Serbia’s population dropped to less than 7 million people in 2020 with the downward trend set to continue according to data from the Republic Statistics Office (RZS).

The country’s estimated population last year stood at 6,899,126 people of all ages, the RZS said adding that there were 3,538,820 females (51.3 percent) ad 3,360,306 males (48.7 percent). The data showed that there were more deaths than births. The population is also getting older with 21.1 percent older than 65 and just 14.3 percent under the age of 14.

The RZS data also showed changes in the age and gender structure compared to previous years. In 2002, the biggest single segment of the population was between the ages of 45 and 49 and in 2020 that changed to the biggest segment of males being aged 40 to 44 and women aged 65 to 69. The percentage of the population under the age of 15 dropped from 16.1 percent in 2002 to 14.3 percent in 2020 and the percentage of the population over the age of 65 changed from 16.6 to 21.1 percent.

The female population between the ages of 15 and 49 dropped by 2.4 percent in that period from 67.3 percent in 2002 to 64.6 percent in 2020.

The average age of the population rose from 40.2 years in 2002 to 43.4 years in 2020 and life expectancy rose by 1.9 years from 72.3 in 2002 to 74.2 in 2020.

Serbia’s population is mainly urban (61.2 percent).