Serbia Map with Districts

Serbia has 24 districts (okruzi) plus the City of Belgrade, which carries district-level status, so this map displays 25 units in total. References that also count the five district units in Kosovo, a territory Serbia disputes, give a figure of 29. Districts are the first-level administrative layer above Serbia's 145 municipalities and cities (117 municipalities and 28 cities, excluding Kosovo), used for state administration, statistics and courts rather than for elected local government. Familiar examples include South Bačka around Novi Sad, Nišava around Niš, Šumadija around Kragujevac and Zlatibor, the largest of them at 6,140 km² (2,371 sq mi).

Zlatibor District is Serbia's largest district by area at 6,140 km² (2,371 sq mi) in the official district areas published by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, covering the mountainous southwest with its seat at Užice. It contains Tara National Park, the Uvac Special Nature Reserve with its river meanders and griffon vulture colony, and the Šargan Eight narrow-gauge railway at Mokra Gora. The district takes its name from the Zlatibor mountain region rather than from any administrative center. For comparison, Zlatibor is nearly five times the size of Podunavlje District, which measures 1,248 km² (482 sq mi), and it borders Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

The City of Belgrade is the most populated district-level unit in Serbia, with 1,681,405 residents recorded in the 2022 Census by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, compared with 1,659,440 in the 2011 Census. That is roughly a quarter of the country's population inside a single unit. Belgrade sits at the confluence of the Sava and Danube, and Kalemegdan Fortress stands above the confluence. The next largest concentrations appear in South Bačka, home to Novi Sad, and Nišava, home to Niš. Belgrade is administered separately from the surrounding districts of Srem, Podunavlje and Šumadija.

Podunavlje District is Serbia's smallest district by area at 1,248 km² (482 sq mi) in the official district areas published by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, with its seat at Smederevo on the right bank of the Danube. Its name translates roughly as the Danube region, and Smederevo Fortress, built in the 15th century, is the main landmark. North Bačka is often listed in this position by mistake, but its 1,784 km² (689 sq mi) makes it the smallest district only within the province of Vojvodina, not nationally. Podunavlje covers just three municipalities and cities, yet lies within commuting distance of Belgrade.

Pirot District and Toplica District are the least populated districts in Serbia, recorded at 76,700 and 77,341 respectively in the 2022 Census by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Both were already below 92,000 in the 2011 Census, and both sit in the south of the country, Pirot near the Bulgarian border and Toplica inland around Prokuplje. Bor District in eastern Serbia is another sparsely populated unit, recorded at 101,100 in the 2022 Census. The contrast with the City of Belgrade at 1,681,405 (2022 Census) shows how unevenly population is spread across the 25 units on this map.

Maps of Serbia's districts appear in two versions, and the difference is Kosovo. Some publishers draw five additional district units in Kosovo, bringing the total to 29, because Serbia's constitution treats the territory as part of the republic. Others exclude those units or place them in a separate inset, reflecting Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008 and its partial international recognition. The Ultimaps map on this page shows 25 units covering Serbia proper only: 24 districts plus the City of Belgrade. If your project needs the Kosovo units, check that count and boundary set before you start coloring data.

Belgrade is drawn as its own unit on Serbia district maps because the City of Belgrade holds a special administrative status defined in law, standing at the same level as a district rather than sitting inside one. It runs 17 city municipalities, has its own assembly and mayor, and holds powers that ordinary Serbian cities do not. That is why English-language sources usually phrase the count as "24 districts plus the City of Belgrade" instead of simply saying 25 districts. On this map you color and label Belgrade like any other region. It occupies the area where the Sava meets the Danube.

Novi Sad is the seat of South Bačka District in Vojvodina, and Niš is the seat of Nišava District in southern Serbia. South Bačka is Serbia's second most populated district-level unit and includes Petrovaradin Fortress on the Danube, the site of the EXIT festival. Nišava is built around Niš, the country's third largest city, where the Ottoman-era Niš Fortress stands beside the Nišava river. Other district seats that people search for include Subotica in North Bačka, Zrenjanin in Central Banat, Kikinda in North Banat, Požarevac in Braničevo and Kraljevo in Raška District.

Ultimaps runs in your browser, so you need no account and no software. You can color the 25 units two ways: upload a spreadsheet whose district names match the map, and a graduated scale is applied across the 24 districts and Belgrade, or click individual districts and set each fill yourself. Palette, label text, font, border weight and background are all adjustable. Add markers on Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Užice, Subotica or any coordinates you type in. Export the finished map as a PNG for slides, a print-ready PDF, or an SVG that stays editable in vector software.