Geographica Timisiensis, vol. XXIV, nr. 2, 2015 (pp. 55 – 67)● DEMOGRAPHIC CHALENGES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SERBIA Milena SPASOVSKI, Belgrade University, Belgrade, Serbia Dejan FILIPOVIĆ Department of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering University of Colorado at Boulder Email: dejan.filipovic@colorado.edu Danica ŠANTIĆ Belgrade University, Belgrade, Serbia Email: danicam@gef.bg.ac.rs Marija MARTINOVIĆ Belgrade University, Belgrade, Serbia Email: mmartinovic@gef.bg.rs Abstract: Demographic phenomenas are one of the key challenges of sustainable development which has result in a wide range of socio-economic issues. New regional distribution of the population, coincidence and dynamics of population decline and aging pose a new challenge for a sustainable development for which there is no historical precedent. Shaping the future means facing up to the challenges of the demographic change and thus trying to answer the question about their consequences on a sustainable development in Serbia. The way they are handled will decide the ability of society to meet the needs of its current and future citizens in a constantly changing environment. New thinking is needed to address the planning, employment, and social implications of demographic change dynamics; sharing of current new experiences, policies, programmes and initiatives as a key knowledge intensive activity for addressing global challenges at the local level. Keywords: population, environment, sustainable development, spatial distribution, concentration 1. INTRODUCTION Sustainable development connotes the processes by which people satisfy their needs and improve their quality of life in the present while safeguarding the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (UN, 1987). For most people, a better quality of life means a higher standard of living, usually measured in terms of income level and uses of resources and technology. Inherent in the concept of sustainable development is the