Demographics of Serbia

The demographics of Serbia have been shaped by its unique geographic location. Situated in the middle of the Balkans, many different ethnic groups are citizens of Serbia. Serbs are overwhelmingly the largest ethnic group in the country. Furthermore, Albanians have represented the largest minority group in modern Serbia (if population of Kosovo is counted). Other important ethnic groups by size include Hungarians, Bosniaks, Roma, Croats, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Romanians.

The province of Vojvodina has a sizable minority groups. Some of the minorities in Vojvodina, like Hungarians (14.28% of population), Slovaks (2.79%) or Croats (2.78%), are mainly Catholic or Protestant stemming from the Habsburg influence.

Statistics

1900-1912

• Source:

	Average population (x 1,000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1,000)	Crude death rate (per 1,000)	Natural change (per 1,000)
1900	2,470	105,000	58,000	47,000	42.4	23.5	18.9
1901	2,520	96,000	53,000	43,000	38.0	21.0	17.0
1902	2,570	98,000	57,000	41,000	38.0	22.3	15.7
1903	2,580	106,000	60,000	46,000	40.9	23.5	17.4
1904	2,650	106,000	56,000	50,000	39.8	21.1	18.7
1905	2,660	100,000	65,000	35,000	37.3	24.8	2.5
1906	2,690	113,000	66,000	47,000	42.0	24.5	17.5
1907	2,770	111,000	62,000	49,000	40.0	22.4	17.6
1908	2,820	104,000	67,000	37,000	36.8	23.7	13.1
1909	2,840	110,000	83,000	27,000	38.7	29.3	9.4
1910	2,870	112,000	64,000	48,000	39.0	22.4	16.6
1911	2,940	107,000	64,000	43,000	36.3	21.8	14.5
1912	2,980	114,000	63,000	51,000	38.3	21.1	17.1

1950-2012

• Source:

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate	Abortions reported
1950	5 970	163 297	76 851	86 446	27.4	12.9	14.5	3,51
1951	6 042	145 197	80 034	65 163	24.0	13.2	10.8	3,07
1952	6 112	161 306	67 870	93 436	26.4	11.1	15.3	3,33
1953	6 188	151 672	68 168	83 504	24.5	11.0	13.5	3,03
1954	6 274	152 569	62 610	89 959	24.3	10.0	14.3	3,05
1955	6 358	140 396	65 179	75 217	22.1	10.3	11.8	2,81
1956	6 425	132 078	67 055	65 023	20.6	10.4	10.1	2,66
1957	6 481	118 535	64 885	53 650	18.3	10.0	8.3	2,38
1958	6 535	118 425	55 564	62 861	18.1	8.5	9.6	2,45
1959	6 585	114 872	60 850	54 022	17.4	9.2	8.2	2,40
1960	6 635	119 298	61 872	57 426	18.0	9.3	8.7	2,56	81 516
1961	6 693	115 222	57 990	57 232	17.2	8.7	8.6	2,51	95 196
1962	6 752	110 008	62 830	47 178	16.3	9.3	7.0	2,47
1963	6 809	108 324	57 778	50 546	15.9	8.5	7.4	2,46
1964	6 863	103 847	62 100	41 747	15.1	9.0	6.1	2,51
1965	6 916	106 699	58 856	47 843	15.4	8.5	6.9	2,43
1966	6 974	103 775	55 471	48 304	14.9	8.0	6.9	2,45
1967	7 027	103 491	62 915	40 576	14.7	9.0	5.8	2,40	131 502
1968	7 078	103 621	60 932	42 689	14.6	8.6	6.0	2,41
1969	7 127	105 478	68 152	37 326	14.8	9.6	5.2	2,27	162 643
1970	7 171	102 453	67 211	35 242	14.3	9.4	4.9	2,40
1971	7 214	104 070	65 872	38 198	14.4	9.1	5.3	2,30
1972	7 258	106 859	70 822	36 037	14.7	9.8	5.0	2,28
1973	7 303	108 361	67 152	41 209	14.8	9.2	5.6	2,31
1974	7 351	110 458	66 457	44 001	15.0	9.0	6.0	2,32
1975	7 401	112 945	69 590	43 355	15.3	9.4	5.9	2,35
1976	7 452	114 035	68 565	45 470	15.3	9.2	6.1	2,28
1977	7 503	111 510	68 924	42 586	14.9	9.2	5.7	2,26
1978	7 550	110 622	71 986	38 636	14.7	9.5	5.1	2,23
1979	7 611	109 953	72 306	37 647	14.4	9.5	4.9	2,14
1980	7 688	109 597	76 180	33 417	14.3	9.9	4.3	2,26
1981	7 729	103 407	78 086	25 321	13.4	10.1	3.3	2,24
1982	7 738	106 575	78 473	28 102	13.8	10.1	3.6	2,31
1983	7 747	108 003	83 506	24 497	13.9	10.8	3.2	2,23
1984	7 754	107 036	82 742	24 294	13.8	10.7	3.1	2,21
1985	7 759	101 938	81 836	20 102	13.1	10.5	2.6	2,22	214 806
1986	7 759	99 419	83 977	15 442	12.8	10.8	2.0	2,21	212 400
1987	7 757	98 279	83 426	14 853	12.7	10.8	1.9	2,24	205 343
1988	7 755	97 471	83 616	13 855	12.6	10.8	1.8	2,22	193 558
1989	7 773	91 270	85 256	6 014	11.7	11.0	0.8	2,09	193 755
1990	7 806	90 590	85 932	4 658	11.6	11.0	0.6	2,11
1991	7 836	90 378	89 072	1 306	11.5	11.4	0.2	1,80	150 449
1992	7 852	86 877	93 475	-6 598	11.1	11.9	-0.8	1,77	135 907
1993	7 848	87 931	95 121	-7 190	11.2	12.1	-0.9	1,90	113 720
1994	7 843	85 292	93 011	-7 719	10.9	11.9	-1.0	1,87	114 659
1995	7 837	86 236	93 933	-7 697	11.0	12.0	-1.0	1,70	92 785
1996	7 828	82 548	98 370	-15 822	10.5	12.6	-2.0	1,85	80 003
1997	7 831	79 716	98 068	-18 352	10.2	12.5	-2.3	1,76	60 723
1998	7 568	76 330	99 376	-23 046	10.1	13.1	-3.0	1,68	55 360
1999	7 540	72 222	101 444	-29 222	9.6	13.5	-3.9	1,62	43 771
2000	7 516	73 764	104 042	-30 278	9.8	13.8	-4.0	1,48	42 322
2001	7 503	78 435	99 008	-20 573	10.5	13.2	-2.7	1,58	34 255
2002	7 500	78 101	102 785	-24 684	10.4	13.7	-3.3	1,57	30 794
2003	7 481	79 025	103 946	-24 921	10.6	13.9	-3.3	1,59	29 856
2004	7 463	78 186	104 320	-26 134	10.5	14.0	-3.5	1,57	26 645
2005	7 441	72 180	106 771	-34 591	9.7	14.3	-4.6	1,45	26 645
2006	7 412	70 997	102 884	-31 887	9.6	13.9	-4.3	1,43	25 665
2007	7 382	68 102	102 805	-34 703	9.2	13.9	-4.7	1,38	24 273
2008	7 350	69 083	102 711	-33 628	9.4	14.0	-4.6	1,40	24 159
2009	7 321	70 299	104 000	-33 701	9.6	14.2	-4.6	1,44	22 733
2010	7 291	68 304	103 211	-34 907	9.4	14.2	-4.8	1,39	22 092
2011	7 187	65 598	102 935	-37 337	9.1	14.3	-5.2	1,40
2012	p 7 151	66 925	102 355	-35 430	9.3	14.4	-5.1

p - preliminary results page 36 http://webrzs.stat.gov.rs/WebSite/repository/documents/00/00/95/21/MSB-12-2012.pdf

Current vital statistics

-Number of births from January 2012 = 2876

-Number of births from January 2013 = 3079

-Number of death from January 2012 = 6980

-Number of death from January 2013 = 7475

Natural increase from January 2012 = - 4104

Natural increase from January 2013 = - 4396

Current ethnic composition

Ethnic map of Serbia in 2002, based on municipality data

Serbia has a ethnically diverse population that varies in the three regions, Kosovo, Vojvodina and former Central Serbia. Serbs are the largest ethnic group in Central Serbia and Vojvodina while they are a minority in Kosovo. In Central Serbia, Serbs represented 89.5 percent of the population in 2002, and Bosniaks were the second largest minority with 2.5 percent, followed by the Roma and Albanians (Central Serbia is now divided into 3 separate statistical regions, all of which have Serb majority). In Vojvodina, Serbs represent 65 percent of the population while Hungarians are the second largest ethnic group, representing 14% of provincial population. Kosovo is mainly populated by ethnic Albanians who make up 87 percent of the population. Serbs are the second largest ethnic group in Kosovo with 7 percent of the population, while Bosniaks, Roma, and Turks, represents six percent of the population combined.

Serbia (excluding Kosovo) in 2011
Serbs			83.3%
Hungarians			3.5%
Roma			2.05%
Bosniaks			2.02%
Croats			0.81%
other			8.32%

Central Serbia in 2002
Serbs			89.5%
Bosniaks			2.5%
Roma			1.4%
Albanians			1.1%
other			5.5%

Vojvodina in 2002
Serbs			65.1%
Hungarians			14.3%
Slovaks			2.8%
Croats			2.8%
Yugoslavs			2.4%
Montenegrins			1.6%
Romanians			1.5%
Roma			1.4%
other			8%

Kosovo (2000 estimate)
Albanians			87%
Serbs			7%
Bosniaks			3%
Roma			2%
Turks			1%

Composition of Serbia

Population of Serbia according to ethnic group 1948-2011

Ethnic group	census 1948		census 1953		census 1961		census 1971		census 1981		census 1991		census 2002		census 2011
	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	6,616,917	80.3	6,212,838	82.9	5,988,150	83.3
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
Montenegrins	46,810	0.8	54,718	0.9	67,165	1.0	93,705	1.3	120,438	1.6	117,761	1.6	69,049	0.9	38,527	0.5
Yugoslavs					14,873	0.2	122,904	1.7	439,265	5.7	312,595	4.1	80,721	1.1	23,303	0.3
Muslims	7,636	0.1	74,840	1.2	85,441	1.3	127,973	1.8	156,604	2.0	176,401	2.3	19,503	0.3	22,301	0.3
Bosniaks													136,087	1.8	145,278	2.0
Hungarians	433,618	7.5	441,748	7.2	449,377	6.7	430,145	6.0	390,321	5.0	337,479	4.5	293,299	3.9	253,899	3.5
Romani	40,951	0.7	46,896	0.8	6,624	0.1	35,301	0.5	76,833	1.0	90,853	1.2	108,193	1.4	147,604	2.1
Slovaks	73,138	1.3	75,006	1.2	77,816	1.2	76,707	1.1	73,170	0.9	65,363	0.9	59,021	0.8	52,750	0.7
Albanians	33,769	0.6	40,954	0.7	53,167	0.8	68,593	1.0	76,296	1.0	74,303	1.0	61,647	0.8	5,809	0.1
Vlachs	93,440	1.6	28,047	0.5	1,367	0.0	14,719	0.2	25,592	0.3	15,675	0.2	40,054	0.5	35,330	0.5
Romanians	63,112	1.1	59,689	1.0	59,492	0.9	57,399	0.8	53,676	0.7	37,818	0.5	34,576	0.5	29,332	0.4
Macedonians	17,391	0.3	26,302	0.4	35,146	0.5	41,627	0.6	47,930	0.6	44,028	0.6	25,847	0.3	22,755	0.3
Bulgarians	59,395	1.0	60,146	1.0	58,243	0.9	53,536	0.7	33,294	0.4	26,416	0.3	20,497	0.3	18,543	0.3
Others/undeclared	114,493	2.0	132,549	2.1	102,700	1.5	115,093	1.6	122,506	1.6	97,953	1.3	266,067	3.5	368,136	5.1
Total	5,936,223		6,171,010		6,678,239		7,202,898		7,729,236		8,110,906		7,498,001		7,186,862

The ethnic composition of Central Serbia and Vojvodina, according to the 2002 census:

	Serbia (excluding Kosovo)		Central Serbia		Vojvodina
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
TOTAL	7,498,001	100	5,466,009	100	2,031,992	100
Serbs	6,212,838	82.86	4,891,031	89.48	1,321,807	65.05
Montenegrins	69,049	0.92	33,536	0.61	35,513	1.75
Yugoslavs	80,721	1.08	30,840	0.56	49,881	2.45
Albanians	61,647	0.82	59,952	1.1	1,695	0.08
Bosniaks	136,087	1.82	135,670	2.48	417	0.02
Bulgarians	20,497	0.27	18,839	0.34	1,658	0.08
Bunjevci	20,012	0.27	246	0	19,766	0.97
Gorani	4,581	0.06	3,975	0.07	606	0.03
Croats	70,602	0.94	14,056	0.26	56,546	2.78
Macedonians	25,847	0.35	14,062	0.26	11,785	0.58
Muslims (by nationality)	19,503	0.26	15,869	0.29	3,634	0.18
Roma and Sinti	108,193	1.44	79,136	1.45	29,057	1.43
Vlachs of Serbia	40,054	0.53	39,953	0.73	101	0
Romanians of Serbia	34,576	0.46	4,157	0.08	30,419	1.5
Germans	3,901	0.05	747	0.01	3,154	0.16
Ruthenes	15,905	0.21	279	0.01	15,626	0.77
Russians	2,588	0.03	1,648	0.03	940	0.05
Slovaks	59,021	0.79	2,384	0.04	56,637	2.79
Slovenes	5,104	0.07	3,099	0.06	2,005	0.1
Czechs	2,211	0.03	563	0.01	1,648	0.08
Ukrainians	5,354	0.07	719	0.01	4,635	0.23
Hungarians	293,299	3.91	3,092	0.06	290,207	14.28
Others (i.e. Armenians, Serbian Jews, Greeks, Turks and Egyptians).	11,711	0.16	6,400	0.12	5,311	0.26
Unspecified	107,732	1.44	52,716	0.97	55,016	2.71
Unknown	75,483	1.01	51,709	0.95	23,774	1.17

• 

  Serbs

• 

  Bunjevci

• 

  Vlachs

• 

  Hungarians

• 

  Slovaks

Current religious composition

Serbia (excluding Kosovo) in 2002
Eastern Orthodox 6,371,584			84.98%
Roman Catholic 410,976			5.48%
Islam 239,658			3.20%
Protestant 80,837			1.08%
other religions 20,556			0.27%
not declared and unknown 334,322			4.46%
atheist 40,068			0.53%

Demographic statistics

Main article: Census in Serbia

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Current population

7,120,666 (excluding Kosovo) (2011 census)

Median age

• total: 41.1 years
  • male: 39.4 years
  • female: 42.9 years

Life expectancy at birth

• total population: 75.3 years
  • male: 71.26 years
  • female: 77.1 years

Nationality

• noun: Serbian(s)
• adjective: Serbian

Languages

• Official: Serbian (official nationwide)
  • Vojvodina: Serbian, Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Rusyn, and Croatian
  • Kosovo: Serbian, Albanian

Literacy

(includes data for Montenegro)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

• total population: 96.4%
  • male: 98.9%
  • female: 94.1% (2002 est.)

See also

• Demographic history of Serbia
• Demographic history of Vojvodina
• Demographic history of Kosovo

References

• Statistical Office of Serbia (2003). Србија у бројкама 2003. (PDF) (in Serbian). Belgrade: Statistical Office of Serbia. Retrieved 2007-07-25.