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Serbia vs. Croatia

Demographics

SerbiaCroatia
Population6,974,289 (July 2021 est.)

note: does not include the population of Kosovo
4,208,973 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 14.07% (male 508,242/female 478,247)

15-24 years: 11.04% (male 399,435/female 374,718)

25-54 years: 41.19% (male 1,459,413/female 1,429,176)

55-64 years: 13.7% (male 464,881/female 495,663)

65 years and over: 20% (male 585,705/female 816,685) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 14.16% (male 308,668/female 289,996)

15-24 years: 10.76% (male 233,602/female 221,495)

25-54 years: 39.77% (male 841,930/female 839,601)

55-64 years: 14.24% (male 290,982/female 310,969)

65 years and over: 21.06% (male 364,076/female 526,427) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 43.4 years

male: 41.7 years

female: 45 years (2020 est.)
total: 43.9 years

male: 42 years

female: 45.9 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate-0.48% (2021 est.)-0.48% (2021 est.)
Birth rate8.74 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)8.68 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate13.49 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)12.78 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female

total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 5.67 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 6.69 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 4.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 8.91 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 8.67 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 9.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 76.56 years

male: 73.67 years

female: 79.64 years (2021 est.)
total population: 76.97 years

male: 73.83 years

female: 80.3 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.47 children born/woman (2021 est.)1.44 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate<.1% (2020 est.)<.1% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Serb(s)

adjective: Serbian
noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)

adjective: Croatian

note: the French designation of "Croate" to Croatian mercenaries in the 17th century eventually became "Cravate" and later came to be applied to the soldiers' scarves - the cravat; Croatia celebrates Cravat Day every 18 October
Ethnic groupsSerb 83.3%, Hungarian 3.5%, Romani 2.1%, Bosniak 2%, other 5.7%, undeclared or unknown 3.4% (2011 est.)

note: most ethnic Albanians boycotted the 2011 census; Romani populations are usually underestimated in official statistics and may represent 5-11% of Serbia's population
Croat 90.4%, Serb 4.4%, other 4.4% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Romani), unspecified 0.8% (2011 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS3,300 (2020 est.)

note: estimate does not include children
1,700 (2020 est.)

note: estimate does not include children
ReligionsOrthodox 84.6%, Catholic 5%, Muslim 3.1%, Protestant 1%, atheist 1.1%, other 0.8% (includes agnostics, other Christians, Eastern, Jewish), undeclared or unknown 4.5% (2011 est.)

note: most ethnic Albanians boycotted the 2011 census
Roman Catholic 86.3%, Orthodox 4.4%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.5%, not religious or atheist 3.8% (2011 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths<100 (2020 est.)

note: estimate does not include children
<100 (2020 est.)

note: estimate does not include children
LanguagesSerbian (official) 88.1%, Hungarian 3.4%, Bosnian 1.9%, Romani 1.4%, other 3.4%, undeclared or unknown 1.8%; note - Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, and Ruthenian (Rusyn) are official in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina; most ethnic Albanians boycotted the 2011 census (2011 est.)

major-language sample(s):
Knjiga svetskih cinjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Croatian (official) 95.6%, Serbian 1.2%, other 3% (including Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and Albanian), unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.)

major-language sample(s):
Knjiga svjetskih cinjenica, nuzan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Croatian)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 98.3%

male: 99.1%

female: 97.5% (2016)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99.3%

male: 99.7%

female: 98.9% (2015)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)

vectorborne diseases: tickborne encephalitis
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 15 years

male: 14 years

female: 15 years (2019)
total: 15 years

male: 15 years

female: 16 years (2018)
Education expenditures3.6% of GDP (2018)3.9% of GDP (2017)
Urbanizationurban population: 56.7% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.04% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data include Kosovo
urban population: 57.9% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.05% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 99.4% of population

rural: 99% of population

total: 99.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.6% of population

rural: 1% of population

total: 0.8% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 95.1% of population

total: 97.6% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 4.9% of population

total: 2.4% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 99.5% of population

rural: 98.4% of population

total: 99% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.5% of population

rural: 1.6% of population

total: 1% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population1.402 million BELGRADE (capital) (2021)685,000 ZAGREB (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate12 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)8 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Health expenditures8.5% (2018)6.8% (2018)
Physicians density3.11 physicians/1,000 population (2016)3 physicians/1,000 population (2016)
Hospital bed density5.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)5.5 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate21.5% (2016)24.4% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth28.1 years (2019 est.)

note: data do not cover Kosovo or Metohija
28.9 years (2019 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 52.5

youth dependency ratio: 23.4

elderly dependency ratio: 29.1

potential support ratio: 3.4 (2020 est.)

note: data include Kosovo
total dependency ratio: 55.7

youth dependency ratio: 22.6

elderly dependency ratio: 33.1

potential support ratio: 3 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook