There are no precise data on the number of Serbs in the diaspora. It is almost impossible to estimate that number due to the differences in the statuses of residence of Serbs living abroad. However, on the basis of data of diplomatic and consular representative offices, the Serbian Orthodox Church and associations of citizens, the number of Serb population in the diaspora is estimated at some four million. More by Suzana Mitić.
Our diaspora is represented by Serbian citizens and Serbs living abroad - emigrees from the territory of Serbia and the region and their descendants. On the basis of data recently published in the Migration Profile of the Republic of Serbia for 2010, which are founded on the estimations of the Ministry of Religions and the Diaspora, most Serbs, some one million of them, live in the USA, half a million live in Germany and 300,000 live in Austria, whereas 200,000 Serbs live in Canada and Australia respectively and 120,000 in France and Switzerland respectively.
Information about persons temporarily employed or staying abroad indicate that the popularity of some Western countries as living and working destinations, above all France or Sweden, has been on a drop in the past fifteen years, whereas the popularity of some other destinations, such as Hungary, Russia, UK, etc., has been on a rise. Emigration towards Canada, USA and Australia has been intensified, due to an increased interest of young and educated people, but also to the fact that immigration regulations there have become somewhat more liberal.
Serbs living in the region form a special category stipulated by the law as they number more than two million. Based on the data of the Ministry of Religions and the Diaspora, as many as 1.5 million of them live in Bosnia-Herzegovina, some 200,000 in Croatia and Montenegro respectively, some 40,000 in Slovenia, 36,000 in Macedonia, 30,000 in Albania, 23,000 in Romania and some 10,000 Serbs live in Hungary.