Demographics of Serbia

This article is about demographics of Serbia's de facto territory. For the demographics of Kosovo, see Demographics of Kosovo.

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.

Demographics of Serbia
Serbia population pyramid in 2024, excluding Kosovo
Population	6,623,183[1]
Growth rate	−10.9 per 1,000 inhabitants (2021)[2]
Birth rate	9.2 per 1,000 pop. (2023)[2]
Death rate	14.7 per 1,000 pop. (2023)[2]
Life expectancy	72.7 years (2021)[2]
• male	73.1 years [3]
• female	78.4 years[3]
Fertility rate	1.63 children born/woman (2022)[2]
Infant mortality rate	4.8 deaths/1,000 infants (2019)[2]
Net migration rate	–0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 pop. (2022)
Age structure
0–14 years	14.3% (2021)[2]
15–64 years	64.4% (2021)[2]
65 and over	21.3% (2021)[2]
Sex ratio
At birth	1.06 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years	1.00 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.75 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	noun: Serbian(s) adjective: Serbian
Major ethnic	Serbs (80.6%)
Minor ethnic	Hungarians (2.8%) Bosniaks (2.31%) Roma (2%) Others (5.4%) Undeclared and unknown (6.9%)
Language
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%

History

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.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1834	678,192	—
1841	828,895	+2.91%
1843	859,545	+1.83%
1846	915,080	+2.11%
1850	956,893	+1.12%
1854	998,919	+1.08%
1859	1,078,281	+1.54%
1863	1,108,568	+0.69%
1866	1,215,576	+3.12%
1874	1,353,890	+1.36%
1884	1,901,736	+3.46%
1890	2,161,961	+2.16%
1895	2,312,484	+1.36%
1900	2,492,882	+1.51%
1905	2,688,025	+1.52%
1910	2,911,701	+1.61%
1921	4,380,420	+3.78%
1931	5,173,848	+1.68%
1948	5,794,837	+0.67%
1953	6,162,321	+1.24%
1961	6,678,247	+1.01%
1971	7,202,915	+0.76%
1981	7,729,246	+0.71%
1991	7,822,795	+0.12%
2002	7,498,001	−0.38%
2011	7,233,619	−0.40%
2022	6,690,887	−0.71%

See or edit source data.

See or edit source data.

See or edit source data.

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.^[4]

Year	1860	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870[4]
Total fertility rate	5.51	5.47	5.43	5.7	5.96	5.97	5.98	5.98	5.99	6	6

Year	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880[4]
Total fertility rate	5.95	5.89	5.84	5.78	5.73	5.67	5.62	5.56	5.51	5.45

Year	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890[4]
Total fertility rate	5.45	5.44	5.44	5.43	5.43	5.42	5.42	5.41	5.41	5.4

Year	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899	1900[4]
Total fertility rate	5.43	5.46	5.48	5.51	5.54	5.57	5.6	5.63	5.65	5.68

Year	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910[4]
Total fertility rate	5.54	5.41	5.48	5.27	5.13	5	5.04	5.13	5.18	5.23

Year	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920[4]
Total fertility rate	5.18	5.14	5.1	5.05	5.01	4.96	4.92	4.88	4.83	4.79

Year	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930[4]
Total fertility rate	4.75	4.7	4.76	4.62	4.57	4.53	4.49	4.44	4.4	4.36

Year	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940[4]
Total fertility rate	4.31	4.27	4.22	4.18	4.14	4.09	4.05	4.01	3.96	3.92

Year	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949[4]
Total fertility rate	3.88	3.83	3.79	3.75	3.7	3.66	3.61	3.57	3.53

Vital statistics

Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia^{[5][6][7][8][9]} Data for Serbia excluding Kosovo.

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Crude migration change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate	Female fertile population (15–49 years)
1950	5,969,977	163,297	76,851	86,446	27.4	12.9	14.5		3.11	1,667,489
1951	6,045,982	145,197	80,034	65,163	24.0	13.2	10.8	1.9	2.70	1,679,515
1952	6,106,976	161,306	67,870	93,436	26.4	11.1	15.3	-5.2	2.94	1,691,530
1953	6,186,015	151,672	68,168	83,504	24.5	11.0	13.5	-0.6'	2.69	1,703,548
1954	6,271,014	152,569	62,610	89,959	24.3	10.0	14.3	-0.6	2.66	1,714,614
1955	6,369,436	140,396	65,179	75,217	22.0	10.2	11.8	3.9	2.42	1,725,685
1956	6,422,999	132,078	67,105	64,973	20.6	10.4	10.1	-1.7	2.26	1,736,751
1957	6,481,984	118,535	61,885	56,650	18.3	9.5	8.7	0.5	2.03	1,739,485
1958	6,535,020	118,425	55,564	62,861	18.1	8.5	9.6	-1.4	2.05	1,742,115
1959	6,587,014	114,872	60,850	54,022	17.4	9.2	8.2	-0.2	2.02	1,739,287
1960	6,638,992	119,298	61,872	57,426	18.0	9.3	8.6	-0.7	2.12	1,733,296
1961	6,689,077	115,222	57,990	57,232	17.2	8.7	8.6	-1.1	2.08	1,727,303
1962	6,740,264	110,008	62,830	47,178	16.3	9.3	7.0	0.7	2.03	1,735,235
1963	6,787,950	108,324	57,778	50,546	16.0	8.5	7.4	-0.3	2.02	1,750,899
1964	6,832,855	103,847	62,100	41,747	15.2	9.1	6.1	0.5	1.96	1,769,796
1965	6,876,624	106,699	58,856	47,843	15.5	8.6	7.0	-0.6	2.02	1,807,362
1966	6,927,969	103,775	55,471	48,304	15.0	8.0	7.0	0.5	1.98	1,843,693
1967	6,966,522	103,491	62,915	40,576	14.9	9.0	5.8	-0.2	1.96	1,887,344
1968	7,007,586	103,621	60,932	42,689	14.8	8.7	6.1	-0.2	1.95	1,945,878
1969	7,123,249	105,478	68,152	37,326	14.8	9.6	5.2	11.3	1.93	1,972,004
1970	7,164,993	102,453	67,211	35,242	14.3	9.4	4.9	1.0	1.81	2,012,702
1971	7,211,716	104,070	65,872	38,198	14.4	9.1	5.3	1.2	1.83	2,020,324
1972	7,267,030	106,859	70,822	36,037	14.7	9.7	5.0	2.7	1.83	2,019,717
1973	7,322,344	108,361	67,152	41,209	14.8	9.2	5.6	2.0	1.84	2,036,056
1974	7,377,659	110,458	66,457	44,001	15.0	9.0	6.0	1.6	1.86	2,020,513
1975	7,432,973	112,945	69,590	43,355	15.2	9.4	5.8	1.7	1.88	2,010,021
1976	7,488,287	114,035	68,565	45,470	15.2	9.2	6.1	1.3	1.89	2,002,713
1977	7,543,601	111,510	68,924	42,586	14.8	9.1	5.6	1.8	1.86	1,994,191
1978	7,598,916	110,622	71,986	38,636	14.6	9.5	5.1	2.2	1.86	1,974,022
1979	7,654,230	109,953	72,306	37,647	14.4	9.4	4.9	2.4	1.87	1,986,006
1980	7,709,544	109,597	76,180	33,417	14.2	9.9	4.3	2.9	1.86	1,997,988
1981	7,736,787	103,407	78,086	25,321	13.4	10.1	3.3	0.2	1.76	1,977,061
1982	7,763,335	106,575	78,473	28,102	13.7	10.1	3.6	-0.2	1.84	1,947,609
1983	7,788,100	108,003	83,506	24,497	13.9	10.7	3.1	0.1	1.89	1,914,434
1984	7,813,549	107,036	82,742	24,294	13.7	10.6	3.1	0.2	1.90	1,921,422
1985	7,835,902	101,938	81,836	20,102	13.0	10.4	2.6	0.3	1.84	1,920,627
1986	7,853,824	99,419	83,977	15,442	12.7	10.7	2.0	0.3	1.82	1,911,361
1987	7,868,027	98,279	83,426	14,853	12.5	10.6	1.9	-0.1	1.82	1,919,612
1988	7,884,218	97,471	83,616	13,855	12.4	10.6	1.8	0.3	1.82	1,899,146
1989	7,893,787	91,270	85,256	6,014	11.6	10.8	0.8	0.4	1.72	1,895,541
1990	7,897,937	90,467	85,515	4,952	11.5	10.8	0.6	-0.1	1.72	1,899,883
1991	7,824,589	90,378	89,072	1,306	11.6	11.4	0.2	-9.5	1.82	1,813,520
1992	7,787,897	86,877	93,475	-6,598	11.2	12.0	-0.8	-3.9	1.76	1,821,688
1993	7,751,205	87,931	95,121	-7,190	11.3	12.3	-0.9	-3.8	1.78	1,833,456
1994	7,714,513	85,292	93,011	-7,719	11.1	12.1	-1.0	-3.7	1.72	1,846,610
1995	7,677,821	86,236	93,933	-7,697	11.2	12.2	-1.0	-3.8	1.74	1,860,970
1996	7,641,129	82,548	98,370	-15,822	10.8	12.9	-2.1	-2.7	1.66	1,868,882
1997	7,604,437	79,716	98,068	-18,352	10.5	12.9	-2.4	-2.4	1.61	1,864,628
1998	7,567,745	76,330	99,376	-23,046	10.1	13.1	-3.0	-1.8	1.54	1,855,228
1999	7,540,401	72,222	101,444	-29,222	9.6	13.5	-3.9	0.3	1.46	1,844,875
2000	7,516,346	73,764	104,042	-30,278	9.8	13.8	-4.0	0.8	1.48	1,831,994
2001	7,503,433	78,435	99,008	-20,573	10.5	13.2	-2.7	1.0	1.58	1,821,493
2002	7,500,031	78,101	102,785	-24,684	10.4	13.7	-3.3	2.8	1.57	1,810,526
2003	7,480,591	79,025	103,946	-24,921	10.6	13.9	-3.3	0.7	1.59	1,789,668
2004[10]	7,463,157	78,186	104,320	-26,134	10.5	14.0	-3.5	1.2	1.57	1,770,053
2005	7,440,769	72,180	106,771	-34,591	9.7	14.3	-4.6	1.6	1.45	1,750,845
2006	7,411,569	70,997	102,884	-31,887	9.6	13.9	-4.3	0.4	1.43	1,733,316
2007	7,381,579	68,102	102,805	-34,703	9.2	13.9	-4.7	0.7	1.38	1,718,428
2008	7,350,222	69,083	102,711	-33,628	9.4	14.0	-4.6	0.4	1.41	1,704,735
2009	7,320,807	70,299	104,000	-33,701	9.6	14.2	-4.6	0.6	1.44	1,691,363
2010[11]	7,291,436	68,304	103,211	-34,907	9.4	14.2	-4.8	0.8	1.41	1,677,562
2011	7,236,519	65,598	102,935	-37,337	9.1	14.2	-5.2	-2.4	1.40	1,632,708
2012	7,184,513	67,257	102,400	-35,143	9.4	14.3	-4.9	-2.3	1.46	1,612,518
2013	7,132,506	65,554	100,300	-34,746	9.2	14.1	-4.9	-2.4	1.45	1,592,328
2014	7,080,500	66,461	101,247	-34,786	9.4	14.3	-4.9	-2.4	1.49	1,572,138
2015	7,028,494	65,657	103,678	-38,021	9.3	14.8	-5.4	-2.0	1.50	1,551,948
2016	6,976,487	64,734	100,834	-36,100	9.3	14.5	-5.2	-2.3	1.50	1,531,758
2017	6,924,481	64,894	103,722	-38,828	9.4	15.0	-5.6	-1.9	1.53	1,511,569
2018[12]	6,872,474	63,975	101,655	-37,680	9.3	14.8	-5.5	-2.1	1.54	1,491,379
2019[13][14]	6,820,468	64,399	101,458	-37,059	9.4	14.9	-5.4	-2.2	1.58	1,471,189
2020[15][16]	6,768,462	61,692	116,850	-55,158	9.1	17.3	-8.1	0.5	1.54	1,450,999
2021[17][18]	6,716,455	62,180	136,622	-74,442	9.3	20.3	-11.1	3.3	1.59	1,430,809
2022[a]	6,664,449	62,700	109,203	-46,503	9.4	16.4	-7.0	-0.8	1.63	1,410,619
2023	6,623,183	61,052	97,081	-36,029	9.2	14.7	-5.4	-0.8	1.61	1,394,001
2024	6,586,476	60,845	98,230	-37,385	9.2	14.9	-5.7	0.1	1.63	1,377,141

Current vital statistics

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January - June 2024	28,606	48,864	-20,258
January - June 2025	27,118	48,568	-21,450
Difference	-1,488 (-5.2%)	-296 (-0.6%)	-1,192
Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia[20]

Birth statistics by districts

2021 data

District	Population	Live births	Crude birth rate (‰)
City of Belgrade	1,688,667	17,803	10.5‰
Kolubara District	158,579	1,292	8.1‰
Mačva District	270,844	2,337	8.6‰
Moravica District	194,072	1,604	8.3‰
Pomoravlje District	191,260	1,322	6.9‰
Rasina District	215,629	1,554	7.2‰
Raška District	302,042	3,351	11.1‰
Šumadija District	275,944	2,144	7.8‰
Zlatibor District	259,182	2,247	8.7‰
Bor District	106,971	765	7.2‰
Braničevo District	160,070	1,107	6.9‰
Jablanica District	193,364	1,632	8.4‰
Nišava District	354,102	2,982	8.4‰
Pčinja District	193,073	1,784	9.2‰
Pirot District	81,165	572	7.0‰
Podunavlje District	180,400	1,570	8.7‰
Toplica District	80,765	770	9.5‰
Zaječar District	102,215	607	5.9‰
Central Banat District	169,757	1,454	8.6‰
North Bačka District	175,397	1,505	8.6‰
North Banat District	132,117	1,069	8.1‰
South Bačka District	617,177	6,549	10.6‰
South Banat District	272,560	2,374	8.7‰
Srem District	292,579	2,566	8.8‰
West Bačka District	166,395	1,220	7.3‰
Total	6,834,326	62,180	9.1‰

Birth rate by municipalities 1961–2020

Birth rates between 1961 and 2020 by municipalities (‰)[21]
Municipality	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2011	2020
Tutin	36.3	32.3	27.0	21.5	18.8	17.4	16.7
Novi Pazar	32.5	24.2	22.5	21.5	16.9	15.1	14.8
Savski Venac, Belgrade	12.7	12.5	13.6	9.8	8.8	10.3	13.4
Sjenica	34.2	26.8	18.3	20.0	12.7	11.9	13.4
Preševo	36.2	33.8	25.6	32.5	22.2	11.2	12.8
Bojnik	18.0	15.4	11.1	12.7	11.7	9.9	12.4
Bujanovac	30.6	28.0	20.2	24.8	15.6	11.4	11.4
Novi Sad	18.4	15.1	15.5	11.9	10.8	12.2	11.3
Zvezdara, Belgrade	15.9	17.6	15.4	10.3	10.8	11.4	11.2
Palilula, Belgrade	17.0	15.9	14.7	11.5	10.2	11.4	11.2
Stari grad, Belgrade	10.8	11.1	13.3	8.3	9.3	12.1	11.2
Žabalj	18.7	13.7	13.4	13.8	12.6	9.5	11.1
Surčin, Belgrade	20.0	17.0	17.9	13.4	6.8	10.1	10.9
Čajetina	19.0	14.9	9.9	11.0	8.6	6.3	10.8
Voždovac, Belgrade	17.4	17.2	13.6	10.3	8.8	10.5	10.6
Zemun, Belgrade	18.7	18.0	16.8	11.2	11.8	11.2	10.5
Srbobran	16.7	14.1	10.4	13.5	10.3	8.6	10.2
Titel	17.8	13.1	12.1	12.5	9.6	10.0	10.2
Kuršumlija	19.5	12.9	12.1	11.8	12.4	6.4	9.9
Mladenovac, Belgrade	16.9	14.9	13.5	12.3	9.6	9.2	9.8
Čukarica, Belgrade	28.8	25.2	17.2	10.8	10.2	10.9	9.8
Mali Iđoš	17.0	11.1	14.4	11.8	9.2	8.7	9.8
Lajkovac	18.4	11.2	11.9	11.8	9.7	7.7	9.8
New Belgrade, Belgrade	15.1	12.3	13.1	9.2	9.0	10.4	9.7
Vračar, Belgrade	10.6	10.8	12.2	8.5	8.7	10.8	9.6
Obrenovac, Belgrade	17.1	13.3	14.9	11.7	10.9	9.9	9.6
Nova Crnja	16.7	10.4	11.6	12.8	9.9	6.1	9.6
Prokuplje	17.1	13.9	11.5	13.3	11.7	9.2	9.6
Lazarevac, Belgrade	19.2	13.2	15.7	13.6	10.4	10.6	9.5
Prijepolje	29.9	22.3	15.6	15.6	10.3	9.9	9.4
Rakovica, Belgrade	8.2	8.3	15.1	10.0	9.6	10.2	9.3
Bečej	16.8	13.1	13.4	11.0	11.3	8.6	9.3
Pećinci	18.1	12.9	12.5	13.0	9.4	8.8	9.3
Niš	17.1	15.3	13.7	11.8	10.1	9.5	9.2
Trgovište	28.0	19.0	11.4	14.6	8.7	6.1	9.2
Pančevo	19.0	16.0	15.4	11.2	9.5	9.3	9.1
Novi Bečej	17.9	11.4	11.7	12.6	8.4	9.3	9.1
Kragujevac	14.5	16.1	15.1	12.6	9.9	9.9	9.1
Vršac	17.7	12.0	13.6	11.6	10.3	8.9	9.0
Opovo	15.8	11.2	12.7	11.7	9.6	9.0	9.0
Bački Petrovac	16.9	10.5	12.1	10.9	9.2	9.6	9.0
Arilje	16.5	12.6	11.4	11.9	10.8	9.5	9.0
Beočin	21.5	15.2	14.0	15.2	11.5	9.0	8.9
Vrbas	20.4	16.5	16.8	12.6	10.5	10.0	8.9
Subotica	15.1	12.3	13.3	10.9	9.2	8.4	8.9
Bačka Palanka	16.0	15.2	14.4	10.1	9.6	8.5	8.8
Novi Kneževac	16.2	11.1	14.7	10.4	9.2	8.5	8.8
Ruma	16.6	12.7	14.0	11.5	9.0	7.8	8.8
Valjevo	17.7	13.2	11.5	11.0	9.3	8.1	8.8
Gornji Milanovac	14.0	12.8	13.0	10.2	8.2	7.7	8.8
Lapovo	11.3	9.7	9.9	11.6	8.3	6.4	8.8
Žitište	14.2	9.6	9.6	10.8	8.5	8.0	8.7
Šabac	17.4	14.2	15.5	12.4	10.4	8.7	8.7
Inđija	12.3	13.3	14.3	12.1	8.8	7.7	8.6
Stara Pazova	19.5	15.4	16.5	11.1	9.4	8.9	8.6
Požarevac	14.5	13.4	12.4	12.5	12.1	9.7	8.6
Smederevo	17.8	15.6	14.2	13.1	10.8	8.8	8.6
Grocka, Belgrade	16.1	14.6	16.9	11.7	10.3	10.5	8.5
Užice	20.0	17.0	13.9	12.0	9.3	8.5	8.5
Čačak	16.5	13.3	14.2	10.3	9.7	8.5	8.5
Jagodina	16.0	14.3	11.4	11.3	11.1	9.5	8.5
Kraljevo	16.1	15.4	12.3	11.6	10.9	8.4	8.5
Lebane	20.5	16.2	11.2	13.3	9.8	7.8	8.5
Čoka	16.6	11.4	10.7	11.6	9.3	6.0	8.4
Ivanjica	18.3	14.6	12.2	11.9	9.9	7.2	8.4
Zrenjanin	16.1	13.6	13.4	10.6	9.4	8.8	8.3
Aleksinac	13.3	11.6	10.6	9.6	9.1	7.1	8.3
Niška Banja	14.0	9.2	8.3	7.6	7.3	7.4	8.3
Odžaci	15.5	12.5	13.6	10.2	7.7	7.0	8.2
Bela Crkva	17.1	15.4	13.8	9.3	9.2	9.2	8.2
Irig	15.0	12.1	12.6	9.8	8.9	7.1	8.2
Sremska Mitrovica	24.2	13.9	14.2	12.0	10.1	8.3	8.2
Šid	10.9	12.5	13.2	12.3	8.4	8.4	8.2
Loznica	23.6	17.2	15.1	12.0	10.3	8.0	8.2
Vladičin Han	19.8	12.8	13.3	12.3	8.9	7.0	8.2
Vranje	23.7	18.2	15.0	13.8	12.4	10.3	8.2
Alibunar	15.7	12.0	10.7	10.6	8.1	6.8	8.1
Bačka Topola	15.0	11.3	12.4	11.0	9.9	7.3	8.1
Krupanj	22.6	16.9	14.5	13.6	9.0	7.0	8.1
Kruševac	15.2	14.8	13.3	11.1	10.4	8.3	8.1
Merošina	18.3	13.3	9.1	10.0	9.6	6.2	8.1
Pirot	17.5	13.3	11.2	10.3	8.1	6.7	8.1
Kikinda	17.6	14.2	14.2	11.6	9.5	7.9	7.9
Mali Zvornik	23.7	16.6	16.6	12.9	9.2	7.7	7.9
Lučani	17.1	13.1	9.4	11.2	8.7	6.2	7.9
Vrnjačka Banja	13.7	11.8	14.2	11.0	9.6	7.4	7.9
Knić	13.1	9.6	7.7	8.7	7.3	4.8	7.9
Vlasotince	21.2	15.4	11.8	12.9	9.9	7.1	7.9
Medveđa	28.1	21.8	14.9	16.6	10.6	7.4	7.9
Sopot, Belgrade	14.7	12.0	11.6	11.6	8.1	9.5	7.8
Temerin	19.3	11.7	14.8	12.1	9.6	9.1	7.8
Senta	16.7	12.9	13.3	9.4	8.8	7.6	7.8
Požega	15.4	13.7	11.0	10.1	8.5	6.3	7.8
Leskovac	21.0	15.7	13.0	12.2	10.9	8.3	7.8
Velika Plana	14.8	13.5	11.1	10.9	9.2	7.2	7.8
Surdulica	23.7	18.1	14.4	12.1	10.6	8.0	7.8
Apatin	18.2	14.2	13.7	10.1	9.0	7.3	7.6
Paraćin	16.4	11.8	11.0	12.2	9.8	9.5	7.6
Raška	17.3	15.8	13.6	10.1	10.5	7.4	7.6
Batočina	14.5	9.2	12.4	11.6	10.6	7.1	7.6
Kovačica	16.7	14.2	12.3	11.2	9.7	8.9	7.5
Kovin	16.9	13.0	13.3	12.0	9.6	7.8	7.5
Ada	15.5	13.4	11.6	10.2	9.8	7.3	7.5
Kanjiža	15.8	12.4	12.7	9.7	8.3	8.5	7.5
Bogatić	15.7	12.9	12.3	10.7	9.1	7.4	7.5
Svilajnac	13.0	11.0	9.6	10.8	10.1	5.5	7.5
Žitorađa	15.7	16.0	9.6	11.2	10.5	8.4	7.5
Sečanj	18.7	10.4	12.3	11.2	8.2	7.9	7.4
Bor	15.1	16.1	12.9	12.1	10.3	8.6	7.4
Sombor	15.5	12.5	12.6	11.6	8.5	7.1	7.3
Bač	19.6	13.6	13.4	11.4	9.3	6.9	7.3
Bajina Bašta	20.5	15.8	12.2	10.5	9.4	7.0	7.3
Ljubovija	26.0	16.6	13.7	12.5	10.2	8.3	7.3
Golubac	13.5	12.3	8.6	9.8	9.3	5.9	7.3
Rača	10.5	10.0	9.2	8.2	9.5	6.0	7.2
Doljevac	18.9	14.2	11.9	12.4	9.6	6.9	7.2
Barajevo, Belgrade	13.6	11.7	12.3	8.8	9.5	9.1	7.1
Aleksandrovac	18.5	14.2	11.9	10.1	9.3	6.8	7.1
Brus	19.6	15.4	12.7	9.9	7.9	7.1	7.1
Svrljig	11.3	9.4	7.5	7.2	6.4	4.2	7.1
Mionica	14.0	10.8	9.6	10.0	8.9	8.2	7.0
Ub	17.8	11.7	11.2	11.0	9.4	6.9	7.0
Kula	22.7	14.5	13.8	11.3	10.0	7.4	6.9
Trstenik	14.2	11.4	12.5	10.3	8.2	6.4	6.9
Sremski Karlovci	13.6	13.2	15.6	14.9	11.3	6.6	6.8
Ljig	13.7	10.4	9.4	9.6	7.6	5.5	6.8
Plandište	18.4	9.3	10.2	10.4	8.4	5.5	6.6
Osečina	17.9	14.3	10.2	9.1	8.4	4.5	6.6
Koceljeva	17.7	11.4	14.1	12.4	10.6	7.1	6.6
Nova Varoš	25.3	16.1	14.3	12.9	8.0	5.4	6.5
Veliko Gradište	11.7	12.9	8.6	10.5	8.7	6.9	6.5
Blace	14.9	11.4	7.1	7.9	8.4	5.1	6.5
Bela Palanka	13.5	10.1	9.8	9.6	7.2	7.3	6.4
Vladimirci	17.6	11.2	11.2	11.8	7.9	7.0	6.3
Knjaževac	8.9	8.7	7.3	7.2	6.4	6.6	6.3
Sokobanja	9.6	11.1	8.1	8.1	7.5	6.7	6.3
Priboj	32.7	20.1	16.0	14.6	8.8	6.4	6.2
Despotovac	15.9	12.3	10.6	9.4	8.9	7.2	6.2
Petrovac na Mlavi	12.6	12.1	9.4	9.9	8.8	6.4	6.1
Kosjerić	15.0	10.1	11.9	9.7	8.1	8.3	5.9
Ćuprija	14.8	12.3	12.4	11.3	9.7	6.2	5.9
Smederevska Palanka	15.4	14.1	12.1	11.4	9.5	8.1	5.9
Varvarin	13.4	12.1	10.6	9.3	9.1	7.0	5.8
Majdanpek	21.8	18.6	13.9	13.7	8.6	6.7	5.8
Bosilegrad	18.9	14.7	11.5	9.7	8.2	5.3	5.8
Ćićevac	13.0	10.7	13.0	9.4	9.8	5.2	5.5
Kučevo	13.3	13.2	10.2	12.0	8.9	4.4	5.4
Gadžin Han	16.7	9.5	6.7	5.6	4.7	3.7	5.4
Zaječar	11.8	11.5	11.2	10.0	8.2	7.2	5.3
Negotin	11.4	12.4	8.9	8.1	8.4	6.7	5.1
Žabari	11.0	10.7	7.7	8.8	7.7	6.0	5.0
Rekovac	10.8	9.1	7.9	9.6	6.5	4.0	4.9
Ražanj	11.0	11.6	5.5	6.8	7.7	4.4	4.8
Žagubica	13.2	11.7	7.8	10.0	8.3	6.3	4.7
Boljevac	13.4	9.0	8.3	9.9	8.1	5.0	4.6
Dimitrovgrad	13.0	9.3	9.0	7.2	7.1	4.7	4.5
Kladovo	14.9	16.2	10.3	8.8	8.9	6.9	4.4
Babušnica	18.5	11.3	8.5	6.2	5.3	5.9	4.3
Malo Crniće	11.5	11.7	8.0	8.9	8.2	5.5	4.2
Aranđelovac	16.0	14.5	12.5	12.0	9.2	8.8	3.9
Topola	13.0	9.9	10.5	9.4	8.1	6.4	3.8
Crna Trava	24.2	12.4	9.0	6.1	4.4	4.8	2.7
Total	20.4	17.9	16.3	14.6	9.9	9.1	8.9

Marriages and divorces

Data for Serbia excluding Kosovo.

	Average population	Marriages	Divorces	Crude marriage rate (per 1000)	Crude divorce rate (per 1000)	Divorces per 1000 marriages
1950	5,969,977	76,749	9,623	12.9	1.6	125.4
1951	6,045,982	66,849	8,250	11.1	1.4	123.4
1952	6,106,976	67,255	5,611	11.0	0.9	83.4
1953	6,186,015	63,667	7,570	10.3	1.2	118.9
1954	6,271,014	61,707	8,053	9.8	1.3	130.5
1955	6,369,436	57,970	9,784	9.1	1.5	168.8
1956	6,422,999	55,603	9,291	8.7	1.4	167.1
1957	6,481,984	56,214	9,827	8.7	1.5	174.8
1958	6,535,020	63,195	10,229	9.7	1.6	161.9
1959	6,587,014	59,361	10,328	9.0	1.6	174.0
1960	6,638,992	62,341	10,585	9.4	1.6	169.8
1961	6,689,077	62,775	10,130	9.4	1.5	161.4
1962	6,740,264	58,211	9,948	8.6	1.5	170.9
1963	6,787,950	57,316	10,285	8.4	1.5	179.4
1964	6,832,855	59,481	9,977	8.7	1.5	167.7
1965	6,876,624	62,011	9,939	9.0	1.4	160.3
1966	6,927,969	60,878	10,731	8.8	1.5	176.3
1967	6,966,522	64,168	9,791	9.2	1.4	152.6
1968	7,007,586	64,287	10,179	9.2	1.5	158.3
1969	7,123,249	64,796	8,788	9.1	1.2	135.6
1970	7,164,993	66,719	9,129	9.3	1.3	136.8
1971	7,211,716	66,839	9,873	9.3	1.4	147.7
1972	7,267,030	68,417	10,335	9.4	1.4	151.1
1973	7,322,344	66,845	10,290	9.1	1.4	153.9
1974	7,377,659	65,790	11,086	8.9	1.5	168.5
1975	7,432,973	62,843	10,693	8.5	1.4	170.2
1976	7,488,287	61,555	10,917	8.2	1.5	177.4
1977	7,543,601	62,733	10,350	8.3	1.4	165.0
1978	7,598,916	61,943	10,813	8.2	1.4	174.6
1979	7,654,230	60,828	10,265	7.9	1.3	168.8
1980	7,709,544	57,500	10,840	7.5	1.4	188.5
1981	7,736,787	57,563	9,517	7.4	1.2	165.3
1982	7,763,335	57,327	10,236	7.4	1.3	178.6
1983	7,788,100	56,556	9,699	7.3	1.2	171.5
1984	7,813,549	55,482	10,349	7.1	1.3	186.5
1985	7,835,902	53,252	11,567	6.8	1.5	217.2
1986	7,853,824	52,383	10,348	6.7	1.3	197.5
1987	7,868,027	52,500	11,689	6.7	1.5	222.6
1988	7,884,218	51,709	11,686	6.6	1.5	226.0
1989	7,893,787	51,073	11,449	6.5	1.5	224.2
1990	7,897,937	48,261	9,889	6.1	1.3	204.9
1991	7,824,589	45,145	8,018	5.8	1.0	177.6
1992	7,787,897	46,155	6,501	5.9	0.8	140.9
1993	7,751,205	44,800	6,792	5.8	0.9	151.6
1994	7,714,513	44,091	6,358	5.7	0.8	144.2
1995	7,677,821	43,555	7,217	5.7	0.9	165.7
1996	7,641,129	40,705	6,860	5.3	0.9	168.5
1997	7,604,437	40,344	6,982	5.3	0.9	173.1
1998	7,567,745	39,328	6,909	5.2	0.9	175.7
1999	7,540,401	37,256	6,264	4.9	0.8	168.1
2000	7,516,346	42,586	7,689	5.7	1.0	180.6
2001	7,503,433	41,406	7,835	5.5	1.0	189.2
2002	7,500,031	41,947	9,982	5.6	1.3	238.0
2003	7,480,591	41,914	7,938	5.6	1.1	189.4
2004	7,463,157	42,030	8,845	5.6	1.2	210.4
2005	7,440,769	38,846	7,661	5.2	1.0	197.2
2006	7,411,569	39,756	8,204	5.4	1.1	206.4
2007	7,381,579	41,083	8,622	5.6	1.2	209.9
2008	7,350,222	38,285	8,502	5.2	1.2	222.1
2009	7,320,807	36,853	8,472	5.0	1.2	229.9
2010	7,291,436	35,815	6,644	4.9	0.9	185.5
2011	7,236,519	35,808	8,251	4.9	1.1	230.4
2012	7,201,497	34,639	7,372	4.8	1.0	212.8
2013	7,166,552	36,209	8,170	5.1	1.1	225.6
2014	7,131,787	36,429	7,614	5.1	1.1	209.0
2015	7,095,383	36,949	9,381	5.2	1.3	253.9
2016	7,058,322	35,921	9,046	5.1	1.3	251.8
2017	7,020,858	36,047	9,262	5.1	1.3	256.9
2018	6,982,604	36,321	9,995	5.2	1.4	275.2
2019[22]	6,945,235	35,570	10,899	5.1	1.6	306.4
2020	6,899,126	23,599	8,687	3.4	1.3	368.1
2021	6,834,326	32,757	9,790	4.8	1.4	298.9
2022	6,664,449	32,821	9,813	4.9	1.5	299.0
2023	6,623,183	31,670	10,175	4.8	1.4	321.3

Ethnic groups

Ethnic structure of Serbia by municipalities and cities 2022

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 the population (86.6% if categories not declared and unknown nationalities are excluded). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority in Serbia, concentrated predominantly in northern Vojvodina and representing 2.8% of the country's population (3% if categories not declared and unknown nationalities are excluded). Bosniaks are the 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^[23][24] and Arabs are the only two significant immigrant minorities,^{[citation needed]} with the latter often using Serbia as a transient country on their way to Western Europe.^[23] In 2022, 140,000 migrants arrived in Serbia from Russia, and the country's authorities announced their intention to grant them citizenship in an expedited manner.^[25]

Serbia (excluding Kosovo) in 2022 Serbs   80.6% Hungarians   2.8% Bosniaks   2.3% Roma   2.0% Slovaks   0.6% Croats   0.6% other   4.2% unspecified   6.9%

By statistical regions

Belgrade region Serbs   90.7% Roma   1.6% other/unspecified   7.6%

Vojvodina Serbs   76.7% Hungarians   13% Slovaks   2.6% Croats   2.4% Roma   2.2% Romanians   1.3% Montenegrins   1.1% other/unspecified   9.7%

Šumadija and Western Serbia Serbs   88.5% Bosniaks   7% Roma   1% other/unspecified   3.5%

Southern and Eastern Serbia Serbs   89.1% Roma   3.6% Vlachs   2.1% Bulgarians   1% Albanians   0.9% other/unspecified   4.2%

Ethnic group	census 1948		census 1953		census 1961		census 1971		census 1981		census 1991		census 2002		census 2011		census 2022
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Serbs	4,651,819	80.2	4,963,070	80.4	5,477,670	82.0	5,788,547	80.4	5,972,661	77.3	6,252,405	79.9	6,212,838	82.9	5,988,150	83.3	5,360,239	80.6
Hungarians	433,618	7.5	441,748	7.2	449,377	6.7	430,145	6.0	390,321	5.0	343,800	4.4	293,299	3.9	253,899	3.5	184,442	2.8
Bosniaks	7,636	0.1	74,840	1.2	85,441	1.3	127,973	1.8	156,604	2.0	180,222	2.3	136,087	1.8	145,278	2.0	153,801	2.3
Ethnic Muslims													19,503	0.3	22,301	0.3	13,011	0.2
Roma	40,951	0.7	46,896	0.8	6,624	0.1	35,301	0.5	76,833	1.0	94,492	1.2	108,193	1.4	147,604	2.1	131,936	2.0
Albanians	33,769	0.6	40,954	0.7	53,167	0.8	68,593	1.0	76,296	1.0	78,281	1.0	61,647	0.8	5,809	0.1	61,687	0.9
Slovaks	73,138	1.3	75,006	1.2	77,816	1.2	76,707	1.1	73,170	0.9	66,772	0.9	59,021	0.8	52,750	0.7	41,730	0.6
Croats	164,574	2.8	167,045	2.7	189,158	2.8	176,649	2.5	140,650	1.8	97,344	1.2	70,602	0.9	57,900	0.8	39,107	0.6
Yugoslavs					14,873	0.2	122,904	1.7	439,265	5.7	320,168	4.1	80,721	1.1	23,303	0.3	27,143	0.4
Romanians	63,112	1.1	59,689	1.0	59,492	0.9	57,399	0.8	53,676	0.7	42,316	0.5	34,576	0.5	29,332	0.4	23,044	0.3
Vlachs	93,440	1.6	28,047	0.5	1,367	0.0	14,719	0.2	25,592	0.3	17,804	0.2	40,054	0.5	35,330	0.5	21,013	0.3
Montenegrins	46,810	0.8	54,718	0.9	67,165	1.0	93,705	1.3	120,438	1.6	118,934	1.5	69,049	0.9	38,527	0.5	20,238	0.3
Macedonians	17,391	0.3	26,305	0.4	35,146	0.5	41,627	0.6	47,930	0.6	45,068	0.6	25,847	0.3	22,755	0.3	14,767	0.2
Bulgarians	59,395	1.0	60,146	1.0	58,243	0.9	53,536	0.7	33,294	0.4	26,698	0.3	20,497	0.3	18,543	0.3	12,918	0.2
Others	114,493	2.0	132,549	2.1	97,096	1.5	80,333	1.1	71,449	0.9	79,815	1.0	82,852	1.1	103,295	1.4	83,716	1.3
Undeclared / Unknown			1,994	0.0	5,604	0.1	34,760	0.4	51,057	0.5	58,676	0.8	183,215	2.5	242,086	3.4	458,211	6.9
Total	5,800,146	100	6,171,013	100	6,678,239	100	7,202,898	100	7,729,236	100	7,822,795	100	7,498,001	100	7,186,862	100	6,647,003	100
Sources:[26][27][28][29]

Religion

Religion map (2011 census)

Main article: Religion in Serbia

Serbia (excluding Kosovo) in 2022
Eastern Orthodox			81.1%
Islam			4.2%
Roman Catholic			3.9%
Protestant			0.8%
Other			1.1%
Atheists/Agnostics			1.1%
Unspecified			7.9%

Serbia is largely a homogeneous Eastern Orthodox nation, with Catholic and Muslim minorities, among other smaller confessions.^[30]

Orthodox Christians number 5,387,426 or 81.1% of the 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, as well as to some Slovaks and Czechs.^[31] 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 the population, form the 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 the country's Roma people are Muslim.

Religion in Serbia (2011 and 2022 Censuses)^[32]

Religion	2011 Population	2011 (%)	2022 Population	2022 (%)	2031 Population	2031 (%)
Christians (total)	6,555,931	91.23%	5,758,719	86.62%
Orthodox	6,079,396	84.60%	5,387,426	81.05%
Catholic	356,957	4.97%	257,269	3.87%
Protestant	71,284	0.99%	54,678	0.82%
Other Christian	3,211	0.04%	59,346	0.89%
Islamic	222,828	3.10%	278,212	4.18%
Judaism	578	0.01%	602	0.01%
Eastern religions	1,237	0.02%	1,207	0.02%
Other religions	1,776	0.02%	500	0.01%
Agnostics	4,010	0.06%	8,654	0.13%
Atheists	80,053	1.11%	74,139	1.12%
Not declared	220,735	3.07%	169,486	2.55%
Unknown	99,714	1.39%	355,484	5.35%

Languages

Linguistic map (2002 census)

Main articles: Languages of Serbia and Serbian language

Serbia (excluding Kosovo) in 2022
Serbian			84.4%
Hungarian			2.6%
Bosnian			2.2%
Romani			1.2%
Other/unspecified			9.6%

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.^[33] 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 a national minority.^[34] In Vojvodina, provincial administration uses, besides Serbian, five other languages (Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, and Rusyn).

Largest cities

Name	Population (2024)
Belgrade	1,680,000
Novi Sad	380,000
Niš	250,000
Kragujevac	170,000
Subotica	123,000
Leskovac	123,000
Pančevo	115,000
Kruševac	113,000
Kraljevo	110,000
Novi Pazar	106,000
Čačak	105,000
Zrenjanin	105,000
Šabac	105,000

Migration

Emigration

See also: Serbian diaspora

Immigration

See also: Immigration to Serbia

Foreign citizens in Serbia in 2016.^[35]

	Temporary residence		Permanent residence
#	Country	Population	Country	Population
1	China	3,280	China	1,232
2	Russia	2,677	Romania	1,162
3	Libya	1,656	Russia	620
4	North Macedonia	1,386	North Macedonia	516
5	Ukraine	1,031	Ukraine	340
	Total	10,030	Total	3,870

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.^[36]

Net Migration

Net Migration in Serbia (2012–2023)^[37]

Year	Immigrants	Emigrants	Net Migration
2012	4,279	-	-
2013	4,710	-	-
2014	5,082	-	-
2015	4,371	-	-
2016	4,103	-	-
2017	4,928	-	-
2018	5,441	-	-
2019	8,346	-	-
2020	9,312	-	-
2021	15,615	-	-
2022	34,618	-	-
2023	41,273	-	-

Other demographic data

Data that follows has been derived from the Ministry of Demography and Population Policy of Serbia Official website^[38]

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

Further information: Education in Serbia

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%).^[39] 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.^[40]

Health

Further information: Health in Serbia

Life expectancy in Serbia since 1950

Life expectancy in Serbia since 2000 by gender

The life expectancy in Serbia at birth is 74.8 years, 71.9 for males and 77.7 for females.^[41] Serbia has a comparatively old overall population (among the 10 oldest in the world), with the average age of 42.9 years.^[42]

Period	Life expectancy in Years[43]
1950–1955	59.12
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

• Demographic history of Serbia
• Demographic history of Vojvodina
• Demographic history of Kosovo
• Yugoslavia § Demographics
  • Demographics of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
  • Demographics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
• Demographics of Serbia and Montenegro