Serbia – Migration reasons and type of permit (2024)

This pie chart shows the distribution of reported reasons for migration (or type of permit) to Serbia in 2024, based on a sample of 3,540 individuals. Respondents were allowed to provide more than one reason for migrating. The most commonly cited reason was economic opportunity (about 38%), followed by war and conflict (about 31%) and personal targeted violence or persecution (around 16%). Less commonly reported reasons were limited access to services (basic education, health care, water, food, accommodation, transportation) avoidance of military service, and family reunification or formation.

This table presents the approximate monthly distribution of self-reported reasons for migration to Serbia in 2024, based on a sample (n = 3,540) rather than the entire population (N = 19,603) recorded by the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia (SCRM). The figures are drawn from monthly reports that allowed individuals to provide more than one reason for migrating. However, reporting was not always complete, as for some months some categories were missing. A simple average in percentage is used to illustrate the overall patterns of reason¹. While the data may not reflect short-term fluctuations or capture the full complexity of individual decisions, it still offers an overview of the main reasons driving migration to Serbia.

Reasons	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Economic	453	204	139	97	226	115	131	171	82	150	194	195	37,6%
War and conlfict	628	219	115	74	180	72	84	93	39	92	110	77	31,2%
Limited access to services	258	55	52	38	76	23	50	0	13	0	43	65	11,8%
Violence	165	80	66	49	111	26	73	138	56	100	46	29	16,4%
Avoid military service	82	0	0	0	0	0	0	35	0	27	0	0	2,5%
Family	31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0,5%

Table 1 – Self-reported reasons for migration to Serbia in 2024 – Monthly reports

Source: International Organization for Migration (IOM) – Serbia (2024). Migrant Mobility Situation Report (monthly reports from January to December 2024). Available at: https://serbia.iom.int/data-and-resources

No weighting or adjustments for other factors have been applied ↩︎