.1‰
275,944 2,144 7.8‰
259,182 2,247 8.7‰
106,971 765 7.2‰
160,070 1,107 6.9‰
193,364 1,632 8.4‰
354,102 2,982 8.4‰
193,073 1,784 9.2‰
81,165 572 7.0‰
180,400 1,570 8.7‰
80,765 770 9.5‰
102,215 607 5.9‰
169,757 1,454 8.6‰
175,397 1,505 8.6‰
132,117 1,069 8.1‰
617,177 6,549 10.6‰
272,560 2,374 8.7‰
292,579 2,566 8.8‰
166,395 1,220 7.3‰
Total 6,834,326 62,180 9.1‰

Birth rate by municipalities 1961–2020

Marriages and divorces

Data for Serbia excluding Kosovo.

Ethnic groups

Situated in the middle of the Balkans, Serbia is home to many different ethnic groups. According to the 2022 census, Serbs are the largest ethnic group in the country and constitute 80.6% of population (86.6% if categories not declared and unknown nationalities are excluded). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority in Serbia, concentrated predominately in northern Vojvodina and representing 2.8% of the country's population (3% if categories not declared and unknown nationalities are excluded). Bosniaks are second largest ethnic minority mainly inhabiting the Sandžak region in southwestern and most southern part of the country representing 2.3% of the country's population (2.5% if categories not declared and unknown nationalities are excluded). Romani people constitute 2% of the total population, or 2.1% if undeclared and unknown are not taken into account. Other minority groups include Albanians (0.9%), Slovaks and Croats (0.6%), Yugoslavs (0.4%), Romanians, Vlachs and Montenegrins (0.3%). The Chinese[21] [22] and Arabs are the only two significant immigrant minorities, with the latter often using Serbia as a transient country on their way to Western Europe. In 2022, 140 thousand migrants arrived in Serbia from Russia, and the country's authorities announced their intention to grant them citizenship in an expedited manner.[23]

Ethnic
group
census 1948census 1953census 1961census 1971census 1981census 1991census 2002[24] census 2011[25] census 2022[26]
Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%
Serbs4,651,81980.24,963,07080.45,477,67082.05,788,54780.45,972,66177.36,252,40579.96,212,83882.95,988,15083.35,360,23980.6
Hungarians433,6187.5441,7487.2449,3776.7430,1456.0390,3215.0343,8004.4293,2993.9253,8993.5184,4422.8
Bosniaks7,6360.174,8401.285,4411.3127,9731.8156,6042.0180,2222.3136,0871.8145,2782.0153,8012.3
Ethnic Muslims19,5030.322,3010.313,0110.2
Roma40,9510.746,8960.86,6240.135,3010.576,8331.094,4921.2108,1931.4147,6042.1131,9362.0
Albanians33,7690.640,9540.753,1670.868,5931.076,2961.078,2811.061,6470.85,8090.161,6870.9
Croats164,5742.8167,0452.7189,1582.8176,6492.5140,6501.897,3441.270,6020.957,9000.839,1070.6
Slovaks73,1381.375,0061.277,8161.276,7071.173,1700.966,7720.959,0210.852,7500.741,7300.6
Yugoslavs14,8730.2122,9041.7439,2655.7320,1684.180,7211.123,3030.327,1430.4
Montenegrins46,8100.854,7180.967,1651.093,7051.3120,4381.6118,9341.569,0490.938,5270.520,2380.3
Vlachs93,4401.628,0470.51,3670.014,7190.225,5920.317,8040.240,0540.535,3300.521,0130.3
Romanians63,1121.159,6891.059,4920.957,3990.853,6760.742,3160.534,5760.529,3320.423,0440.3
Macedonians17,3910.326,3050.435,1460.541,6270.647,9300.645,0680.625,8470.322,7550.314,7670.2
Bulgarians59,3951.060,1461.058,2430.953,5360.733,2940.426,6980.320,4970.318,5430.312,9180.2
Others[27] /unspecified114,4932.0132,5492.1102,7001.5115,0931.6122,5061.6138,4911.8266,0673.5345,3814.8541,9278.2
Total5,800,1466,171,0136,678,2397,202,8987,729,2367,822,7957,498,0017,186,8626,647,003

Religion

See main article: Religion in Serbia.

Serbia is largely a homogeneous Eastern Orthodox nation, with Catholic and Muslim minorities, among other smaller confessions.[28]

Orthodox Christians number 5,387,426 or 81.1% of country's population. The Serbian Orthodox Church is the largest and traditional church of the country, adherents of which are overwhelmingly Serbs. Other Orthodox Christian communities in Serbia include Montenegrins, Macedonians, Romanians and Bulgarians.

There are 257,269 Roman Catholics in Serbia, roughly 3.9% of the population, mostly in Vojvodina (especially its northern part) which is home to minority ethnic groups such as Hungarians, Croats, Bunjevci, Albanians, as well as to some Slovaks and Czechs.[29] Protestantism accounts for about 1% of the country's population, chiefly among Slovaks in Vojvodina as well as among Reformist Hungarians.

Muslims, with 278,212 or 4.2% of population, form second largest religious group. Islam has a strong historic following in the southern regions of Serbia, primarily in southern Sandžak. Bosniaks are the largest Islamic community in Serbia; estimates are that some third of country's Roma people are Muslim.

Languages

See main article: Languages of Serbia and Serbian language. The official language is Serbian, member of the South Slavic group of languages, and is native to 5,607,558 or 84.4% of the population.[30] Recognized minority languages are: Hungarian (mother tongue to 170,875 people or 2.6% of population), Slovak, Romanian, Bulgarian, and Rusyn as well as Bosnian and Croatian which, like Serbian, are standardized varieties of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language. All these languages are in official use in municipalities or cities where more than a 15% of population consists of national minority.[31] In Vojvodina, provincial administration uses, besides Serbian, five other languages (Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, and Rusyn).

Largest cities

NamePopulation (2024)
Belgrade1,680,000
Novi Sad380,000
Niš250,000
Kragujevac170,000
Subotica123,000
Leskovac123,000
Pančevo115,000
Kruševac113,000
Kraljevo110,000
Novi Pazar106,000
Čačak105,000
Zrenjanin105,000
Šabac105,000

Migration

Emigration

See also: Serbian diaspora.

Immigration

See also: Immigration to Serbia. Foreign citizens in Serbia in 2016.[32]

Temporary residencePermanent residence
CountryPopulationCountryPopulation
1 China3,280 China1,232
2 Russia2,677 Romania1,162
3 Libya1,656 Russia 620
4 North Macedonia1,386 North Macedonia 516
5 Ukraine1,031 Ukraine340
Total 10,030Total3,870

After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 100,000 Russian citizens and 18,000 Ukrainian citizens arrived in Serbia within 7 months.[33]

Other demographic data

Data that follows has been derived from the Ministry of Demography and Population Policy of Serbia Official website[34]

Median age of the population:
  • Total: 43.16 years (2018)
  • Male: 41.73 years
  • Female: 44.53 years
    Mother's mean age at first birth:
  • 28.4 years (2018)
    Number of marriages per 1000 inhabitants:
  • 5.2 marriages/1,000 population (2018)
    Median age of the groom at the time of marriage:
  • 34.2 years (2018)
    Median age of the bride at the time of marriage:
  • 31.1 years (2018)
    Number of divorces per 1000 marriages:
  • 275.2 divorces/1,000 marriages (2018)

    Education

    According to 2011 census, literacy in Serbia stands at 98% of population while computer literacy is at 49% (complete computer literacy is at 34.2%).[35] Same census showed the following levels of education: 16.2% of inhabitants have higher education (10.6% have bachelors or master's degrees, 5.6% have an associate degree), 49% have a secondary education, 20.7% have an elementary education, and 13.7% have not completed elementary education.[36]

    Health

    The life expectancy in Serbia at birth is 74.8 years, 71.9 for males and 77.7 for females.[37] Serbia has a comparatively old overall population (among the 10 oldest in the world), with the average age of 42.9 years.[38]

    PeriodLife expectancy in
    Years[39]
    1950–195559.12
    1955–1960 61.60
    1960–1965 64.26
    1965–1970 66.72
    1970–1975 68.53
    1975–1980 69.53
    1980–1985 70.20
    1985–1990 71.14
    1990–1995 71.74
    1995–2000 71.91
    2000–2005 72.36
    2005–2010 73.33
    2010–2015 74.65

    See also

    Sources

    Further reading

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Final results of the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings, 2022 . Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia . 28 April 2023 . 28 April 2023 . en.
    2. Web site: Population . web. Stat.gov.rs. 23 December 2022.
    3. Web site: Worldometers.info.
    4. Web site: Demographic indicators . stat.gov.rs . Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia.
    5. Web site: Demography statistics 1990, Yugoslavia.
    6. Web site: Publications of Serbia . 2020-01-02 . 2021-03-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210307044756/http://publikacije.stat.gov.rs/ . publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    7. Web site: Eurostat database. ec.europa.eu.
    8. Web site: Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. stat.gov.rs.
    9. Web site: Demographic statistics 2004. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    10. Web site: Demographic Yearbook in the Republic of Serbia, 2010. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    11. Web site: Demographic Yearbook 2018. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    12. Web site: Vital events, 2019. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    13. Web site: Estimates of population, 2019. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    14. Web site: Vital events, 2020. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    15. Web site: Estimates of population, 2020. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    16. Web site: Vital events, 2021. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    17. Web site: Estimates of population, 2021. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    18. Web site: Live births and deaths. stat.gov.rs.
    19. Web site: Prethodni rezultati o živorođenim i umrlim po regionima (First results about live births and deaths by region). stat.gov.rs.
    20. Web site: Natural changes of population. data.stat.gov.rs.
    21. Web site: Chinese Migrants Use Serbia as Gate to Europe. Abcnews.go.com. 2016-09-26.
    22. Web site: V. Mijatović – B. Hadžić . I Kinezi napuštaju Srbiju | Reportaže . Novosti.rs . 2016-09-29.
    23. https://www.novosti.rs/c/drustvo/vesti/1183346/rusima-ukrajincima-srpski-pasos-ubrzano-evo-imati-prednost РУСИМА И УКРАЈИНЦИМА СРПСКИ ПАСОШ - УБРЗАНО: А ево и ко ће имати предност
    24. Web site: Official Results of Serbian Census 2002 - Population . 2009-02-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131018083036/http://webrzs.stat.gov.rs/axd/Zip/VJN3.pdf . 2013-10-18 .  , pp. 12-13
    25. Web site: Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia 2011 by nationality. publikacije.stat.gov.rs.
    26. Web site: Коначни резултати Пописа становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2022.. stat.gov.rs.
    27. Web site: 2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia . Pod2.stat.gov.rs . 2016-09-29.
    28. Web site: Мother tongue, religion and ethnic affiliation Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia . 2023-06-20 . www.stat.gov.rs.
    29. Web site: Становништво, домаћинства и породице – база: Попис у Србији 2011 . 2016-09-29 . Popis2011.stat.rs . 3 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213146/http://popis2011.stat.rs/?page_id=1221 . dead .
    30. Web site: Dissemination database search . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231122211419/https://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/3104020302?languageCode=en-US&displayMode=table&guid=48eaed08-c9e3-4fe5-80a5-4372ec94307e . 2023-11-22 . 2023-11-22 . data.stat.gov.rs.
    31. Web site: EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES . Coe.int . 2016-09-29.
    32. Web site: Archived copy . 2018-07-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180708074431/http://www.kirs.gov.rs/docs/migracije/migracioni%20profil%202016.pdf . 2018-07-08 .
    33. https://www.euronews.rs/srbija/drustvo/66259/vise-od-100000-rusa-stiglo-u-srbiju-ucimo-srpski-jezik-upisali-smo-dete-u-ruski-vrtic-mozemo-ovde-dugo-da-zivimo/vest Više od 100.000 Rusa stiglo u Srbiju: "Učimo srpski jezik, upisali smo dete u ruski vrtić, možemo ovde dugo da živimo"
    34. Web site: АКТУЕЛНИ ДЕМОГРАФСКИ ПОКАЗАТЕЉИ (Current Demography). Ministry of Demography and Population Policy of Serbia Official website. 15 September 2019. 27 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190927175336/http://www.mdpp.gov.rs/demografija-aktuelni-pokazatelji.php. dead.
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