Internal migration

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

Division of Demography and Health Statistics

Gordana Bjelobrk

Chief of the Demography Division 

5 Milana Rakića, 11000 Belgrade

gordana.bjelobrk@stat.gov.rs

+381 11 2413 571

+381 11 2412 922 ext: 280

Not applicable.

The aim of the annual statistical research on migrants is to gather data on individual events of moving population within the state boundaries of the Republic of Serbia (internal population migration) according to demographic and other characteristics of population.

The subject of the research is permanent migration of the population which moves from their current place of residence to some other place with the intent to reside in that other place permanently.

Based on these data, quantitative and qualitative monitoring and analysis of internal migration phenomenon can be performed.

In addition to this, internal population migration with both their components (immigration and emigration) affect rise i.e. reduction of population and present an element for calculation of the number of inhabitants according to territorial layout.

Data on migrants are presented at the level of municipalities, ареа, regions and the republic.

Data presentation is performed in accordance with the Decree on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics.

On the basis of Article 123 paragraph 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, and in connection with Article 8 paragraph 2 of the Law on Official Statistics (‘Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia’, No. 104/09) and Article 4 paragraph 9 and Articles 5 and 6 of the Law on Regional Development (‘Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia’, No. 51/09 and 30/10), the Government issued Decree on Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (‘Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia’, No. 109/09 and 46/10):

http://www.stat.gov.rs/o-nama/dokumenti/

Grouping of data on mechanical population movement statistics in the Republic of Serbia for the characteristic of ‘national affiliation’ is performed according to the classification of national affiliation applied in the 2011 Census of population, households and dwellings as well as for the variable ‘occupation’ according to the internal classification of occupations of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia:

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/istrazivanja/klasifikacije

Internal migration of population or relocation is one of the most important forms of geographical or spatial mobility of the population within the Republic of Serbia.
The data are collected for all persons who permanently relocate within the borders of the Republic of Serbia and submit a registration-deregistration of residence to the authority which has jurisdiction for keeping records of the place of usual residence.

The basic criterion for defining an internal migrant is change of place of permanent residence within the country and the duration of stay i.e. absence in case of that person intends to reside permanently in the new place of residence.

Migration in the narrow sense means relocation of persons from their place of birth or previous place of residence to a particular place of relocation or current place of stay or residence. Such migrations are called permanent relocations and should be distinguished from temporary one which does not mean a change of place of usual residence.

Net migration is the difference in the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants in a given area in a specific time period.

Residence – according to the Law on Permanent and Temporary Residence of Citizens (‘Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia ’, No. 87/2011), a usual residence is considered to be ‘a place in which a citizen has settled with the intention to live in it permanently, i.e. the place where the center of its life activities is, as well as professional, economic, social and other connections which prove its permanent coherence with the place of its settlement’.

Age of a migrating person is expressed in completed years of life. It is calculated on the basis of the birth date and date of registration/deregistration.

Economic activity - data on activities of persons are collected for persons aged 15 and over. The data are reported aggregated, according to the following division: employed, unemployed, pensioner, person with other type of personal income, pupil or faculty student, other dependents.

Occupation – this characteristic aggregates active persons who perform an occupation, according to the type of a specific job they do with the purpose to gain means for living.

Nationality – in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, which guarantees its citizens freedom to express their national affiliation, the data on national affiliation is obtained on the basis of free will and direct expression of a migrating person.

Internal migrant

The data are collected for all persons who changed their place of residence i.e. who relocate permanently within the boundaries of the Republic of Serbia and who submit their registration/deregistration of their usual residence.

The data source refers to statements of citizens and documents submitted to the residence record service.

Internal migrants – total number

The population of internal migration statistics includes the following population groups: persons who moved their usual residence from one municipality to another; persons who moved their usual residence from a rural area to the urban area or vice versa; persons who moved their usual residence from one city/town to another.

Territory of the Republic of Serbia.

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not had data for the autonomous province Kosovo and Metohija since 1998, so that data were not included in the scope of the data referring to the Republic of Serbia (in total).

The regional distribution of migrant is performed in accordance with the administrative and territorial division of the country on 31 December of the reference year – settlements, municipalities, аreas and statistical regions.

The data on relocation of population in the Republic of Serbia are the result of regular statistical monitoring of this phenomenon at the level of the Republic, established in 1988.

The first reference year - 1991.

Not applicable.

The number of persons expressed in absolute numbers or rates.

The reference period for the data on internal migration flow is the calendar year in which the migration occurred.

Not applicable.

Data confidentiality is stipulated by:

The obligation to protect individual data is based on Article 3 of the provision referring to protection of data giver, Articles 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49 of the provision on confidentiality of the Law on Official Statistics (‘Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia’, No. 104/09).

http://www.stat.gov.rs/media/2322/zakon_o_statisticie.pdf

Statistical information are published annually in accordance with the approved calendar of publications:

10 July of the reference year –Statistical review SN60: Internal migration (reference year)

25 December of the reference year – Demography statistics (reference year)

Calendar of releases is available at SORS website:

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/calendar

Releases :

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/calendar/?a=18&s=

Demography statistics (reference year):

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/calendar/?a=18&s=

The results of official statistics are available at the same time to all users on impartial basis; any privileged access by external users before their release is not allowed.  

The data are also published in accordance with the European Statistical Code of Practices with due respect to professional independence, objectivity, transparency and equal treatment of all users.

http://www.stat.gov.rs/media/3415/cop-ks-02-18-142-en-n.pdf

The statistical data on internal migrations of population are published annually.

Releases – Statistical release SN60: Internal migrations 2023 (online)

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/oblasti/stanovnistvo/migracije-stanovnistva

Demography statistics

https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-us/publikacije/publication/?p=15526

Men and women in Serbia 2020

https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-us/publikacije/publication/?p=15601

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/

Indicator data base > Population > Internal migration > Internal migration – data up to 2010

http://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/180601?languageCode=en-US

Indicator data base > Population > Internal migration > Internal migration – data from the year 2011

http://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/180602?languageCode=en-US

Immigration

https://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/18060401?languageCode=en-US

Emigration

https://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/18060402?languageCode=en-US

Migration balance

https://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/18060403?languageCode=en-US

Migration between settlements of the same municipality/city

https://data.stat.gov.rs/Home/Result/18060404?languageCode=en-US

For more information, please see http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/korisnicka-podrska/micropodaci.

The anonymous data can be submitted for scientific and research purposes and on the basis of an individual request, in accordance with Rulebook on Submission of Anonymous Individual Data for Scientific and Research Purposes and Article 48 of the provision on submission of individual data without identificator of the Official statistics law (‘Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia’, No. 104/09):

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/o-nama/dokumenti

http://www.stat.gov.rs/media/2322/zakon_o_statisticie.pdf

Submission of data at the request of users is performed in accordance with Rules on Dissemination of Statistical Data and Services of Statistical Office, in accordance with Articles 39 and 43 of the provision on data and information dissemination of the Official statistics law (‘Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, No. 104/09’):

http://www.stat.gov.rs/media/2322/zakon_o_statisticie.pdf

Commissariat for Refugees and Migrations

http://www.kirs.gov.rs

Migration Profile of the Republic of Serbia 

http://www.kirs.gov.rs/wb-page.php?kat_id=161

When publishing results of research based on anonymized micro data of Statistical Office, it is necessary to specify Statistical Office as a data resource.

Official Portal of Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US) > Statistics by theme > Population > Internal migration > Methodological materials and documents > Internal migration

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-us/istrazivanja/methodology-and-documents/

Demography statistics 

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/publikacije/?d=14

Not applicable.

Results of the current year are compared with the data of the previous and earlier years. If significant deviations are noticed in the presented data, reasons for their occurrence are considered.

Main users of statistical data are municipalities, ministries and other government institutions, agencies and national organizations which use statistical data with the intent to improve their work and planning, as well as scientific institutions, universities and non-government organizations, business unit and individual requests, as well as press, whose requests for data on internal migrations were satisfied without violation of rules on confidentiality of information.

On biennial basis (once in two years), by the means of web interview, implemented is the User Satisfaction Survey. The survey results are available at SORS website: http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/o-nama/sistem-upravljanja-kvalitetom

As the bearer of the official statistics system in the Republic of Serbia, Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has introduced the system of quality management, by which it tries to achieve improvement in the quality level, acceptable for the user, of data and services, on the basis of monitoring and measurement of statistical processes. In accordance with the adopted Quality Policy and Official Statistics Development Programme in the period from 2021 to 2025, the vision of the official statistics is to reach the level of harmonization with international statistical standards, in terms of quality of the published statistical data and information and high level of acquired trust of data providers and users.

METHODOLOGICAL BASES

Aim and content of research

By research, feedback on users’ habits, opinions and needs are collected, so as to raise the quality of data and services of Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia in accordance with the level of their satisfaction.

On the basis of the defined variables and collected and processed data, analysis is performed, which should show to what extent has Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia satisfied needs of users when it comes to statistical data and services. The obtained data serve as a starting point for taking measures to improve interactive cooperation between Statistical Office and users.

http://www.stat.gov.rs/en-us/o-nama/sistem-upravljanja-kvalitetom/

In 2021, Statistical Office has performed Research on User Satisfaction .

Detailed statistical data are prepared, made available and published according to different factors:

• grouping (gender and age of persons)
• territorial levels (place of usual residence)
• nationality and economic activity of persons

The statistical data were completely produced in accordance with the official statistics programme.

Ministry of Interior submits records with data of registration/deregistration to Statistical Office, on a monthly basis, for the previous month, so that the quality of secondary data for statistical purposes is generally considered to be good.

Non-sampling error

There are cases that persons fail to deregister (departure form) when changing their place of usual residence, nor they register (arrival form) in their new place of dwelling, so that the checkout of a person is not registered by the official service; as a consequence, these cases are not included by statistics. It is not possible to define quantitatively how many checkouts were not included. If officials apply checkout ex officio to the persons who do not live at the given address, completeness may be improved.

Research on internal migration of population of the Republic of Serbia is performed on the whole population.

There are cases that persons fail to checkout when changing their place of usual residence, nor they register in their new place of dwelling, so that the checkout of a person is not registered by the official service; as a consequence, these cases are not included by statistics. It is not possible to define quantitatively how many checkouts were not included. If officials apply checkout ex officio to the persons who do not live at the given address, completeness may be improved.

Delayed registration of change of usual residence is the main cause of errors in data on internal migration. Migrations are calculated for each month separately and if the change of residence is registered one or more months after it, it is added to the month in which the registration was recorded.

Confidence limits were not calculated.

Statistical data on internal migration are collected and processed throughout the reference year (t) for (t-1) year, and published six months after the end of the reference year.

Detailed data by relevant indicators are distributed at the end of a reference year (t) in accordance with the defined calendar of information publication.

Statistical data on internal migration are disseminating in accordance with previously determined conditions and calendar of information publication.

Delay of data distribution may occur in case of significant legal or technical changes.

Statistical data on internal migration are collected and processed for different territorial units on the basis of one and the same methodology and definitions so that they are comparable at the national level.

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not had data for the autonomous province Kosovo and Metohija since 1998, so that data were not included in the scope of the data referring to the Republic of Serbia (a footnote explains discontinuity of territorial coverage of data).

Statistics of internal migration was represented in 1989 and the data on migrations are available without methodological changes, so that it is considered that the comparability of the data over time is reliable and accurate.

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not had data for the autonomous province Kosovo and Metohija since 1998, so that the data were not included in the scope of the data referring to the Republic of Serbia (a footnote explains discontinuity of territorial coverage of data) due to which two temporal series of data exist:

1991-1997, including data referring to the territory of Serbia with Kosovo and Metohija

1998- t, including data referring to the territory of Serbia without Kosovo and Metohija.

Statistics on internal migration is the only source of data which shows internal migration of population in the Republic of Serbia.

Statistics on internal migration is the key element for updating internal post-census data on population within a country.

All data are consistent.

Administrative source of data is used to create statistics on internal migration of population.

The SORS general revision policy constitutes the global frame ensuring that each statistical domain shall define its own revision policy in compliance with its specific nature. 

Monthly and annual data were not revised.

Usual residence is a place in which a citizen has settled with the intention to live in it permanently, i.e. the place where the center of its life activities is, as well as professional, economic, social and other connections which prove its permanent coherence with the place of its settlement.

Department of analytics, telecommunication and information technologies at the Ministry of Interior keeps records of each change of usual residence of the citizens of Serbia with their submission of registration i.e. deregistration of usual residence and is regulated by Law on permanent and temporary residence of citizens (‘Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia’, No. 87/2011).

The data sources are statements of citizens and documents which are submitted to the service for keeping record of usual residence.

Ministry of Interior submits records with data of registration/deregistration to Statistical Office, on a monthly basis, for the previous month, in electronic form.

The method of collecting data on internal migration of population is current. Ministry of Interior submits records with data of registration/deregistration to Statistical Office, on a monthly basis, for the previous month, for all migrations registered during the year.

The data are submitted in electronic form in accordance with procedure for downloading and use of data from administrative sources for statistical purpose. Document is available in Annex.

Pre-defined conditions for statistical data control are a set of working and technical specification of programming, which was developed in accordance with the approved research methodology.

Data validation is use of basic tool in the data editing procedure –a purposeful and consistent set of logical rules used for systematic checkup of data accuracy, their consistency and checkup of data distribution.

Data correction which implies both individual and systemic data correction (certain rules are applied to the whole set of units which meet a certain condition) include categorization of errors in two types: light (random effect) and hard (systemic disadvantage in the process of data collection and processing).

Logical data imputation implies application of procedures for replacement of a missing or inconsistent value with a value which can be derived from a set of available data by usage of logical rules.

Data correction which implies both individual and systemic data correction (certain rules are applied to the whole set of units which meet a certain condition) include categorization of errors in two types: light (random effect) and hard (systemic disadvantage in the process of data collection and processing). There can be manual and automatic data correction.

Logical data imputation implies application of procedures for replacement of a missing or inconsistent value with a value which can be derived from a set of available data by usage of logical rules.

A missing or inconsistent value can also be replaced with an available value which was confirmed as adequate.

Use of automatic data tabulating programme with pre-set indicators is the final phase of data processing.

Not applicable.

In accordance with comprehensive process of data editing, information on data quality are collected, as well as regular assessment and improvement of statistical process with adequate programme support.