Serbia People - 2023

Population

6,693,375 (2023 est.)

note: does not include the population of Kosovo

Nationality

noun: Serb(s)

adjective: Serbian

Ethnic groups

Serb 83.3%, Hungarian 3.5%, Romani 2.1%, Bosniak 2%, other 5.7%, undeclared or unknown 3.4% (2011 est.)

note: most ethnic Albanians boycotted the 2011 census; Romani populations are usually underestimated in official statistics and may represent 5–11% of Serbia's population

Languages

Serbian (official) 88.1%, Hungarian 3.4%, Bosnian 1.9%, Romani 1.4%, other 3.4%, undeclared or unknown 1.8%; note - Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, and Ruthenian (Rusyn) are official in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina; most ethnic Albanians boycotted the 2011 census (2011 est.)

major-language sample(s):
Knjiga svetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Orthodox 84.6%, Catholic 5%, Muslim 3.1%, Protestant 1%, atheist 1.1%, other 0.8% (includes agnostics, other Christians, Eastern, Jewish), undeclared or unknown 4.5% (2011 est.)

note: most ethnic Albanians boycotted the 2011 census

Age structure

0-14 years: 14.45% (male 498,534/female 468,853)

15-64 years: 65.81% (male 2,216,701/female 2,188,267)

65 years and over: 19.74% (2023 est.) (male 547,344/female 773,676)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 53.8

youth dependency ratio: 21.9

elderly dependency ratio: 31.9

potential support ratio: 3.1 (2021 est.)

note: data include Kosovo

Median age

total: 43.4 years

male: 41.7 years

female: 45 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.63% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

8.87 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

15.12 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations

Urbanization

urban population: 57.1% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.04% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data include Kosovo

Major urban areas - population

1.408 million BELGRADE (capital) (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

28.2 years (2020 est.)

note: data does not cover Kosovo or Metohija

Maternal mortality ratio

10 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 4.55 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 5.14 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 3.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.08 years

male: 72.46 years

female: 77.85 years (2023 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.46 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

0.71 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

62.3% (2019)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 99.7% of population

rural: 99.4% of population

total: 99.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.3% of population

rural: 0.6% of population

total: 0.5% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

8.7% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

3.11 physicians/1,000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density

5.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 99.6% of population

rural: 95.7% of population

total: 97.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.4% of population

rural: 4.3% of population

total: 2.1% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

21.5% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 7.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 3.24 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 1.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 2.37 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 39.8% (2020 est.)

male: 40.5% (2020 est.)

female: 39.1% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

1% (2019)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

60.8% (2023 est.)

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 1.2%

women married by age 18: 5.5% (2019 est.)

Education expenditures

3.6% of GDP (2019 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99.5%

male: 99.9%

female: 99.1% (2019)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 14 years

male: 14 years

female: 15 years (2021)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 30.4%

male: 28.5%

female: 33.7% (2021 est.)