World Factbook
Serbia
Republika Srbija
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
99.6% (2022 est.)
female
99.1% (2022 est.)
total population
99.3% (2022 est.)
Languages
note
note: Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, and Ruthenian (Rusyn) are official in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina; most ethnic Albanians boycotted the 2011 census
Languages
Serbian (official) 88.1%, Hungarian 3.4%, Bosnian 1.9%, Romani 1.4%, other 3.4%, undeclared or unknown 1.8% (2011 est.)
major-language sample(s)
Knjiga svetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Serbian Orthodox 81.1%, unknown 5.3%, Islam 4.2%, Catholic 3.9%, no response 2.5%, atheist 1.1%; less than 1%: other Christians, Protestant, agnostic (2022)
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
total population
0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.71 male(s)/female
Birth rate
8.72 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
14.66 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
42.4 years
total
44.1 years (2025 est.)
female
45.4 years
Population
male
3,242,751
total
6,652,212 (2024 est.)
female
3,409,461
Nationality
noun
Serb(s)
adjective
Serbian
Tobacco use
male
37.8% (2025 est.)
total
36% (2025 est.)
female
34.5% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
note
note: data include Kosovo
urban population
57.1% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.04% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
14.4% (male 492,963/female 463,995)
15-64 years
65.6% (male 2,198,591/female 2,168,113)
65 years and over
20% (2024 est.) (male 551,197/female 777,353)
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
Child marriage
women married by age 15
1.2% (2019)
women married by age 18
5.5% (2019)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
52.3 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
21.9 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
3.3 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
30.4 (2024 est.)
Physician density
3.1 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
10% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
13.7% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
5.4 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.47 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 96.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 95.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 95.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 3.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 4.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 4.6% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3.4% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
8.4% national budget (2023 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
5.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total
4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
3.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-0.6% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.71 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations
Life expectancy at birth
male
72.7 years
female
78.1 years
total population
75.3 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
11 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 95.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 97.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 4.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 2.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.3% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
3.24 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
1.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
7.45 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.)
Major urban areas - population
1.408 million BELGRADE (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
21.5% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
28.2 years (2020 est.)
note: data does not cover Kosovo or Metohija
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
54.3% (2022 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
1% (2019 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
14 years (2022 est.)
total
15 years (2022 est.)
female
16 years (2022 est.)