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.
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 1931 and 1921; 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 subsequent formation and later disintegration of Yugoslavia and, finally, 2008 partially recognized independence of Kosovo which affected territorial scope in which all these censuses have been conducted.
More information Year, Pop. ...
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%
Close
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More information Average population, Marriages ...
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
6,945,235
Close
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 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 former often using Serbia as a transient country on their way to Western Europe.[23] 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.[25]
More information Serbia (excluding Kosovo) in 2022 ...
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 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.[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 population, form second largest religious group. Islam has a strong historic following in the southern regions of Serbia, primarily in southern Raška. Bosniaks are the largest Islamic community in Serbia; estimates are that some third of country's Roma people are Muslim.
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.[32] 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 are completely mutually intelligible with Serbian and in recent history were considered part of the single Serbo-Croatianpluricentric language. All these languages are in official use in municipalities or cities where more than a 15% of population consists of national minority.[33] In Vojvodina, provincial administration uses, besides Serbian, five other languages (Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, and Rusyn).
More information Temporary residence, Permanent residence ...
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
Close
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.[35]
Other demographic data
Data that follows has been derived from the Ministry of Demography and Population Policy of Serbia Official website[36]
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%).[37] 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.[38]
The life expectancy in Serbia at birth is 74.8 years, 71.9 for males and 77.7 for females.[39] Serbia has a comparatively old overall population (among the 10 oldest in the world), with the average age of 42.9 years.[40]
More information Period, Life expectancy in Years ...
Total population for the period 2011-2021 is calculated on the basis of Population Census 2011, natural increase and internal migration data. The starting point for calculating the number of inhabitants for the municipalities Bujanovac, Medveđa and Preševo presented the estimate produced by the international expert team on the number of usual population in the time of 2011 Census.[19]
Ocić, Časlav (2006). "Kosovo and Metohia: Ethnodemographic Changes from the End of World War II to 1991". Срби на Косову и у Метохији: Зборник радова са научног скупа(PDF). Београд: Српска академија наука и уметности. pp.441–460. Archived from the original(PDF) on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2017.