Predominantly Serbian Orthodox

Serbia is made up of many religious communities - Orthodox Christians, Muslims (particularly in the Southern regions), Catholics (particularly in the Northern Vojvodina province) and smaller numbers of Protestants and jews. Orthodox Christians (Serbian, Romanian, Russian and Greek orthodox) make up about 85% of the population, Catholics about 6% and Muslims around 5%.

Serbs, Hungarians and Bosniaks

Serbia's population is made up of about 83% Serbs, 4% Hungarians (mostly in Vojvodina), 2% Bosniaks and smaller numbers of Romany and Yugoslavs. The total population is just over 10m, and the average life expectancy is just over 73 years. The literacy rate is an impressive 96.4%. Belgrade is the main urban centre with about 1.2m people, followed by Novi Sad (in Vojvodina) with about 220,000 and Nis with 180,000.

Serbian is the official language

Serbian is the one and only official language of Serbia and it is spoken by virtually all of the inhabitants of Serbia. In written form both Cyrillic and roman alphabets can be used and both are common. Many linguists consider Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin as one language known as Serbo-Croatian. Other languages commonly spoken in Serbia are Albanian, Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak, Croatian and a dialect called Torlakian (spoken in many Southern regions).

Mediterranean, Turkish and Hungarian influences

Serbian cuisine is a unique mix of various traditions including Mediterranean, Oriental and Hungarian. Barbequed meat (especially pork) is consumed in large quantities and is generally very good quality. Common spices are black pepper, paprika and parsley. Cheese, and mince pastries known as burek are common for breakfast. Proja (cornbread) is delicious when eaten warm. Rakija, a fruit brandy, usually made with plums is widely consumed.