Serbia is the largest country in the Western Balkans.

Omissions

• The claim is a comparative ranking ('largest') that holds under both common metrics — population and territory — so no material caveat is required.
• One supporting source (OSW commentary) was published on 2025-03-05, before the session date; the Eurostat statistics-explained page is continuously updated with data covering 2023–2024, i.e. reference periods before the session date. No source describing periods after 2026-07-07 was used.
• If Kosovo is included in Serbia's territory figure, Serbia's area is larger (~88,500 km²) than the 77,474 km² figure excluding Kosovo; in either case Serbia remains the largest in the region.

Sources

• PrimaryEurostat — Statistics Explained, 'Population in enlargement countries'Serbia's population declined from 7.1 million to 6.6 million persons over the same period, including a marked decrease of -2.4 % in 2023; the page also lists Serbia with 90.5 inhabitants per km², ahead of Albania (84.6), North Macedonia (73.3) and Montenegro (45.8).
• SecondaryOSW (Centre for Eastern Studies), 'The vanishing Balkans. The region's demographic crisis'Serbia, which recorded 6.7 million inhabitants, is described as 'the most populous post-Yugoslav country'; North Macedonia had a population of 1.83 million in 2024.
• SecondaryTrading Economics (World Bank data), 'Serbia - Surface Area (sq. km)'Surface area (sq. km) in Serbia was reported at 84,990 sq. km in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognised sources.