The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Serbia is 66% bigger than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 51,210 km² (2023) · Serbia: 84,990 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 20 km (2026 edition) · Serbia: 0 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s highest peak towers 217 m above Serbia’s.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2,386 m (2026 edition) · Serbia: 2,169 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Serbia has 2.1 times as many people as Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 3.14 million (2025) · Serbia: 6.55 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Serbia is 27% more densely populated than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 61 per km² (2025) · Serbia: 78 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Bosnia and Herzegovina are 1.7 cm taller than in Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 182.5 cm (2019) · Serbia: 180.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are practically level.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 167.5 cm (2019) · Serbia: 168.3 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 1 year older than in Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 44.9 years (2023) · Serbia: 43.9 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Serbia have 0.1 more children on average than in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1.49 children per woman (2024) · Serbia: 1.64 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are practically level.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 22.9% (2025) · Serbia: 23.1% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Bosnia and Herzegovina has produced 6.4 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Serbia 0.0.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.4 (2025) · Serbia: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Bosnia and Herzegovina has 3 official languages, Serbia 1.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 3 (2026) · Serbia: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Serbia’s economy is 3.1 times the size of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: $32.6 billion (2025) · Serbia: $100 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Serbia produces 31% more per person than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Int$25,814 (2025) · Serbia: Int$33,910 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Serbia than in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Gini 2.5 points higher).
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 30.3 (2021) · Serbia: 32.8 (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 11% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, versus 7.1% in Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 11% (2025) · Serbia: 7.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Serbia spends 2.6% of its GDP on the military, Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.7%.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 0.7% (2024) · Serbia: 2.6% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Serbia’s price level (US = 100) is 1.1× Bosnia and Herzegovina’s.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 40% (2025) · Serbia: 45% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Serbia spends 27% more on health per person than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: $773 (2023) · Serbia: $984 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Bosnia and Herzegovina live 2.1 years longer than in Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 78 years (2024) · Serbia: 76 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 20% more likely to die before turning one than in Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 5.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Serbia: 4.6 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Serbia has 20% more doctors per person than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2.6 per 1,000 (2019) · Serbia: 3.1 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are practically level.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 26.1% (2024) · Serbia: 25.6% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
40% of adults in Serbia smoke, versus 37% in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 37.1% (2024) · Serbia: 39.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Serbia rate their lives 0.31 points higher than in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.38 (2025) · Serbia: 6.69 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Serbia drink 71% more alcohol than in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.6 litres (2023) · Serbia: 11.2 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Serbia has 62% more meat per person than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 51.9 kg (2023) · Serbia: 84.2 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Serbia has 421 kcal more food per person per day than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 3,458 kcal (2023) · Serbia: 3,879 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina put in 127 more hours a year than in Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2,122 hours (2023) · Serbia: 1,995 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Serbia went to school 0.67 years longer than in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 11 years (2023) · Serbia: 11.6 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomed 21% more tourists per resident than Serbia (2019).
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 0.44 (2024) · Serbia: 0.36 (2024)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
88% of people in Serbia are online, versus 86% in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 86% (2024) · Serbia: 88% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are practically level.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 100% (2024) · Serbia: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
63% of people in Serbia live in cities, versus 53% in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 53% (2025) · Serbia: 63% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Serbia has 124 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Bosnia and Herzegovina 121.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 121 (2024) · Serbia: 124 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Serbia’s railway network is 3.3 times as long as Bosnia and Herzegovina’s.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1,018 km (2019) · Serbia: 3,348 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Serbia fly 1,164 times as many passengers per resident as those from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 0 (2020) · Serbia: 0.59 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 43% of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but only 32% of Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 42.7% (2023) · Serbia: 32.4% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Serbia emits 2% more CO₂ than someone in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.1 t (2024) · Serbia: 6.2 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
44% of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s electricity is renewable, versus 28% in Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 43.6% (2025) · Serbia: 27.8% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Bosnia and Herzegovina carries 43% more fine dust than in Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 25.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Serbia: 17.6 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 7% more likely to be murdered in Serbia than in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1.2 per 100k (2023) · Serbia: 1.3 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Bosnia and Herzegovina are 85% deadlier than in Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 13.7 per 100k (2021) · Serbia: 7.4 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Serbia is on average 0.6 °C warmer than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 11.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · Serbia: 12°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Bosnia and Herzegovina gets 54% more rain than Serbia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1,204 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Serbia: 782 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Bosnia and Herzegovina bigger than Serbia?
Serbia is larger. Serbia is 66% bigger than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Which has more people, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia?
Serbia has 2.1 times as many people as Bosnia and Herzegovina (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia?
People in Bosnia and Herzegovina live 2.1 years longer than in Serbia. Life expectancy at birth is 78.0 years in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 76.0 in Serbia.
Are people taller in Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia?
Men in Bosnia and Herzegovina are 1.7 cm taller than in Serbia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
