Sava Rastko Nemanjic (c.1174–1235) was the first Serbian archbishop and a writer who became one of Serbia's most prominent figures of the Middle Ages. Vuk Stefanovic Karadzic (1787–1864) reformed the Serbian language by clarifying grammar, standardizing the spelling, and compiling a dictionary. Dositej Obradovic (1742–1811) was a famous writer, philosopher, and teacher.

Djordje Petrovic Karadjordje (1768–1817) led a rebellion against the Turks in 1804. Zivojin Misic (1855–1921) was a distinguished military leader during World War I. Prince Miloš Obrenović (r.1815–1839) founded the Obrenović dynasty and ruled Serbia as an absolute monarch. Prince Danilo II of Montenegro (r.1851–60) introduced a new legal code in 1855 that guaranteed civil and religious freedoms. King Alexander of Yugoslavia (1888–1934) was assassinated in Marseilles, France. Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (1893–1976) ruled as a regent for Peter II (1923–70) from 1934 to 1941 and was forced into exile after signing a secret pact with the Nazi government.

Slobodan Milošević (b.1941) was elected President of Serbia in 1990 and 1992 before being elected President of Yugoslavia in July 1997.

Serbia and Montenegro had over two million main line telephones in service during 1995 and reports indicate there were 87,000 mobile cellular phones by 1997. In 1998, there were 113 AM and 194 FM radios stations, as well as over 700 television stations (many of which are low-powered, local access). In Serbia and Montenegro, only the RTS network is owned by the state; the other six (BK, TV Studio Spectrum Cacak, Kanal 9 Kragujevac, Pink, Palma, and Art Kanal) are privately owned. The ownership and editorial positions of television and radio stations usually reflects regional politics. Government control over independent broadcasts and the print media has discouraged political opposition parties that have called for greater democracy and a more open economy. In 2000, Serbia and Montenegro had about 297 radios and 282 television sets for every 1,000 people. Nine Internet service providers were serving 400,000 customers in 2001.

In 1791, the first Serbian-language newspaper was published in Vienna, Austria. Privately owned newspapers are sometimes critical of the government. The dailies with the largest circulation (as of 2002) are Politika ( Politics , 300,000) and Vecernje Novosti ( Evening News , 169,000). Other newspapers, that are essentially controlled by the government, include (with 2002 circulation) Borba (85,000), Jedinstvo (6,090), Dnevnik (61,000), and Pobjeda (19,400). Over 80 minority language newspapers were printed as of 1995, of which Albanian-language newspapers accounted for 51. Periodical publications numbered 450 at that time, with a circulation of 3.3 million.

The Matica Srpska was founded in Novi Sad in 1824 as a literary and cultural society. The Serbian Academy of Science and Art was founded in Belgrade in 1886. There are several organizations for professional journalists, including the Journalists' Federation of Yugoslavia, the Journalists' Association of Serbia, Independent Journalists' Association, and the Association of Private Owners of the Media. The Chamber of Economy of Serbia is located in Belgrade.

National youth organizations include the Bureau of International Cooperation of Youth of Serbia, Union of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia, and the Youth Council of Montenegro. Scouting organizations are also active.

The National Library of Serbia (1.6 million volumes) is in Belgrade. The Central National Library of Montenegro also has 1.6 million volumes. The Matica Srpska Library has 1.2 million volumes, the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences in Belgrade has one million, and the library system at the University of Belgrade has 1.45 million volumes.

Serbia has over 2,500 cultural monuments, including about 100 museums and 37 historical archives libraries. The Belgrade National Museum, founded in 1844, includes exhibits featuring national history, archaeology, medieval frescoes, and works by Yugoslavian and other European artists. Belgrade also has ethnographical and historical museums, and the Museum of Science and Technology opened in 1989.

Education is compulsory for eight years, between the ages of seven and 15. Primary school lasts for four years and is followed by two tiers of secondary education, four years at the first level and four more years of upper secondary education at the second level. In 1997, there were 437,780 students enrolled in primary schools and 815,029 students in secondary schools. The pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 20 to 1 in 1999. In the same year, 51% of primary-school-age children were enrolled in school.

Serbia has six universities (at Belgrade, Novi Sad, Pristina, Nis, and Kragujevac) with 76 academic departments. Some 172,313 students were enrolled in tertiary academies and schools in 1997; teaching staff totaled 12,273. As of 1999, public expenditure on education was estimated at 4.2% of GDP.

The government provides obligatory health care to citizens for preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative services. There were 228 health institutions and about 3,000 other clinics, mostly private. Hospital and clinic beds numbered 56,107 in 1995, for a ratio of 188 persons per bed. As of 1999, there were an estimated 2 physicians and 5.3 hospital beds per 1,000 people. Other medical personnel as of 1995 include 4,100 dentists, 2,260 pharmacists, and 56,770 other medical workers. The University Clinical Center in Belgrade conducts about nine million examinations and 46,000 emergency operations per year and functions as one of the World Health Organization's largest diagnostic and referral centers.

In 1999, infant mortality was reported at 16.5 per 1,000 live births in Serbia and 11 in Montenegro. Overall mortality was 9.7 per 1,000 people in Serbia and 7.4 in Montenegro. Average life expectancy in 1999 was 73.5 for Serbia and 76.3 for Montenegro.

HIV prevalence was 0.1 in 1999; that year, there were 47 cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people. In 1998 the maternal mortality rate was 10 per 100,000 live births; in 2000 the fertility rate was 1.7.

At the beginning of 1996, Serbia and Montenegro had 3,124,000 dwellings, with an average of 3.4 persons per dwelling. Housing area at that time averaged 20 sq m (215 sq ft) per person. New housing completions during 1995 totaled 14,337 units, of which 11,847 were in the public sector, and 2,490 were in the private sector. According to a 1999 assessment, it was estimated that about 120,000 dwellings were damaged or destroyed in Kosovo due to internal conflicts. About 50,000 homes had been damaged in Serbia. Overcrowding, particularly in urban areas, has become more of a problem as Serbian refugees have returned from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.