Southern and Eastern Serbia

Southern and Eastern Serbia
Јужна и источна Србија
*Južna i istočna Srbija*
Southern and Eastern Serbia; Јужна и источна Србија; Južna i istočna Srbija
Statistical region of Serbia
	Location of Southern and Eastern Serbia in Serbia
Country	Serbia
Founded	May 2010
Largest city	Niš
Area
• Total	26,245 km2 (10,133 sq mi)
• Rank	2nd
Population (2022 census)
• Total	1,406,050
• Density	54/km2 (140/sq mi)
	Preliminary results
Nationality (2011)
• Serbs	89.11%
• Romani	3.66%
• Vlachs	2.1%
• Bulgarians	0.99%
• Others	4.14%
GDP
• Total	RSD 1,077.359 billion; €9.172 billion (2022)
• Per capita	RSD 763,000; €6,496 (2022)
Districts	9
Settlements	1,973
HDI (2019)	0.797; high · 4th in Serbia

The Southern and Eastern Serbia (Serbian: Јужна и источна Србија, romanized: Južna i istočna Srbija) is one of five statistical regions of Serbia. It is also a level-2 statistical region according to the European NUTS. It was formed in 2010. As of 2022 census, the region has a total of 1,406,050 inhabitants.^[2]

Formation

In July 2009, the Serbian parliament 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) and Southern Region (Serbian: Јужни регион, romanized: Južni region). However, in May 2010, the law was changed, thus the Eastern and Southern region were merged into a single statistical region named Southern and Eastern Serbia.

Districts

The statistical region of Southern and Eastern Serbia is composed of 9 administrative districts:

District	Area (km²)	Population (2022 Census)	Administrative Capital
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
Total	26,245	1,406,050
Source: Statistical Office of Serbia

Economy

Southern and Eastern Serbia region is the poorest in the country. Only Bor and Zaječar have GDP above the national average. The devastated areas include Babušnica, Bela Palanka, Bojnik, Bosilegrad, Vladičin Han, Golubac, Žagubica, Kuršumlija, Kučevo, Lebane, Medveđa, Svrljig, Surdulica, Trgovište and Crna Trava.^[6]

The GDP of the region in 2017 was €6,640,000,000, or 13.8% of Serbia's GDP. The GDP per capita is €4,249.^[7]

Cities and towns

The largest cities and towns of the region are:

City or town^[8]	Population of city proper (2011 Census)	Municipal population (2011 Census)
Niš	187,544	260,237
Smederevo	64,175	108,209
Leskovac	60,288	144,206
Vranje	55,138	83,524
Požarevac	44,183	75,334
Pirot	38,785	57,928
Zaječar	38,165	59,461
Bor	34,160	48,615
Prokuplje	27,333	44,419
Smederevska Palanka	23,601	50,284
Aleksinac	16,685	51,863
Velika Plana	16,088	40,902

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the population of Southern and Eastern Serbia is 1,563,916. The most populated city is Niš with around 260,000 people in metro area. Other urban centers are Smederevo, Leskovac, Zajecar and Vranje with more than 50,000 people living in city proper area. The region is heavily affected by depopulation. Most critical situation is in municipalities of Gadžin Han, Crna Trava, Ražanj, Trgovište, as well as Bulgarian populated places Dimitrovgrad and Bosilegrad. A good example of depopulation is Crna Trava that had 13,614 people in 1948, while in 2011 only 1,663 people were recorded.^[9]

Albanians boycotted the 2011 census. It's estimated that 50,000 Albanians live in the municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa. They are making up to 90% of population in Preševo, 50% in Bujanovac and 15% in Medveđa. These municipalities have a positive natural growth rate.

According to the census, only Niš had more people than in 2002.


Ethnic group	2022 census	percentage %
Serbs	1,253,312	89.13%
Albanians	58,145	4.13%
Vlachs	19,569	1.39%
Bulgarians	10,554	0.75%
Total	1,406,050	100%

Transport

Pan-European Corridor X is passing through Podunavlje, Nišava, Jablanica, Pčinja and Pirot District.

The construction of Niš-Merdare highway should start in the spring of 2020.^[10]

Constantine the Great Airport is an international airport located in Niš. It connects the region with important European cities such as Berlin, Vienna, Ljubljana, Rome, Salzburg and others. Niš is also the location of Corridor X branching with one branch going to Sofia and another towards Skopje.