Demographic history

The area of Vojvodina had been inhabited since the Paleolithic period. Indo-European peoples moved into
this area during three migration waves, which are dated in 4200 BC, 3300 BC, and 2800 BC respectively.
Before the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC, Indo-European peoples of Illyrian, Thracian and Celtic
origin inhabited the region.

During the Roman rule, original inhabitants were heavily Romanized, later to become known by the name of
Vlachs. After the end of the Roman rule, the Romanized inhabitants of the area escaped to Balkanic
mountains (where they mixed with South Slavic Serbs and Croats) as well as to the Transylvanian
mountains (where they later were known as Romanians). [1]

Vojvodina was invaded by Turanic nomads such as the Huns and Avars, as well as Germanic Gepids and
Langobards, but after their military defeat, they were quickly absorbed by the local population, without
leaving much ethnic traces in population of the region.

During the early medieval migrations, Slavs (Severans, Abodrites, Braničevci, Timočani and Serbs)
settled today's Vojvodina in the 6th and 7th centuries, [2] but pockets of Romanised population remained
in the area.[citation needed] Until the Hungarian conquest in the 10th century, the region had dominant
Slavic population.

The region was conquered by the Hungarian Principality (later Hungarian Kingdom) in the 10th century,
and Hungarians started to settle in the area. Hungarians mainly settled in northern part of the region,
where they lived mixed with Slavs. Until the late 12th and early 13th century, the region was mainly
populated by Slavs, after which the ethnic relations changed in favour of Hungarians. The presence of
Slavs in the area increased again in the 14th century with the arrival of many Serbs from the south. The
larger number of Hungarians settled in the region since the 13th century. During the Hungarian rule,
much of the native local Slavs were Hungarized. By the opinion of some researchers, the non-Hungarized
descendants of these local Slavs are present-day Šokci. [3]

Though Serbs were part of the aboriginal Slavic population in the territory of Vojvodina (especially in
Srem), an increasing number of Serbs began settling from the 14th century onward. By 1483, according to
a Hungarian source,[citation needed] as much as half of the population of the Vojvodina territory at the
time would have been made up of Serbs. Because of the presence of the large Serb population, in many
historical records and maps, which were written and drawn between 15th and 18th centuries, territory of
present day Vojvodina was named Rascia (Raška, Serbia) and Little Raška (Little Serbia).

The Ottoman Empire took control of Vojvodina in the 16th century, and this caused a massive depopulation
of the region. Most of the Hungarians and many local Slavs fled from the region and escaped to the
north. The majority of those who left in the region were Serbs, mainly now engaging either in farming
either in Ottoman military service.

Under Ottoman policy, many Serbs were newly settled in the region. During the Ottoman rule, most of the
inhabitants of the Vojvodina region were Serbs. In that time, villages were mostly populated with Serbs,
while cities were populated by Muslims and Serbs.

The Habsburg Monarchy took control of Vojvodina among other lands by the treaties of Karlovci (1699) and
Požarevac (1718). Following the establishment of the Habsburg rule, the Muslim population fled from the
region. During the Habsburg administration, many new Serb settlers from the Ottoman Empire immigrated to
the region. In 1687, the northern parts of the region were settled by ethnic Bunjevci.

Many other non-Serb colonists also settled in the territory of present day Vojvodina during the 18th and
19th century. They were mainly Germans and Hungarians, but also Rusyns, Slovaks, Romanians, and others.
Because of this colonization, Serbs lost the absolute ethnic majority in the region, and Vojvodina
became one of the most ethnically diverse regions of Europe.

Still, Serbs remained the largest ethnic group in the region. According to 1910 census, Serbs comprised
33.8% of the population in the territory of present day Vojvodina. After Serbs, the most numerous ethnic
groups were Hungarians (28.1%) and Germans (21.4%).

In 1918, Vojvodina became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and new Serb settlers
started to come to the region. As the consequence of the Second World War events, most of the German
population fled from the region after this war and they were replaced with Serb and Montenegrin
colonists. According to the 1948 census, Serbs were absolute majority in Vojvodina again (51%), and this
percent rose to 65% in 2002 census. The multiethnic character of the region is also preserved.
1690
In 1690, about 210,000 Serbs lived in Vojvodina (excluding Srem). In this time, almost entire population of the
region was composed of Serbs, also including some Šokci.

1715

According to the Austrian census in Bačka from 1715, Serbs, Bunjevci, and Šokci comprised 97.6% of population.

1720
The 1720 census in Bačka recorded 104,569 citizens, including:

Orthodox Serbs 76,000 (73%)

Bunjevci and Šokci 22,000 (21%)
Hungarians 5,019
Germans 750

After the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718), the first Austrian census recorded in (western) Banat about 20,000
citizens, mostly Serbs.

1820
The 1820 census in Bačka recorded 387,914 citizens, including:

Serbs, Bunjevci, and Šokci 170,942 (44%)

Hungarians 121,688 (31%)
Germans 91,016 (23%)

Results of different censa in Vojvodina between 1880 and 2002

1880 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 416,116 35.5

Germans 285,920 24.4
Hungarians 265,287 22.6
Croats, Bunjevci & Šokci 72,486 6.2
Romanians 69,668 5.9
Slovaks 43,318 3.7
Rusyns & Ukrainians 9,299 0.8
Others 10,635 0.9

TOTAL 1,172,729 100

1890 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 457,873 34.4

Hungarians 324,430 24.4
Germans 321,563 24.2
Croats, Bunjevci & Šokci 80,404 6
Romanians 73,492 5.5
Slovaks 49,834 3.7
Rusyns & Ukrainians 11,022 0.8
Others 12,525 1

TOTAL 1,331,143 100

1900 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 483,176 33.7

Hungarians 378,634 26.4
Germans 336,430 23.5
Croats, Bunjevci & Šokci 80,901 5.6
Romanians 74,718 5.2
Slovaks 53,832 3.8
Rusyns & Ukrainians 12,663 0.9
Others 12,394 0.9

TOTAL 1,432,748 100

1910 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 510,186 33.8

Hungarians 424,555 28.1
Germans 323,779 21.4
Romanians 75,223 5
Slovaks 56,689 3.7
Croats 34,089 2.3
Rusyns 13,479 0.9
Others 72,804 4.8

1921 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 526,134 34.7

Hungarians 370,040 24.4
Germans 333,272 22
Croats 122,684 8.1
Romanians 65,197 4.3
Slovaks 58,273 3.8
Rusyns 13,664 0.9
Others 25,182 1.7

1931 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 528,000 33
Hungarians 413,000 26
Germans 343,000 21
Croats 120,000 7
Romanians 78,000 5
Slovaks & Czechs 67,000 4
Rusyns 21,000 1
Jews 21,000 1
Others 37,000 2

1941 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 577,067 35.3

Hungarians 465,920 28.5
Germans 318,259 19.4
Croats 105,810 6.5
Others 169,311 10.3
1948 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 841,246 50.6

Hungarians 428,932 25.8
Croats 134,232 8.1
Slovaks 72,032 4.3
Romanians 59,263 3.6
Germans 31,821 1.9
Montenegrins 30,589 1.9
Rusyns and Ukrainians 22,083 1.3
Macedonians 9,090 0.5
Roma 7,585 0.4
Slovenes 7,223 0.4
Russians 5,148 0.3
Czechs 3,976 0.3
Bulgarians 3,501 0.2
Yugoslavs 1,050 0.1
Others 5,441 0.3

1953 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 865,538 50.9

Hungarians 435,179 25.6
Croats 127,027 7.5
Slovaks 71,153 4.2
Romanians 57,218 3.4
Montenegrins 30,516 1.8
Rusyns 23,038 1.4
Macedonians 11,622 0.7
Others 78,254 4.6

1961 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 1,017,713 54.9

Hungarians 442,560 23.9
Croats 145,341 7.8
Slovaks 73,830 4
Romanians 57,259 3.1
Montenegrins 34,782 1.9
Rusyns 23,038 1.4
Macedonians 11,622 0.7
Others 83,480 4.4

1971 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 1,089,132 55.8

Hungarians 423,866 21.7
Croats 138,561 7.1
Slovaks 72,795 3.7
Romanians 52,987 2.7
Montenegrins 36,416 1.9
Rusyns 20,109 1
Macedonians 16,527 0.8
Germans 7,243 0.4
Others 94,897 4.9
TOTAL 1,952,533 100

1981 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 1,107,375 54.4

Hungarians 385,356 18.9
Croats 119,157 5.9
Slovaks 69,549 3.4
Romanians 47,289 2.3
Montenegrins 43,304 2.1
Rusyns & Ukrainians 24,306 1.2
Germans 3,808 0.2
Others 234,628 11.6

1991 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 1,151,353 57.2

Hungarians 340,946 16.9
Yugoslavs 168,859 8.4
Croats 74,226 3.7
Slovaks 63,941 3.2
Montenegrins 44,721 2.2
Romanians 38,832 1.9
Roms 24,895 1.2
Bunjevci 21,552 1.1
Rusyns 17,889 0.9
Macedonians 16,641 0.8
Muslims 6,079 0.3
Albanians 2,959 0.2
Slovenes 2,563 0.1
Ukrainians 2,057 0.1
Šokci 1,866 0.1
Others 33,140 1.7

TOTAL 2,012,517 100

2002 census

Ethnicity Number %

Serbs 1,321,807 65.05

Hungarians 290,207 14.28
Slovaks 56,637 2.79
Croats 56,546 2.78
Yugoslavs 49,881 2.45
Montenegrins 35,513 1.75
Romanians 30,419 1.5
Roma 29,057 1.43
Bunjevci 19,766 0.97
Rusyns 15,626 0.77
Macedonians 11,785 0.58
Ukrainians 4,635 0.23
Muslims (by nationality) 3,634 0.18
Germans 3,154 0.16
Slovenes 2,005 0.1
Albanians 1,695 0.08
Bulgarians 1,658 0.08
Czechs 1,648 0.08
Russians 940 0.05
Gorani 606 0.03
Bosniaks 417 0.02
Vlachs 101 0
Others 5,311 0.26
Regional identity 10,154 0.5
Undeclared 55,016 2.71
Unknown 23,774 1.17

TOTAL 2,031,992 100

Future demographic trends

The general demographic trend in Vojvodina is a low natural increase of population. According to the
1991 census, the average years of age of the population of the province were 37.7. However, the average
years of age were different among various ethnic groups. The largest ethnic group, Serbs, had average
years of age of 37.4. Other ethnic groups mostly had even larger average years of age: Romanians 41.9,
Hungarians 41.2, Slovaks 40.1, Croats 41, etc. The opposite case were three ethnic groups with younger
population: Roma 26, Albanians 29 and Muslims by nationality 29.

According to the 1991 census, the natural increase of population in Vojvodina was -1.8%, while in 1997
it was -4%. Since the percent needed just for the simple maintenance of the existing number of
population is 2.3, it is expected that Vojvodina soon will have to import a labour.

Knowing the difference between increase/decrease of Serb and Hungarian populations, it is expected that
ethnic relations in northern Vojvodina will drastically change in the next 50 years: until 2050, the
total number of Hungarians in Vojvodina will decrease to less than 100,000. Until 2020, Serbs will
replace Hungarians as largest ethnic group in the municipality of Bečej, until 2030 in the
municipalities of Subotica, Bačka Topola, and Čoka, and until 2050 in the municipality of Mali Iđoš. In
2050, the only remaining municipalities with Hungarian majority in Vojvodina will be Kanjiža, Senta, and
Ada.