UN: Serbia’s Population To Shrink by 20% by 2050 

Weather forecast (BETAPHOTO/DRAGAN GOJIC)

Projections suggest that by the middle of the century, the population of Serbia will decrease by 1.4 million or one fifth, while it is estimated that in 2041, every fourth person will be over 65 years old, according to a Nov. 15 release from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) Office. 

All regions of Serbia will be losing population but not at the same rate. It is estimated that by 2050, Belgrade’s population will shrink by 3.8 percent, while southeastern Serbia will be left without more than 40 percent of the current population, according to the release.

UNFPA’s Regional Director for EECA Florence Bauer said that a still-growing world population reaching 8 billion on Nov. 15 “must not distract from the consequences that countries with shrinking population numbers could face if they fail to rethink the way they address demographic change,” the release said.

“Globally, population growth has slowed down considerably, and has started to reverse in an increasing number of countries, most of them in Central and Eastern Europe, where a combination of outmigration and low birth rates has sent population numbers down. This affects the future of economies, social systems, and infrastructures,” it is said in the release.