Serbia Population 2024 (Live)

7,109,171

Since the 1990s, Serbia’s population has been gradually declining. At 9.88 million in 1995, the population is now 8.74 million in 2020. According to current projections, the population will be cut in half by the end of the century with an estimated 4.28 million people by the end of 2099.

Serbia’s population decreased at a rate of 0.40% from 2019 to 2020, resulting in a population loss of about 35,000 people. This population decline rate has been increasing every year since 2015. The fertility rate is low at 1.46 births per woman. Additionally, Serbia has a “brain drain,” where the most educated skilled people leave to other countries to find better opportunities.

The population decline is considered a national emergency by the Serbian government, who enlisted the help of the United Nations to try and slow the shrinking.

Serbia Population Growth

The last official census was conducted in 2011 and excluded Kosovo, which held its own census placing its population at 1.73 million. Serbia itself has been in demographic crisis since the early 1990's with a death rate that still exceeds its birth rate. Serbia, along with Bulgaria, has one of the most negative population growth rates in the world, with one of the lowest fertility rates (just 1.44 children per woman). 1/5 of all households consist of just one person and Serbia has among the 10 oldest populations in the world.

Serbia Population Projections

The slight negative growth of Serbia is expected to continue declining in the years to come and become somewhat more drastic. In the next 30 years, it is projected that the rate of decrease will nearly double from -0.34% in 2020 to -0.61% in 2050. These projections state that the actual number of citizens in Serbia will decrease by more than a million during this time with the population being 8,703,942 in 2020, 8,355,445 in 2030, 7,912,824 in 2040, and 7,447,023 by 2050.

Population Rank
Growth Rate
2024 World Percentage
Land Area
87,460
The current population of Serbia is 7,109,171 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2024 population at 7,097,028.

Serbia Growth Rate

Serbia Population 2024 (Live)

Serbia Population Clock

Serbia Population (as of 3/11/2024)7,109,171
Next UN Estimate (July 1, 2024)7,097,028
Births per Day175
Deaths per Day257
Migrations per Day-27
Net Change per Day-109
Population Change Since Jan. 1-7,739

Components of Population Change

One birth every 8.23 minutes
One death every 5.6 minutes
One emigrant every 53.33 minutes
Net loss of one person every 13.22 minutes

Serbia Population Clock

City
2024 Population
Belgrade1,273,651
Nis250,000
Novi Sad215,400
Zemun155,591
Kragujevac147,473
Cacak117,072
Subotica100,000
Leskovac94,758
Novi Pazar85,996
Kraljevo82,846

Serbia Area and Population Density

Serbia is a landlocked nation in southeastern Europe that covers 34,116 square miles (88,361 square kilometers). It is located between the Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean, and Black Seas but is touched by none of them, but shares its borders with Romania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Bosnia, and Hungary. The land itself is broken down into thirds as far as geography, with the northern third being plains, the middle third is made up of hills and rivers, and the southern third is mountainous. Using the 2017 Serbian population of 7.022 million, the population density of the nation 205.8 people per square miles (79.5 people per square kilometer), making it the 95th most densely populated country in the world.

Largest Cities in Serbia

Just over half of the people in Serbia live in or around an urban area, but being that Serbia isn't too large of a country in general, there aren't many large cities. Serbia has only one city with a population of over 1 million: Belgrade, the capital, has about 1.3 million people (1.7 in the metro area). Belgrade a large financial center, not only in Serbia but in the entire region of Southern Europe. It is also a major hub for technology and regional culture. The second and third largest cities are Novi Sad and Niš, both having populations approaching 300,000. Other notable cities with populations over 100,000 include Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Čačak, Zrenjanin-Pančevo, Smederevo, Subotica, and Novi Pazar.

Serbia Population Density Map

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
20247,097,028-0.83%81106132
20237,149,077-0.78%82105132
20207,358,005-0.58%84104124
20197,401,056-0.44%85104122
20187,433,818-0.42%85104121
20177,464,880-0.38%85103121
20157,519,496-0.35%86101120
20107,653,748-0.46%8897115
20057,830,944-0.26%9092107
20007,935,022-0.12%9192105
19957,982,462-0.01%9183104
19907,987,5290.19%9181100
19857,912,0690.34%907793
19807,777,0100.78%897388
19757,479,8330.78%867087
19707,193,5330.83%826686
19656,902,9890.96%796679
19606,579,9890.72%756678
19556,348,5471.08%736473

Serbia Population by Year (Historical)

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
20247,097,028-0.83%81106132
20257,056,385-0.83%81106134
20306,832,604-0.64%78112139
20356,581,784-0.74%75115146
20406,315,060-0.82%72117152
20456,044,880-0.87%69119155
20505,777,806-0.9%66122156
20555,511,650-0.94%63125159
20605,237,857-1.01%60127164
20654,954,111-1.11%57128166
20704,667,886-1.18%53130170
20754,390,243-1.22%50133170
20804,130,637-1.21%47135170
20853,892,300-1.18%45136174
20903,673,067-1.15%42137176
20953,466,260-1.15%40137179

Serbia Population by Year (Projections)

Serbia Population Pyramid 2024

Serbia Median Age

43.4

Total

41.7

Male

45

Female

Serbia Population by Age

There are people over age 18 in Serbia.

Census Years

Year
Date
202131 March 2021
201115 October 2011
200231 March 2002
199131 March 1991

Serbia Population Pyramid

Serbia Demographics

Serbs make up the largest ethnic group in Serbia with 83% of the population, followed by Hungarians (3.5%). There are about 450,000 Romas in the country and 145,000 Bosniaks. Other minorities include Croats, Slovaks, Albanians, Romanians and Bulgarians.

Serbia Religion, Economy and Politics

Serbia is a very predominantly Christian nation, with a very significant 84.59% of the population being Orthodox, 4.97% being Catholic and 0.99% being Catholic. Despite this vast majority, there is no official language of the state and religiously based discrimination is outlawed. The remaining portion of the population is either Muslim (3.10%) or without religion.

The economy in Serbia is largely market-based and relies heavily on manufacturing, exports, and state-owned companies. They have a fairly strong middle-income economy, and the service sector makes up two-thirds of the nation's GDP. The strongest sectors are energy, automobiles, machinery, mining and agriculture, and the primary exports leaving Serbia include automobiles, iron/steel, rubber, agriculture, weapons, and electric/metal products. The capital city of Belgrade is also the economic capital of the country.

Serbia functions as a parliamentary democracy, and the prime minister is the head of the government which is broken up into executive, legislative and judiciary branches. The president is seen as a symbol of national unity and is elected by popular vote for a maximum of 2 five-year terms. the legislative branch is made up of 250 elected deputies that are responsible for enforcing laws, approving budgets, scheduling elections, declaring wars, and ratifying treaties. the judicial branch is made up of a constitutional Supreme court and several smaller court.

Serbia Population History

Serbia has been an independent nation since 1991 after the downfall of Yugoslavia, and applying for EU membership in 2009, which risked severing political ties with Russia- whom they have been historically dependent upon for energy.

Serbia had the largest refugee population in Europe just twenty years ago, accounting for 7.5% of its population. 300,000 people left the country in the 90's, one-fifth of which had a higher education.

Serbia Population Rank 2024
Area (km²)
88,361
2024 Growth Rate
Capital
GDP (IMF '23)
$75.02
GDP (UN '22)
$63.56 Bn

Serbia - General Info

Sources