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 from not just Serbia but also from its neighbouring countries and their descendants living abroad. Recent estimates indicate that about 800,000 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.
In 2015, it was estimated that around 800,000 people in Serbia receive financial support from relatives abroad.
Demographics
Country Serbian citizens Serbia-born residents 272,690 (2024) 121,916 (2023) 141,882 (2023) 62,779 (2018) 74,000 (2023 est.) 56,743 (2024) 42,903 (2023) 26,065 (2021) 31,925 (2021) 29,679 (2024) 25,454 (2021) 17,652 (2023) 30,248 (2021) 11,860 (2023) 17,909 (2024) 12,186 (2021) 5,075 (2023) 8,964 (2025) 5,533 (2021) 5,935 (2021) 4,889 (2023) 3,329 (2023) 11,817 (2024) 4,151 (2021) 3,988 (2023) 3,949 (2024) 3,943 (2022) 2,456 (2021) 1,814 (2023) 1,767 (2023 est.) 1,622 (2023) 1,497 (2023) 1,248 (2023)735 (2020) 421 (2021) 786 (2021) 712 (2023) 702 (2023) 700 (2023) 343 (2016) 425 (2024) 199 (2022) 181 (2023) 606 (2024) 72 (2023) 25 (2023) 11 (2023)
See also Serb diaspora Directorate for Cooperation with the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region
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