Southern and Eastern Serbia Јужна и источна Србија | |
|---|---|
 Location of Southern and Eastern Serbia | |
| Country |  Serbia |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Largest city | Niš |
| Area | |
• Total | 26,245 km2 (10,133 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 2nd |
| Population | |
• Total | 1,406,050 |
| • Rank | 4th |
| • Density | 53.574/km2 (138.76/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | RSD 1,077.359 billion €9.172 billion (2022) |
| • Per capita | RSD 763,000 €6,496 (2022) |
| HDI[4] | 0.757 (2023) high ·4th in Serbia |
TheSouthern and Eastern Serbia (Serbian:Јужна и источна Србија,romanized: Južna i istočna Srbija) is one of fivestatistical regions of Serbia. It is also a Level-2 statistical region according to theNomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS).
In 2009, the National Assembly adopted a law which divided Serbia into seven statistical regions.[5] At first, it was decided that in the territory of current statistical region of Southern and Eastern Serbia there would be two statistical regions –Eastern Region (Serbian:Источни регион,romanized: Istočni region) andSouthern Region (Serbian:Јужни регион,romanized: Južni region). However, in 2010, the law was changed, thus the Eastern and Southern regions were merged into a single statistical region named Southern and Eastern Serbia.
The statistical region of Southern and Eastern Serbia encompasses 9 administrative districts:
| District | Area (km2) | Population (2022) | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Podunavlje | 1,250 | 175,573 | Smederevo |
| Braničevo | 3,865 | 156,367 | Požarevac |
| Bor | 3,510 | 101,100 | Bor |
| Zaječar | 3,623 | 96,715 | Zaječar |
| Nišava | 2,727 | 343,950 | Niš |
| Pirot | 2,761 | 76,700 | Pirot |
| Toplica | 2,229 | 77,341 | Prokuplje |
| Jablanica | 2,770 | 184,502 | Leskovac |
| Pčinja | 3,520 | 193,802 | Vranje |
The region is heavily affected by depopulation. Most critical situation is in municipalities ofGadžin Han,Crna Trava,Ražanj,Trgovište,Dimitrovgrad, andBosilegrad. A stark example of depopulation is Crna Trava, which used to have 13,614 inhabitants in 1948, while in 2022 only 1,063 people were registered.[6]
The following list include cities and towns with over 20,000 inhabitants.
| City or town | Population (2022)[7] |
|---|---|
| Niš | 182,797 |
| Smederevo | 59,261 |
| Leskovac | 58,338 |
| Vranje | 50,954 |
| Požarevac | 42,530 |
| Pirot | 34,942 |
| Zaječar | 32,448 |
| Bor | 28,822 |
| Prokuplje | 24,627 |
| Smederevska Palanka | 20,345 |
| Ethnicity | Population (2022)[8] | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Serbs | 1,173,092 | 83.4% |
| Albanians | 58,145 | 4.1% |
| Roma | 50,671 | 3.6% |
| Vlachs | 19,569 | 1.4% |
| Bulgarians | 10,554 | 0.7% |
| Undeclared | 20,495 | 1.4% |
| Unknown | 59,725 | 4.2% |
