This article presents the demographic history of Serbia through census results. See Demographics of Serbia for a more detailed overview of the current demographics from 2011 census.

Censuses

Censuses in Serbia ordinarily takes place every 10 years, organized by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. The last census was in 2011. The censuses were organized in 2011, 2002, 1991, 1981, 1971, 1961, 1953 and 1948, during Yugoslavia. During the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, censuses were conducted in 1931 and 1921; the census in 1941 was never conducted due to the outbreak of WWII. The independent Principality of Serbia, had conducted the first population census in 1834; the subsequent censuses were conducted in 1841, 1843, 1846, 1850, 1854, 1859, 1863 and 1866 and 1874. During the era Kingdom of Serbia, six censuses were conducted in 1884, 1890, 1895, 1900, 1905 and the last one being in 1910.

19th century

The censuses of 1846, 1850 and 1854 were partially published in Glasnik DSS. The Statistical Office was established in 1862. Since 1863, the Office published Državopis Srbije in twenty volumes, until 1894. Statistical data continued to be published in the new edition of Statistika Kraljevine Srbije, published since 1892. Little is known in historiography about the censuses through 1859.

1834 census

Serbia was divided into 15 counties with 61 districts called kapetanija ("captaincy", after 1834 called srez). Užice was not included due to unrest.

1841 census

1843 census

1846 census

Extracts in Glasnik DSS.

1850 census

Extracts in Glasnik DSS.

1854 census

Extracts in Glasnik DSS.

1859 census

Published in 1863.

1863 census

1866 census

This was the first census which recorded literacy, nationality (ethnicity) and citizenship.

1874 census

1878 census

In 1879 there was a census in the four counties ceded to Serbia in 1878.

1884 census

Source:

1890 census

1895 census

20th century

1905 census

1910 census

1921 census

1948 census

1953 census

1961 census

1971 census

1981 census

1991 census

Estimated population:

1991 census

21st century

2002 census

2011 census

2022 census

Vital statistics

1880–1887

1900–1912

Sources