Demographics of Russians in Serbia

Serbian statistics describe several different populations that are often mixed together in public discussion. The most important distinction is between citizenship-based migration statistics and ethnicity recorded by the population census.

At the end of 2025, Russian citizens were the largest group of foreign nationals with valid temporary residence in Serbia: 54,917 people, or 47.7% of all 115,093 foreigners with valid temporary residence.¹ Russian citizens were also the largest group of permanently resident foreigners: 7,032 people, or 35.9% of the total 19,612.¹

These numbers do not mean that there were exactly 61,949 “Russians in Serbia”. The two residence categories are distinct administrative stocks, while citizens who acquired Serbian citizenship, short-term visitors, people who declared Russian ethnicity and Russian-speaking citizens of other states are measured differently.

Residence statistics by year

Russian citizens: temporary and permanent residence

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Year	Temporary residence	Permanent residence
2,011	1,398	834
2,012	1,743	806
2,013	2,005	803
2,014	2,429	562
2,015	3,430	554
2,016	2,677	620
2,017	2,795	684
2,018	2,976	785
2,019	4,125	943
2,020	3,887	824
2,021	3,538	1,264
2,022	22,351	1,355
2,023	41,644	1,749
2,024	51,203	2,700
2,025	54,917	7,032

The sharp break after 2021 reflects the post-2022 migration wave. In 2025 the stock of temporary residents continued to grow, but much more slowly than in 2022–2024, while the number of permanent residents increased sharply. The timing is consistent with part of the post-2022 population reaching the three-year residence threshold introduced by the amended Foreigners Act, but this is an interpretation of the timing rather than a published individual-level causal analysis.¹

First temporary-residence permits in 2025

Serbia issued 32,922 first temporary-residence permits in 2025. Russian citizens received 9,003, or 27.3% of the total.¹

For all nationalities combined, employment was the most common basis for a first permit in 2025, accounting for 67%. Russian citizens were also the largest nationality among first family-reunification permits (3,654, 55.5% of that category) and first study-related permits (1,056, 55.2%).¹

The report states that the displayed 2025 residence data were generated on 25 February 2026. This matters when comparing figures from different official publications.¹

Acquisition of Serbian citizenship

The annual migration profiles published a separate number for former Russian citizens who acquired Serbian citizenship through 2024:

Serbian citizenship acquired by former Russian citizens

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Year	Citizenship
2,011	47
2,012	166
2,013	52
2,014	89
2,015	99
2,016	67
2,017	82
2,018	145
2,019	135
2,020	174
2,021	197
2,022	275
2,023	532
2,024	191

The 2025 Migration Profile does not publish Russia as a separate row in the citizenship table; Russia is included in “Other”. A Russia-specific 2025 citizenship number therefore cannot be derived from that report without another official source.¹²

Geographic distribution

The 2023 migration data used by RSLive recorded the following distribution of Russian citizens in the main cities:

Distribution by area, 2023

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Area	Russian citizens
Belgrade	28,989
Novi Sad	3,953
Niš	3,514
Other municipalities	7,469

Census: Russian ethnicity is a different measure

According to Serbia’s 2022 census, 10,486 residents declared Russian ethnicity.³ This figure should not be compared directly with the number of Russian citizens holding residence permits. The census is based on usual residence and voluntary ethnic self-identification, whereas migration statistics are administrative data organised by citizenship and immigration status.

A Serbian citizen of Russian ancestry may appear in the census category but not in foreigner-residence statistics. Conversely, a Russian citizen with temporary residence may identify with another ethnicity or may not fall within the census’s usual-residence population.

How to use the numbers

• Do not add temporary residence, permanent residence, citizenship and census ethnicity and call the result “the number of Russians”.
• Check whether an official table describes a stock at a given date or permits issued during a year.
• Keep first permits separate from renewals and from all valid permits.
• Check the report date and methodological notes before comparing years: Serbia’s migration-law and reporting framework changed substantially in 2023–2024.

Footnotes

1. Migration Profile of the Republic of Serbia for 2025, Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, especially tables 6, 10, 12 and 14. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Migration Profile of the Republic of Serbia for 2024. ↩

3. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia — 2022 Census. ↩