Demographics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Demographics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, during its existence from 1945 until 1991, include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects. During its last census in 1991, Yugoslavia enumerated 23,528,230 people. Serbs had a plurality, followed by Croats, Bosniaks, Albanians, Slovenes and Macedonians.

Yugoslavia population pyramid in 1991
Demographics of Yugoslavia (1961–1991), Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Ethnic groups

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Map of population density in Yugoslavia

Ethnic groups in Yugoslavia (1991)

  Serbs (36.2%)
  Croats (19.7%)
  Slovenes (7.5%)
  Albanians (9.3%)
  Macedonians (5.8%)
  Montenegrins (2.3%)
  Hungarians (1.6%)
  Yugoslavs (3.0%)
  Others combined (4.6%)

This is data from the last four Yugoslav censuses (1961, 1971, 1981, and 1991). Ethnic groups that were considered to be constitutive (explicitly mentioned in the constitution, and not considered minority or immigrant) appear in bold text.

Nationality 1961[1] % 1971[2] % 1981[3] % 1991[3] %
Serbs 7,806,152 42.1% 8,143,246 39.7% 8,140,507 36.3% 8,526,872 36.2%
Croats 4,293,809 23.2% 4,526,782 22.1% 4,428,043 19.7% 4,636,700 19.7%
Slav Muslims[a] 972,960 5.3% 1,729,932 8.4% 1,999,890 8.9% 2,353,002 10.0%
Albanians 914,733 4.9% 1,309,523 6.4% 1,730,878 7.7% 2,178,393 9.3%
Slovenes 1,589,211 8.6% 1,678,032 8.2% 1,753,571 7.8% 1,760,460 7.5%
Macedonians 1,045,516 5.7% 1,194,784 5.8% 1,341,598 6.0% 1,372,272 5.8%
Yugoslavs 317,124 1.7% 273,077 1.3% 1,209,024 5.4% 710,394 3.0%
Montenegrins 513,832 2.8% 508,843 2.5% 579,043 2.6% 539,262 2.3%
Hungarians 504,369 2.7% 477,374 2.3% 426,867 1.9% 378,997 1.6%
Romani 78,485 0.4% 148,604 0.7% n/a n/a
Turks 127,920 0.6% 101,328 0.5% n/a n/a
Slovaks 83,656 0.4% 80,300 0.4% n/a n/a
Romanians 58,570 0.3% 54,721 0.2% n/a n/a
Bulgarians 58,627 0.3% 36,642 0.2% n/a n/a
Vlachs 21,990 0.1% 32,071 0.1% n/a n/a
Rusyns 24,640 0.1% 23,320 0.1% n/a n/a
Czechs 24,620 0.1% 19,609 0.1% n/a n/a
Italians 21,791 0.1% 15,116 0.1% n/a n/a
Ukrainians 13,972 0.1% 12,716 0.1% n/a n/a
Germans 12,875 0.1% ? ? n/a n/a
Russians 7,427 ? ? n/a n/a
Jews 4,811 ? ? n/a n/a
Poles 4,033 ? ? n/a n/a
Greeks 1,564 ? ? n/a n/a
other/not determined 591,585 3.2% 136,398 0.6% 302,254 1.5% n/a n/a
Total 18,549,291 100.00% 20,522,972 100.0% 22,438,331 100.00% 23,528,230 100.0%

Republics by population

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Population of Yugoslavia by republics and provinces in 1991
Serbia
40.9%
Serbia proper
24.0%
Croatia
20.6%
Bosnia and Herzegovina
18.8%
Macedonia
8.8%
Vojvodina
8.6%
Kosovo
8.4%
Slovenia
8.2%
Montenegro
2.6%

The population data are from the 1991 census.

Rank Republic/Province Population 1991[4] %
1   Serbia 9,791,475 40.9%
---   Serbia proper 5,824,126 24.0%
2   Croatia 4,784,265 20.6%
3   Bosnia and Herzegovina 4,364,574 18.8%
4   Macedonia 2,033,964 8.8%
---   Vojvodina 2,012,605 8.6%
---   Kosovo 1,954,744 8.4%
5   Slovenia 1,962,606 8.2%
6   Montenegro 615,276 2.6%
  Yugoslavia 23,528,230 100%

Republics by population density

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Population density of Yugoslavia by republics and provinces in 1991
Kosovo
183.1
Serbia
114.0
Serbia proper
99.4
Slovenia
94.5
Vojvodina
92.8
Yugoslavia
92.6
Bosnia and Herzegovina
85.6
Croatia
84.6
Macedonia
79.1
Montenegro
44.5
Rank Republic/Province Population[4] Area (km2)[2] Density
---   Kosovo 1,954,744 10,887 183.1
1   SR Serbia 9,791,475 88,361 114.0
---   Serbia proper 5,824,126 55,968 99.4
2   Slovenia 1,962,606 20,251 94.5
---   Vojvodina 2,012,605 21,506 92.8
3   Bosnia and Herzegovina 4,364,574 51,129 85.6
4   Croatia 4,784,265 56,538 84.6
5   Macedonia 2,033,964 25,713 79.1
6   Montenegro 615,276 13,810 44.5
  Yugoslavia 23,528,230 255,804 92.6

Largest cities

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According to the 1991 census, there were 19 cities in Yugoslavia with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The population of these cities has developed as follows: [5]

Population of the largest cities in Yugoslavia (in thousands)
City 1921 1953 1981 1991
Belgrad 111,7 470,2 1.145,0 1.168,0
Zagreb 108,3 350,8 768,7 933,9
Skopje 41,1 119,0 405,9 -
Sarajevo 60,1 111,7 - 415,6
Ljubljana 53,3 111,2 - -
Split 25,0 61,2 169,3 189,4
Novi Sad 39,2 83,2 169,8 179,6
Niš 25,1 60,7 161,0 175,4
Rijeka * 75,3 158,3 168,0
Kragujevac 15,7 40,6 87,0 147,3
Zenica 7,6 22,6 - 145,6
Banja Luka 18,0 30,4 123,8 142,6
Tuzla 14,2 25,0 65,0 131,9
Mostar 18,2 25,9 - 126,1
Titograd 8,7 13,6 95,8 117,8
Priština 14,3 24,1 69,5 108,1
Maribor 30,6 70,8 104,7 -
Osijek 34,4 57,4 104,2 104,8
Subotica 101,9 59,8 100,2 100,4

In addition to demographic changes, the incorporation of suburbs is also responsible for the changes in the number of inhabitants. Rijeka (Fiume) was still part of Italy in 1921.

Vital statistics

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Vital statistics 1947–1991

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Vital statistics[6][7] Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate Female fertile population (15–49 years)
1947 15,679,000 416,799 199,902 216,897 26.6 12.7 13.8
1948 15,901,032 446,634 214,015 232,619 28.1 13.5 14.6
1949 16,133,000 483,663 217,180 266,483 30.0 13.5 16.5
1950 16,339,860 492,993 212,165 280,828 30.2 13.0 17.2 3.77 4,411,195
1951 16,578,223 446,254 234,689 211,565 26.9 14.2 12.8 3.32 4,455,670
1952 16,793,498 498,172 197,520 300,652 29.7 11.8 17.9 3.65 4,500,131
1953 17,048,601 484,139 211,790 272,349 28.4 12.4 16.0 3.41 4,544,601
1954[8] 17,284,632 493,567 187,521 306,046 28.6 10.8 17.7 3.40 4,600,326
1955[9] 17,522,438 471,394 199,982 271,412 26.9 11.4 15.5 3.18 4,656,054
1956 17,690,580 460,235 198,497 261,738 26.0 11.2 14.8 3.04 4,711,776
1957 17,865,515 426,701 190,334 236,367 23.9 10.7 13.2 2.77 4,745,520
1958 18,034,999 432,399 166,801 265,598 24.0 9.2 14.7 2.79 4,749,438
1959 18,226,203 424,276 180,747 243,529 23.3 9.9 13.4 2.76 4,708,379
1960[10] 18,402,257 432,595 182,693 249,902 23.5 9.9 13.6 2.83 4,689,628
1961 18,592,567 422,180 167,447 254,733 22.7 9.0 13.7 2.78 4,670,880
1962 18,815,935 413,093 186,843 226,250 22.0 9.9 12.0 2.68 4,766,916
1963 19,036,409 407,406 169,744 237,662 21.4 8.9 12.5 2.64 4,804,648
1964 19,260,364 401,104 181,255 219,849 20.8 9.4 11.4 2.62 4,861,010
1965[11] 19,489,605 408,158 170,549 237,609 20.9 8.8 12.2 2.69 4,938,773
1966 19,739,122 399,802 159,570 240,232 20.3 8.1 12.2 2.64 5,043,670
1967 19,960,120 389,640 174,060 215,580 19.5 8.7 10.8 2.55 5,176,374
1968 20,121,246 382,543 174,800 207,743 19.0 8.7 10.3 2.47 5,291,934
1969 20,251,498 382,764 188,693 194,071 18.9 9.3 9.6 2.43 5,421,866
1970[12] 20,386,272 363,278 181,843 181,435 17.8 8.9 8.9 2.27 5,492,906
1971 20,579,890 375,762 179,113 196,649 18.3 8.7 9.6 2.38 5,458,432
1972 20,797,221 380,743 190,578 190,165 18.3 9.2 9.1 2.36 5,518,843
1973 21,008,154 379,051 180,997 198,054 18.0 8.6 9.4 2.31 5,575,065
1974 21,223,359 382,947 177,691 205,256 18.0 8.4 9.7 2.29 5,596,395
1975[13] 21,441,297 388,037 184,907 203,130 18.1 8.6 9.5 2.28 5,651,830
1976 21,674,043 392,364 182,965 209,399 18.1 8.4 9.7 2.26 5,684,130
1977 21,900,681 384,637 182,803 201,834 17.6 8.3 9.2 2.19 5,706,563
1978 22,121,687 381,387 191,087 190,300 17.2 8.6 8.6 2.16 5,720,058
1979 22,297,376 378,803 190,304 188,499 17.0 8.5 8.5 2.13 5,748,224
1980[14] 22,359,500 382,120 197,369 184,751 17.1 8.8 8.3 2.14 5,776,387
1981 22,499,154 369,047 201,201 167,846 16.4 8.9 7.5 2.09 5,706,892
1982 22,646,153 378,814 203,272 175,542 16.7 9.0 7.8 2.14 5,686,451
1983 22,800,697 374,610 218,980 155,630 16.4 9.6 6.8 2.11 5,704,798
1984 22,954,868 377,362 214,725 162,637 16.4 9.4 7.1 2.11 5,729,944
1985[15] 23,121,383 366,629 212,883 153,746 15.9 9.2 6.6 2.05 5,764,187
1986 23,259,342 359,626 213,149 146,477 15.5 9.2 6.3 2.00 5,830,545
1987 23,393,494 359,338 214,666 144,672 15.4 9.2 6.2 2.00 5,820,653
1988 23,526,195 356,268 213,466 142,802 15.1 9.1 6.1 1.98 5,838,991
1989 23,594,157 336,394 215,483 120,911 14.3 9.1 5.1 1.88 5,895,545
1990[16][17] 23,657,623 335,152 212,148 123,004 14.2 9.0 5.2 1.87 5,922,912
1991[18] 23,532,279 325,922 221,929 103,993 13.8 9.4 4.4 1.94 5,669,046
Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate Female fertile population (15–49 years)

Marriages and divorces 1947–1991

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Average population Marriages Divorces Crude marriage rate (per 1000) Crude divorce rate (per 1000) Divorces per 1000 marriages
1947 15,679,000 205,835 20,915 13.1 1.3 101.6
1948 15,901,032 203,822 24,586 12.8 1.5 120.6
1949 16,133,000 184,078 16,985 11.4 1.1 92.3
1950 16,339,860 185,965 17,879 11.4 1.1 96.1
1951 16,578,223 170,133 15,538 10.3 0.9 91.3
1952 16,793,498 176,055 12,359 10.5 0.7 70.2
1953 17,048,601 167,940 16,020 9.9 0.9 95.4
1954 17,284,632 171,547 16,053 9.9 0.9 93.6
1955 17,522,438 162,711 19,389 9.3 1.1 119.2
1956 17,690,580 156,379 19,336 8.8 1.1 123.6
1957 17,865,515 154,970 20,421 8.7 1.1 131.8
1958 18,034,999 170,242 21,856 9.4 1.2 128.4
1959 18,226,203 163,572 21,483 9.0 1.2 131.3
1960 18,402,257 168,120 22,085 9.1 1.2 131.4
1961 18,592,567 168,510 21,532 9.1 1.2 127.8
1962 18,815,935 162,672 21,198 8.6 1.1 130.3
1963 19,036,409 157,909 21,328 8.3 1.1 135.1
1964 19,260,364 166,998 21,405 8.7 1.1 128.2
1965 19,489,605 174,301 21,649 8.9 1.1 124.2
1966 19,739,122 168,789 23,042 8.6 1.2 136.5
1967 19,960,120 169,282 20,840 8.5 1.0 123.1
1968 20,121,246 170,470 20,984 8.5 1.0 123.1
1969 20,251,498 174,507 20,178 8.6 1.0 115.6
1970 20,386,272 182,704 20,473 9.0 1.0 112.1
1971 20,579,890 183,916 21,347 8.9 1.0 116.1
1972 20,797,221 186,156 22,040 9.0 1.1 118.4
1973 21,008,154 183,665 23,221 8.7 1.1 126.4
1974 21,223,359 181,192 24,802 8.5 1.2 136.9
1975 21,441,297 180,046 25,137 8.4 1.2 139.6
1976 21,674,043 174,918 24,431 8.1 1.1 139.7
1977 21,900,681 178,783 22,990 8.2 1.0 128.6
1978 22,121,687 178,819 24,180 8.1 1.1 135.2
1979 22,297,376 176,310 21,952 7.9 1.0 124.5
1980 22,359,500 171,439 22,583 7.7 1.0 131.7
1981 22,499,154 173,036 22,557 7.7 1.0 130.4
1982 22,646,153 172,359 22,715 7.6 1.0 131.8
1983 22,800,697 171,906 22,127 7.5 1.0 128.7
1984 22,954,868 167,789 22,260 7.3 1.0 132.7
1985 23,121,383 163,022 23,952 7.1 1.0 146.9
1986 23,259,342 160,277 22,557 6.9 1.0 140.7
1987 23,393,494 163,469 22,907 7.0 1.0 140.1
1988 23,526,195 160,419 23,127 6.8 1.0 144.2
1989 23,594,157 158,544 22,761 6.7 1.0 143.6
1990 23,657,623 146,975 20,551 6.2 0.9 139.8
1991 23,532,279 134,826 17,551 5.7 0.7 130.2
Average population Marriages Divorces Crude marriage rate (per 1000) Crude divorce rate (per 1000) Divorces per 1000 marriages

History of national minorities in SFR Yugoslavia

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1940s and 1950s

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The SFRY recognised "nations" (narodi) and "nationalities" (narodnosti) separately; the former included the constituent Slavic peoples, while the latter included other Slavic and non-Slavic ethnic groups such as Bulgarians and Slovaks (Slavic); and Hungarians and Albanians (non-Slavic). About a total of 26 known ethnic groups were known to live in Yugoslavia, including non-European originated Romani people.

Some of the largest non-Slavic ethnic minorities – Hungarians of Serbia, Germans (predominantly Danube Swabians), Kosovar Albanians and Istrian Italians – had been considered "troublesome" by Yugoslav authorities already in the first, interwar Yugoslavia, in part for supporting their ethnic interests and nation states as opposed to pan-Slavic ambitions during World War I.[19]

[20] Minority rights of non-Slavs were neither guaranteed nor upheld, but rather stifled if they had proved "anti-Yugoslavian". Education in Hungarian and German was limited, a number of Hungarian and German cultural societies had been banned in the Kingdom until the late 1930s, when the country drifted towards pro-axis positions. Nonetheless, local Germans collaborated with the Nazi occupation forces during World War II, and ethnic Hungarians generally welcomed the return of Bačka region to Hungary. The Yugoslav communist partisan movement was unpopular among those minorities, with the German Ernst Thälmann unit existing merely on paper and the Hungarian Petőfi unit numbering mere hundred men. After the occupation forces were pushed out of Yugoslavia, tens of thousands of Germans, Hungarians and Italians were either imprisoned in labor camps (such as Goli Otok prison) or executed in summary executions.

After World War II, around 250,000 Germans and Italians were expelled or fled from the country, fearing reprisals, their property confiscated, in the events known as the expulsion of Germans after World War II and Istrian–Dalmatian exodus, the latter in the newly annexed areas in Istria and Rijeka, as well as from Dalmatia.[21] Hundreds (several thousands, according to some estimates) were summarily killed in the process. The same befell Hungarians, who faced mass murders in Vojvodina. Modern estimates vary about 35 000 - 40 000 Hungarians killed. After the war, however, free education in the native languages of the minorities were guaranteed by the Communist constitution.

During the era of Tito–Stalin split, many Hungarians (who in 1953 made up around 25% of the population in Vojvodina[22]) were sympathetic towards the Hungarian People's Republic, and the words of Radio Budapest spread among the villagers.

In 1950s, various ethnic stereotypes about specific nations in the country were commonly recounted and circulated in the media. Bulgarians were reported to be a "poor and backward minority", while in contrast, Czechs and Slovaks were "industrious and valuable minorities" for Yugoslavia. Some Czechs and Slovaks also emigrated after the war, but a "large number" of them returned after communists seized power in Czechoslovakia in 1948.[23]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Now referred to as Bosniaks

References

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  1. ^ Judah 2008, p. 566.
  2. ^ a b Szajkowski 1981, p. 814.
  3. ^ a b Lane 2017, p. 173.
  4. ^ a b Coggins 2014, p. 108.
  5. ^ For 1921: Brockhaus 15th edition; For 1953: Enciklopedija Jugoslavije 1st edition, volume 4, p. 599; For 1981: Brockhaus 19th edition (in the table in the article "Yugoslavia" there are incorrect details for Belgrade, Zagreb, Sarajevo and Ljubljana due to the inclusion of the agglomerations); For 1991: Brockhaus 20th edition
  6. ^ "Eurostat/Database/Population and social conditions/Demography and migration(demo)".
  7. ^ "Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia".
  8. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1954" (PDF).
  9. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1955" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1960" (PDF).
  11. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1965" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1970" (PDF).
  13. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1975" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1980" (PDF).
  15. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1985" (PDF).
  16. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1990" (PDF).
  17. ^ "Demography statistics 1990,Yugoslavia" (PDF).
  18. ^ "Statistical yearbook of Yugoslavia,1991" (PDF).
  19. ^ Shoup 1963, p. 64-81.
  20. ^ Yugoslavia's National Minorities under Communism by Paul Shoup In: Slavic Review, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Mar., 1963), pp. 64-81
  21. ^ Skutsch 2013, p. 344.
  22. ^ Shoup 1963, p. 76.
  23. ^ Shoup 1963, p. 80.

Books

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Journals

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