Less than seven million people live in Serbia, demographic fall continues

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Serbia loses 37,000 people a year, and despite more newborns, the negative demographic trend continues in the country, Danica Santic, a demographer, has said, adding that less than seven million people now live in the Balkan republic, the FoNet news agency reported on Wednesday.

Speaking to the state RTS TV, she said that in the last three years more babies were born. “That’s good news, but it’s not enough. The number of fertilities raises constantly, and Serbia loses 37,000 people per year.”

Santic said that in 2019, there were 63,000 newborns, while 103,000 died the same year.

According to the latest data from the Statistical Bureau, Santic says, Serbia’s current population is the lowest in modern history.

She added the ageing process was another factor since the life expectancy was higher than before.

In Serbia, the average age is 43, while partners have 1.48 children on average, and that at least 2.1 children per couple would be enough for simple reproduction.

Santic added that made Serbia one of the oldest nations in the world, while in Africa, for example, the average age is 19.

Belgrade, she added, was the only region with an increasing number of people, but mostly due to migration from other parts of the country, since none of the 17 city’s municipalities recorded a positive trend.

Santic did not mention it, but it’s the fact that young and qualified people were leaving Serbia constantly and only in 2018 some 50,000 people left, which undoubtedly contributed to the shrinking of the population.