Large survey on 10 differences in Serbia: What's life like in the capital, compared to other regions

When divided into five statistical regions similar in the number of inhabitants, considerable differences in the lifestyle, costs and investments are revealed...

The Statistical Office of the Republic has divided Serbia into five statistical regions: Vojvodina, Belgrade, Sumadija and Western Serbia, as well as Southern and Eastern Serbia. Kosovo is also a region, but generally there is no data for the territory of the southern autonomous province.

The average salary, how many people use the internet, how much we allocate for culture, education... Detailed data is published in the Statistical Office's Regions in Serbia publication.

This data refers to 2018.

1. Population: Eastern Serbia is going extinct

Most people live in Sumadija and western Serbia, and least in Southern and Eastern Serbia. The birth rate is negative everywhere, but, compared to Belgrade, it is almost four times lower in Southern and Eastern Serbia.

2. Marriages: Most singles are in Vojvodina

When it comes to marriages, Vojvodina is the leader, with a total of 10,276 marriages. Unfortunately, this region also has record divorce rates (3,285).

There were 9,053 marriages in Belgrade and 2,715 divorces. 9,824 couples got married in Sumadija and Western Serbia, while 2,130 divorced.

There were 7,168 marriages in Southern and Eastern Serbia, with 1,865 divorces.

Most unmarried people live in Vojvodina.

3. Education: Fewest preschoolers in the South

The region of Southern and Eastern Serbia has the lowest number of higher school and universities, but also the fewest pre-schools. Most of them, logically, are located in Belgrade.

The entire southern and eastern region has half the number of preschoolers compared to Belgrade: about 35,000, compared to almost 72,000.

The region of Sumadija and Western Serbia has the highest number of elementary and high school students.

4. Little investment in science south of Belgrade

While in terms of population and students, the region of Sumadija and Western Serbia is the largest, in terms of investment in science, the results are negligible. The total number of researchers in this field is also the lowest.

5. Culture: Southern and Eastern Serbia have the lowest cinema attendance

The number of domestic films screened in Southern and Eastern Serbia was only 63, in Sumadija and Western Serbia that number was 130, 246 in Vojvodina, and 475 in Belgrade.

The least 854 books have been published in the region of Southern and Eastern Serbia, which is almost 10 times less than in Belgrade.

6. Lowest wages in Sumadija and Western Serbia

Only 42,963 dinars is the average salary before taxes and contributions in the area of ​​Sumadija and Western Serbia; in the South and the East the salary is slightly higher, 44,130, in Vojvodina it's 47,095, and it's the highest in Belgrade - 60,689.

The lowest employment rate is in Southern and Eastern Serbia - 44.1 percent.

The southern and eastern regions contribute the least to national GDP, with a share of only 13.8 percent. Belgrade contributes 40.4 percent, Vojvodina 26.5, Sumadija and Western Serbia 19.2 percent.

Pensions make up the highest share in household incomes in Eastern and Southern Serbia (33.1 percent) and the lowest in Sumadija and Western Serbia (31.8 percent).

The percentage of income from full-time jobs is the highest in Belgrade (57.4 percent) and the lowest in Sumadija and Western Serbia (43.5 percent).

7. People spend more on cigarettes and alcohol in South and East

We spend more than a third of our money on food and beverages (only in Belgrade this percentage is slightly lower, 31.5 percent).

When it comes to vices, as much as 6 percent of income in Southern and Eastern Serbia goes to tobacco and alcohol. In Belgrade, 3.5 percent of the household budget is spent in this way. However, higher wages in Belgrade should also be taken into account.

In Southern and Eastern Serbia, only 0.8 percent of the wage is set a a side for education, 1.8 percent in Belgrade.

Little money is also spent on recreation and culture, with the smallest share of salaries being spent for this purpose in Sumadija and Western Serbia - 3.9 percent.

8. Belgraders get online the most

When it comes to daily use of the internet, 69.5 percent of the population in Belgrade does this, 2 percent less in Vojvodina.

The percentage of everyday internet users in Sumadija and Western Serbia is 66.1, and in the South and East 67.9 percent.

9. Sumadija and Western Serbia have a majority of modern roads

The biggest length of roads in general, including modern roads, is found in Sumadija and Western Serbia. The roads are a total of 19,200 kilometers while modern surface is found on 11,967 roads.

10. Most tourists go to Sumadija and Western Serbia

The largest number of overnight stays was recorded in Sumadija and Western Serbia, almost 4 million. Belgrade comes second, followed by Southern and Eastern Serbia, with Vojvodina in last place.

In terms of the number of tourists, Sumadija and Western Serbia once again top the list.

However, when it comes to foreigners, they mostly visit Belgrade.

(Mateja Beljan - m.beljan@telegraf.rs)