The Republic of Serbia is a developed multinational state of Eastern Europe. It is located in the south of the Balkan Peninsula. Since 2000 it has been a member of the UN, since 2012 it has been a candidate for membership in the European Union. Administratively, the country is divided into several regions. Kosovo and Vojvodina have recently been considered autonomous. The last region is the most multicultural region in Europe.
History of settlement
From the 6th century AD e. ancient Slavic communities began to appear on the territory of modern Serbia. For the most part, they inhabited the western regions of the Balkan Peninsula. A hundred and fifty years later, such proto-state associations as Duklja, Travuniya, Zakhumye and Paganiya began to emerge. The largest and most numerous of them was the Serbian Principality. For a long time, all the regions of the B altic States were under the rule of the Byzantine Empire. In the 14th century, the Serbian principality managed to defend its independence. This is how the modern state began to emerge. In the period from 1330 to 1350, the principality flourished rapidly. Nevertheless, towards the end of the century, Serbia was again conquered. Now she has becomeadministrative region of the Ottoman Empire. Throughout the next century, thousands of Turks came to the territory of the principality. It is noteworthy that by the middle of the 16th century, the population of Serbia consisted of half of the indigenous representatives of the Ottoman Empire.
At the end of the 17th century, the principality became part of the Austrian state. From the beginning of 1810, several major uprisings took place in Serbia. The civil war claimed thousands of lives. And only in 1878 the long-awaited independence of the state was proclaimed in Berlin. At the beginning of the 20th century, the new country included such territories as Kosovo, part of the Sandzhak and Macedonia. During the First and Second World War, the state lost part of its possessions. Montenegro seceded from Serbia in 2006, and Kosovo a couple of years later.
Demographics
The first population census in the country took place only at the end of 2011. Even then, the demography of Serbia was negative. According to the census, the country's population was about 7.5 million people. At the same time, the largest number was noted in the southern and northern regions of the country. Šumadija, Belgrade and Vojvodina are next in line with similar indicators. As for Kosovo, its population is just over 1.7 million inhabitants. The demographic crisis is compounded by a high death rate. According to this indicator, Serbia is ahead of all European countries. The death rate exceeds the birth rate by almost 40%. Average life expectancy is 74 years. Since the mid-2000s, a large family has been considered a huge rarity.
In recent years, the level of migration in the country is kept at 0%. Moreover, tens of thousands of young able-bodied people leave Serbia every year.
Multinational line-up
The population of Serbia is 83% indigenous. The next predominant ethnic group is the Hungarians. Their share is about 4%. Most of the Hungarians are concentrated in the region of Vojvodina. Of the other most numerous nationalities, it is worth highlighting the Gypsies, Croats, Bosniaks, Slovaks, Vlachs, Montenegrins, Romanians and Macedonians. In Kosovo, Albanians represent the majority of the population - more than 93%. Bosnians, Serbs and Turks followed. Regarding religion, Serbia is a liberal country. Most of the population consider themselves to the Orthodox Church. The proportion of Christians is about 85%. Catholic parishioners - about 5.5%. The rest of the inhabitants are either Muslims or Protestants.
Population of Serbia
Since the 1990s, the demographic indicators of the republic leave much to be desired. The country's authorities are trying to motivate residents to increase the birth rate, but economic instability and political tensions play a negative role.
From 1990 to 1995, the population of Serbia grew by only 180 thousand people. By the end of this period, the population was 7.74 million inhabitants. In the following years, the Serbian population counter began to decline. Negative dynamics are noted to this day. From 1995 to 2005 the numberThe population of Serbia has decreased by 300 thousand people. Over the next 10 years, it fell another 4%. Every year, as a result of the emigration of local residents and an increased mortality rate, the republic loses up to 0.49% of its inhabitants.
Number in 2015
By September 2015, the population of Serbia decreased by almost 25 thousand people. Experts note that by the end of the year the figures will be more than 33,000 inhabitants. As a result, by January 2016, the population of the republic will fall to the level of 7.09 million people. Thus, population growth will again turn out to be negative and will be about -0.47%.
In 2015, about 60 thousand children were born, and 1.5 times more people died. Natural growth remained at -50%. There has been no migration influx in Serbia for several years.
Interestingly, about 180 children are born in the country every day. At the same time, the death rate is up to 270 people. The resulting daily population decline remains at around 90.
