Southern Europe · SRB

Serbia

The story · 13 chapters

How it was drawn

Vinca farmers, a Roman frontier, a medieval kingdom and empire, five centuries of Ottoman rule, independence in 1878, the core of Yugoslavia, and a separate state again since 2006.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Serbia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

First Bulgarian Empire917 to 933
Serbian princes were caught between Byzantium and Bulgaria. Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria installed and deposed Serbian rulers, then conquered the principality in 924. Prince Caslav restored it a few years after Simeon's death in 927.
Byzantine Empire1090 to 1355
Serbian rulers rose against Byzantine overlordship from the late eleventh century. Stefan Nemanja won independence after 1180, and in the 1340s Stefan Dusan seized Byzantine Macedonia, Thessaly and Epirus and was crowned Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks in 1346.
Ottoman Empire1371 to 1878
The Ottomans beat the Serbs at the Maritsa in 1371 and at Kosovo in 1389, and annexed the last Serbian despotate in 1459. Serbs rose in 1804 under Karadjordje and in 1815 under Milos Obrenovic, winning autonomy and, in 1878, full independence.
Principality of Bulgaria1885 to 1918
Neighbours and rivals for Macedonia. Bulgaria defeated Serbia at Slivnitsa in 1885, Serbia won the Second Balkan War of 1913, and in 1915 Bulgaria joined the attack that overran Serbia, occupying its south east until 1918.
Austria-Hungary1906 to 1918
Rivalry grew with a tariff dispute, the Pig War, from 1906 and Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia in 1908. The Sarajevo assassination of 1914 led Vienna to declare war. Serbia suffered enormous losses, but the war ended with the empire's collapse.
Nazi Germany1941 to 1944
Germany bombed Belgrade on 6 April 1941 and occupied Serbia. Partisan attacks were met with mass reprisals, such as the shooting of thousands of civilians at Kragujevac in October 1941. Belgrade was freed in October 1944.
Independent State of Croatia1941 to 1945
The Ustasha regime, an ally of Germany, persecuted Serbs, Jews and Roma in its territory, killing hundreds of thousands of people, many of them at the Jasenovac camp.
Republic of Croatia1991 to 1998
When Croatia declared independence in 1991, Serb rebels backed by the Yugoslav army seized about a third of its territory, and Vukovar was destroyed. Croatia retook most of it in 1995, and the rest returned peacefully in 1998.
Republic of CroatiaSince 1991Still open
Serbia and Croatia still disagree over their border along the Danube. Croatia follows old land registry lines, Serbia the middle of the river, which has shifted over time, so several river islands and pockets of land remain disputed.
KosovoSince 1998Still open
Kosovo's Albanian majority sought independence; war in 1998 and 1999 ended with United Nations rule. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which Serbia rejects. EU-led talks since 2011 have produced agreements, but tension in the Serb-majority north continues.
NATO1999
During the Kosovo war NATO bombed Serbia and Montenegro for 78 days, from March to June 1999, without approval from the UN Security Council, until Belgrade agreed to withdraw its forces from Kosovo.

Through time

Then and now

Population6.8 million2023 · 6.0 million in 1950
Life expectancy76.8 years2023 · 55.1 years in 1950
GDP per person$17,0972022
Living in cities63%2025 · 20% in 1950
Literacy99%2022
Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending2.8% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Serbia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

First Bulgarian Empire917 to 933

Serbian princes were caught between Byzantium and Bulgaria. Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria installed and deposed Serbian rulers, then conquered the principality in 924. Prince Caslav restored it a few years after Simeon's death in 927.

Byzantine Empire1090 to 1355

Serbian rulers rose against Byzantine overlordship from the late eleventh century. Stefan Nemanja won independence after 1180, and in the 1340s Stefan Dusan seized Byzantine Macedonia, Thessaly and Epirus and was crowned Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks in 1346.

Ottoman Empire1371 to 1878

The Ottomans beat the Serbs at the Maritsa in 1371 and at Kosovo in 1389, and annexed the last Serbian despotate in 1459. Serbs rose in 1804 under Karadjordje and in 1815 under Milos Obrenovic, winning autonomy and, in 1878, full independence.

Principality of Bulgaria1885 to 1918

Neighbours and rivals for Macedonia. Bulgaria defeated Serbia at Slivnitsa in 1885, Serbia won the Second Balkan War of 1913, and in 1915 Bulgaria joined the attack that overran Serbia, occupying its south east until 1918.

Austria-Hungary1906 to 1918

Rivalry grew with a tariff dispute, the Pig War, from 1906 and Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia in 1908. The Sarajevo assassination of 1914 led Vienna to declare war. Serbia suffered enormous losses, but the war ended with the empire's collapse.

Nazi Germany1941 to 1944

Germany bombed Belgrade on 6 April 1941 and occupied Serbia. Partisan attacks were met with mass reprisals, such as the shooting of thousands of civilians at Kragujevac in October 1941. Belgrade was freed in October 1944.

Independent State of Croatia1941 to 1945

The Ustasha regime, an ally of Germany, persecuted Serbs, Jews and Roma in its territory, killing hundreds of thousands of people, many of them at the Jasenovac camp.

Republic of Croatia1991 to 1998

When Croatia declared independence in 1991, Serb rebels backed by the Yugoslav army seized about a third of its territory, and Vukovar was destroyed. Croatia retook most of it in 1995, and the rest returned peacefully in 1998.

Republic of CroatiaSince 1991Still open

Serbia and Croatia still disagree over their border along the Danube. Croatia follows old land registry lines, Serbia the middle of the river, which has shifted over time, so several river islands and pockets of land remain disputed.

KosovoSince 1998Still open

Kosovo's Albanian majority sought independence; war in 1998 and 1999 ended with United Nations rule. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which Serbia rejects. EU-led talks since 2011 have produced agreements, but tension in the Serb-majority north continues.

NATO1999

During the Kosovo war NATO bombed Serbia and Montenegro for 78 days, from March to June 1999, without approval from the UN Security Council, until Belgrade agreed to withdraw its forces from Kosovo.

Then and now

Population6.8 million2023 · 6.0 million in 1950

Life expectancy76.8 years2023 · 55.1 years in 1950

GDP per person$17,0972022

Living in cities63%2025 · 20% in 1950

Literacy99%2022

Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending2.8% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025