This paper examines the problem of demographic transition of natural replacement of the Serbian population since the mid-nineteenth century to 2010. The special attention is given to analizing trends in birth rate, mortality and population growth through the historical periods in which started and in which the transformation of demographic trends was being done, from the model of extended natural replacement and population expansion to the depopulation model. The specific progress of transitional trends is shown in the natural replacement of population at the macro-regional levels in Serbia (Central Serbia, Vojvodina and Kosovo and Metohija), especially at the meso-regional and local level in the geospace of Serbia (municipalities, districts, regions).[Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 176017

Population geography is a subdiscipline of Human geography and studies the distribution, concentration and density of population over the terestrial surface, as well as differences in population size, changes and characteristics, like structures, migrations, activity etc, among some places present compared to others. Population geography has had a perscientific stage as long as human history. First modern scientific treatis of population in geography was the F. Ratzels book Antropogeography in 1882. During the first half of the XX century, French geographer Vidal de la Blanche gave a capital importance of population studies in his work Principes de Geographie Humaine. In interwar years, various aspects of population were studied. After The Second World War started the renovating movement of geography and new tendencies appear in human geography and, consequently in population geography. Attempts were made to define population geography as a separate sub-discipline. The world wide trend of treating population geography as separate discipline was expressed by publishing monographs, bibliographies and textbooks. The most significant authors who worked on defining population geography were French geographers P. George (1951, 1959), Beaujen-Garnier (1965, 1966); North-american geographers: G. Trewarta (1953, 1969), W. Bunge (1962), J. Clance (1965, 1971), W. Zelinski (1966); in Great Britain: J.I. Clarke (1965); in USSR: Ju.G. Sauskin i D.N. Anucin (1950), V.V. Poksisevskij (1966), D.I. Valentej (1973); in Poland V. Ormotski (1931), L. Kosinski (1967) A. Jagelski (1980). Those authors and their works had the significant influence on the development of population science in the world and also in Serbia. Although the development of population geography was different in different countries and scientific research centers, we can clearly defined four stages. First stage lasted untill 1960s and was characterised by works of G.Trewarta, H. Doerres Ju.G. Sauskin, D.N. Anucin, J. Beaujeu-Gariner. G. Trewarta argued that the population is the point of reference from which all other elements are observed and from which all derive significance and meaning. This view was adopted and shared by authors dealing with population items, explicitly or implicitly. Second stage lasted from 1960s till 1970s and the most significant authors dealing with population problems were W. Zelinsky, W. Bunge; H.Bobek, W. Hartke, K.Ruppert, F.Schaffer; D.I. Valentej, K.Korcak. This phase was characterized by the application of quantitative methods and efforts for understanding the spatial structure of the population. Many scientists see this development phase as a particularly prosperous period, because it carried more intensive relations of geography and demography through the introduction of statistical, mathematical and demographic methods and techniques in studies of population geography. Third phase lasted from 1970s to 1980s, and was characterized by close relations between population geography and formal demography. Development and application of GIS and computer data, have made population studies more complex and applicable in practice, through population policy and population projections. The most significant authors in this period were L. Kosinski, A. Jagelski, H?gerstrand. And at last, fourth stage started in 1980s and in many countries lastes untill present days. In population geography appeared new tendencies associated with the critique of positivism, the establishment of humanistic approaches and modifications of general geographic concepts. In this period, spatial analysis and quantitative scientific methods were reaffirmed, and because of that some population studies were redefined in spatial demography, a time dimension advocated in historical demography. In this context, we emphasize the work of D. Plane and P. Rogerson. Population geography is viewed differently from one country to another. Its definition differs from too narrow to overly broad. But two research areas were of particular interest to geographers - population distribution and migration. Both items acquired an international dimension. Recently, eminent population geographers exchanged various view points in an attempt to provoke new thinking on subject and define the answers of new fields research in population geography. Population geography in the XXI Century is no longer a field comprised of spatial applications of fertility, mortality and migration only. Contemporary population geography is theoretically sophisticated, integrating spatial analysis, GIS and geo-referenced data. Future progress in the field of population geography will derive from more research at the intersections of population processes and societal issues and concerns. Major themes of future empirical researches in population geography should be: global population growth, studies of migration, transnationalism, human security issues, population-health-environment nexus, human-environment sustainability, economic development and poverty issues. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 176017: Problemi i tendencije razvoja geoprostornih sistema Republike Srbije]

In the last decades, after the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin wall, the strengthening of overall population mobility is evident on local, regional, national and global scale. In addition, there are changes in the scope and direction of migration, their structural characteristics and increasing in the number of determining factors and consequences, which affects the complexity of this phenomenon. It is important to point out the emergence of new forms of migration as a result of intensifying pace of globalization, which is an integral part of the migration. The total number of migrants in the world (internal and external) in the first decade of the XXI century reached the highest value in history and is around one billion, with small, but continuous increase in share of total population. This means that one in every seven person in the world has changed place of residence, either within their own country (about 700 million of internal migrants) or moved to another country (244 million international migrants). Therefore some authors points out that all of us are becoming migrants. Also, the number of irregular migrants recently has reached its highest amount, which implies an intensification of government actions to regulate migration through the creation of effective policies, spatial mobility and intensification of bilateral, regional and international negotiations in this domain. Estimates show that the number of migrants will continue to grow, especially the number of climate migrants, persons who left their homes due to changes in the environment. That is why it is of crucial importance in a first place to understand migrations properly and then to create the steps towards the best solutions in solving the problems caused by population movement in space and create proper migration policies.

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