Rural population in Serbia
Serbia: Rural population was 2.45 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Serbia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Serbia recorded 2.45 million for rural population in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 13.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Serbia peaked at 4.71 million in 1960 and was at its lowest, 2.45 million, in 2025.
Serbia ranks 99th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Serbia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4.71 million | — |
| 1961 | 4.68 million | -0.6% |
| 1962 | 4.64 million | -0.7% |
| 1963 | 4.60 million | -0.9% |
| 1964 | 4.55 million | -1.1% |
| 1965 | 4.50 million | -1.2% |
| 1966 | 4.45 million | -1.1% |
| 1967 | 4.39 million | -1.3% |
| 1968 | 4.34 million | -1.2% |
| 1969 | 4.34 million | -0.0% |
| 1970 | 4.30 million | -0.9% |
| 1971 | 4.27 million | -0.7% |
| 1972 | 4.24 million | -0.7% |
| 1973 | 4.21 million | -0.8% |
| 1974 | 4.18 million | -0.6% |
| 1975 | 4.16 million | -0.5% |
| 1976 | 4.15 million | -0.4% |
| 1977 | 4.13 million | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 4.11 million | -0.4% |
| 1979 | 4.09 million | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 4.15 million | +1.3% |
| 1981 | 4.12 million | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 4.10 million | -0.5% |
| 1983 | 4.08 million | -0.5% |
| 1984 | 4.06 million | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 4.04 million | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 4.02 million | -0.5% |
| 1987 | 4.00 million | -0.6% |
| 1988 | 3.98 million | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 3.95 million | -0.7% |
| 1990 | 3.92 million | -0.8% |
| 1991 | 3.74 million | -4.7% |
| 1992 | 3.70 million | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 3.67 million | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 3.63 million | -1.0% |
| 1995 | 3.59 million | -1.1% |
| 1996 | 3.55 million | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 3.49 million | -1.5% |
| 1998 | 3.44 million | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 3.39 million | -1.5% |
| 2000 | 3.34 million | -1.4% |
| 2001 | 3.30 million | -1.2% |
| 2002 | 3.27 million | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 3.23 million | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 3.19 million | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 3.14 million | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 3.10 million | -1.4% |
| 2007 | 3.06 million | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 3.02 million | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 2.99 million | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 2.96 million | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 2.94 million | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 2.93 million | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 2.89 million | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 2.86 million | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 2.83 million | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 2.80 million | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 2.76 million | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 2.73 million | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 2.71 million | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 2.68 million | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 2.64 million | -1.3% |
| 2022 | 2.54 million | -3.8% |
| 2023 | 2.51 million | -1.3% |
| 2024 | 2.48 million | -1.2% |
| 2025 | 2.45 million | -1.2% |
Serbia compared with similar countries
- Serbia's 2.45 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 1.6× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Serbia's 2.45 million is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.49 million, 1.6× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.52 million | 4.34 million | 4.71 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.18 million | 4.09 million | 4.30 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.05 million | 3.95 million | 4.15 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.61 million | 3.39 million | 3.92 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.16 million | 2.99 million | 3.34 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.84 million | 2.71 million | 2.96 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.55 million | 2.45 million | 2.68 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Serbia
More agriculture & rural data for Serbia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 14.89 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0328 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 501.36 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.24 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3736 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.0% (2007)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.6% (2007)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Serbia?
- Rural population in Serbia was 2.45 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Serbia?
- The highest recorded value was 4.71 million in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Serbia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.45 million in 2025.
- How does Serbia rank for rural population?
- Serbia ranks 99th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Serbia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Serbia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.