Emigration from Serbia

This article is about the diaspora of citizens of Serbia. For the ethnic Serb diaspora, see Serb diaspora.

The emigration from Serbia consists of citizens of Serbia or Serbia-born people living outside Serbia and its neighboring countries. It is not to be confused with the Serb diaspora, which refers to ethnic Serb people (mainly of the republics of former Yugoslavia) and their descendants living abroad. Recent estimates indicate that about 800,000–1 million Serbian nationals live abroad, predominantly in Europe and, to a much lesser extent, overseas (primarily in North America and Oceania).

Citizens of Serbia in the most of the countries and territories bordering Serbia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia) are generally not considered part of the emigrant population from Serbia, as they are largely indistinguishable from the autochthonous ethnic Serb communities in those states, which have the legal status of recognized ethnic minorities or, in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the constituent peoples.

History

The major political and economical changes of the 1990s in Serbia after the Breakup of Yugoslavia caused economic collapse with an estimated 300,000 people leaving Serbia during that period, 20% of which had a higher education. ^{[1] [2]}

Demographics

Countries with significant population of Serbian citizens or Serbia-born persons.

  Serbia

  + 100,000

  + 10,000

  + 1,000

Country	Serbian citizens	Serbia-born residents
Germany	272,690 (2024) [3]
Austria	121,916 (2023) [4]	141,882 (2023) [5]
France	62,779 (2018) [6]	74,000 (2023 est.) [7]
Switzerland	56,743 (2024) [8]
United States		42,968 (2023) [9]
Canada		31,925 (2021)
Italy	29,679 (2024) [10]
Australia		25,454 (2021) [11]
Slovenia	17,652 (2023) [12]	30,248 (2021) [13]
Sweden	11,860 (2023) [14]	17,909 (2024) [15]
United Kingdom		12,186 (2021) [16] [17] [18]
Norway	5,075 (2023) [19]	8,964 (2025) [20]
Malta		5,935 (2021) [21]
Czechia	4,889 (2023) [22]
Netherlands	3,329 (2023) [23]	11,817 (2024) [24]
Belgium		4,151 (2021) [25]
Hungary	3,988 (2023) [26]
Denmark [a]	3,949 (2024) [27]
Spain	3,943 (2022) [28]
Greece	2,456 (2021) [29]
Luxembourg	1,814 (2023) [30]
Romania	1,767 (2023 est.) [31]
Turkey	1,622 (2023) [32]
Bulgaria	1,497 (2023) [33]
Slovakia	1,248 (2023) [34]
Cyprus		1,009 (2011) [35]
Finland	712 (2023) [36]	702 (2023) [37]
Ireland	700 (2023) [38]	343 (2016) [39]
Portugal	425 (2024) [40]
Liechtenstein	199 (2022) [41]
Iceland [b]	181 (2023) [42]	606 (2024) [43]
Estonia	72 (2023) [44]
Latvia	25 (2023) [45]
Lithuania	11 (2023) [46]

See also

• Serb diaspora
• Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region

Annotations

1. ^
   The Danish censuses separately lists Danish citizens with Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro, FR Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, as 'country of origin', and do the same with Danish residents. ^[47] This results in unreliable data.
2. ^
   The Icelandic censuses separately lists Serbian-born (excl. Kosovo) immigrants, ^[48] Serbian citizens, ^[49] former Serbian, Icelandic citizens, ^[50] and the same for Serbia-Montenegro and Yugoslavia. This results in unreliable data.

References

1. "Serbia seeks to fill the '90s brain-drainage gap". EMG.rs. 5 September 2008. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012.
2. "Survey S&M 1/2003". Yugoslav Survey. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013.
3. German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) (10 April 2025). "Foreign population by place of birth and selected citizenships". German Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
4. Eurostat, Austria, 2023, Country of citizenship.
5. "Population by citizenship/country of birth". statistik.at. Statistics Austria.
6. Eurostat, France, 2018, Country of citizenship.
7. Tanneau, Pierre (29 August 2024). "En 2023, 2,4 millions d'immigrés nés en Europe vivent en France". insee.fr (in French).
8. "Permanent and non permanent resident population by Year, Canton, Population type, Residence permit, Sex, Age class and Citizenship". PX-Web.
9. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B05012?q=B05012.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
10. "Serbi in Italia - statistiche e distribuzione per regione". www.tuttitalia.it. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
11. "People in Australia who were born in Serbia". abs.gov.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics.
12. Eurostat, Slovenia, 2023, Country of citizenship.
13. Barica Razpotnik (13 December 2021). "International Migrants Day". Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia . Retrieved 3 December 2025.
14. Eurostat, Sweden, 2023, Country of citizenship.
15. "Population by country of birth, age and sex. Year 2000 - 2024". Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
16. "Census 2021: Country of birth (extended)". Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 29 October 2025.
17. "Country of birth - full detail MS-A18". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
18. "Scotland's Census 2022: Write-in ethnic group, country of birth, national identity, main language and religion data for Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
19. Eurostat, Norway, 2023, Country of citizenship.
20. "05184: Immigrants, by sex and country background 1970 - 2025". Statbank Norway. Statistics Norway. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
21. Census of Population and Housing 2021: Final Report: Population, Migration and Other Social Characteristics Volume 1 (PDF). NSO. 2023.
22. Eurostat, Czechia, 2023, Country of citizenship.
23. Eurostat, Netherlands, 2023, Country of citizenship.
24. "CBS Statline". opendata.cbs.nl.
25. "Population Census". Statbel. Statistics Belgium. 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
26. Eurostat, Hungary, 2023, Country of citizenship.
27. "Table 20024: Immigrants and descendants of immigrants by origin, sex, age, time and selected variables". Statistikbanken (in Danish). Statistics Denmark. Archived from the original on 1 December 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
28. "Población extranjera por Nacionalidad, comunidades, Sexo y Año". INE - Instituto Nacional de Estadística (in Spanish). 2022. Archived from the original on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
29. "2021 Census - Resident Population Results". Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
30. Eurostat, Luxembourg, 2023, Country of citizenship.
31. Eurostat, Romania, 2023, Country of citizenship.
32. Eurostat, Turkey, 2023, Country of citizenship.
33. Eurostat, Bulgaria, 2023, Country of citizenship.
34. Eurostat, Slovakia, 2023, Country of citizenship.
35. "Key Figures – Population and Social Statistics". Cystat.gov.cy. Statistical Service of Cyprus. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
36. Eurostat, Finland, 2023, Country of citizenship.
37. "Population by Main type of activity, Nationality, Occupational status, Sex, Age, Year and Information". Statistics Finland. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
38. Eurostat, Ireland, 2023, Country of citizenship.
39. "Data". Central Statistics Office (CSO). 25 November 2025. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
40. AIMA I.P. – Directorate of Planning, Studies and Statistics (2024). Relatório de Migrações e Asilo 2024 [Migration and Asylum Report 2024](PDF) (Report) (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA). Retrieved 1 December 2025.
41. Eurostat, Liechtenstein, 2022, Country of citizenship.
42. Eurostat, Iceland, 2023, Country of citizenship.
43. "Population by country of birth, sex and age 1 January 1998-2024". Hagstofa Íslands. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
44. Eurostat, Estonia, 2023, Country of citizenship.
45. Eurostat, Latvia, 2023, Country of citizenship.
46. Eurostat, Lithuania, 2023, Country of citizenship.
47. "FOLK2: Population 1. January by sex, age, ancestry, country of origin and citizenship". StatBank Denmark.
48. "Population by country of birth, sex and age 1 January 1998–2015". PX-Web. Statistics Iceland. 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
49. "Population >> Immigrants >> Citizenship >> Population by country of citizenship, sex and age 1 January 1998–2016". PX-Web. Statistics Iceland. 2016.
50. "Population >> Immigrants >> Changes of citizenship >> Foreign citizens gaining Icelandic citizenship by former citizenship, sex and age 1991–2015". PX-Web. Statistics Iceland. 2016.

Sources

• Eurostat. "Population on 1 January by age group, sex and citizenship". Eurostat. doi:10.2908/migr_pop1ctz.
• "Migration in Serbia: A Country Profile 2008" (PDF). IOM. International Organisation for Migration (IOM). 2008.

Further reading

• Antonijević, Dragana (2011). "Teorijsko-hipotetički okvir za proučavanje kulturnog identiteta gastarbajtera". Културни идентитети као нематеријално културно наслеђе. Srpski genealoški centar: 27–42.
• Bobić, Mirjana (2009). "Dijaspora kao ekonomski i socijalni kapital Srbije". Sociološki pregled. 43 (3). Sociološko društvo Srbije, Beograd: 361–378.
• Filipović, J.; Putnik, G. (2010). "Serbian diaspora virtual university: Human resource potential" (PDF). 3rd International Symposium on the Development of Public Administration in South East Europe. 2. VPS.
• Vasić, Ljubica (2019). "Kulturno nasleđe srbije i dijaspora kao elementi diplomatije". Међународнa пoлитика. 70 (1175): 47–56 – via CEEOL.
• Veselinović, Janko (2014). "Zastupljenost dijaspore i pripadnika srpskog i hrvatskog naroda koji žive van granica matičnih država u parlamentu iu političkom životu Srbije i Hrvatske" (PDF). Srpsko-hrvatski politički odnosi u 20.