Dr Vladimir Nikitović

Dr Vladimir Nikitović
Principal Research Fellow & Head of the Centre for Demographic Research
at the National Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade

President of the Association of Demographers of Serbia

vnikitovic@idn.org.rs | v.nikson@gmail.com

Fields of research

population projections
fertility of population
population aging
migration
population policy
geodemography

Biography

Vladimir Nikitović was born in 1973 in Užice (formerly Titovo Užice in SFR Yugoslavia), Republic of Serbia, where he finished primary and grammar school. In the 1992-93 period, he served one year of mandatory military service. Afterwards, he enrolled in studies at the University of Belgrade, where he received his academic education.

Nikitović started his research career in Jan 1999, as a scholarship holder of the Ministry of science, at the Geographic Institute “Jovan Cvijić” of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, before moving to the Institute of Social Sciences in Aug 2005. From May 2011 to Nov 2024, he had been the editor-in-chief of Stanovništvo – one of the world oldest demographic journals. He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Economics and the Belgrade Open School. Since Feb 2022, Nikitović has been the head of the Centre for Demographic Research at the Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade.

His publications, which include numerous research papers and conference proceedings, as well as six monographs in the field of demography, have been cited in top international journals and books of leading world publishers. Nikitović is continuously engaged as a manager, national consultant, thematic expert and mentor on scientific and development projects, including those supported by the European Commission, UNDP, UNFPA, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Organization for Migration, German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).

Since 2009, Nikitović has been engaged as a consultant in the creation of national strategies and public policies in the field of demography and spatial development. He is an evaluator of international scientific projects, a supervisor of doctoral theses, a mentor of young researchers and a reviewer in top international journals. Since 2003, Nikitović has been very active in the public of Serbia and the wider region, through debates, authored texts and interviews in the leading media, with the aim of raising awareness of the contemporary role of the population factor in the development of society. He was a scientific consultant in the highly rated and popular TV documentary about regional depopulation in Serbia – Zadnja kuća (Last house), Srbija, for the national broadcaster RTS (2010–2015).

Since Nov 2024, Nikitović has been the president of the Association of Demographers of Serbia.

Current research projects

Population aging in Serbia (UNFPA, 2025-2026)
Population of Serbia – dynamics and structures (EU, IPA, 2024-2025)

Membership in professional organisations

European Association for Population Studies – EAPS
Association of Demographers of Serbia (president)
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts – Board for the Study of Population

Education

2009, PhD in Demography (Probabilistic approach to projecting population of Serbia), University of Belgrade - Faculty of Economics
2003, MSc in Demography, University of Belgrade - Faculty of Geography, Institute for Demography (1999-2001)
1998, BSc in Geography, University of Belgrade - Faculty of Sciences
Graduated from Užice grammar school (Užička gimnazija) - mathematics & programming (1988-1992)

Fields of research

Biography

Education

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