Ethnic groups of Vojvodina

Ethnic groups of Vojvodina

erbs

*Serbs – Serbs constitute an absolute majority of people in Vojvodina. According to the 2002 census, there were 1,321,807 Serbs in Vojvodina or 65.05% of the population. Serbs also make up an absolute majority in most of the municipalities and large cities of Vojvodina, except in Subotica (second largest city), which has a mixed population with no absolute majority of any nation (but the Serbian language is dominant in Subotica). Large cities with a Serb ethnic majority are: Novi Sad (75.50%), Sombor (61.48%), Sremska Mitrovica (87.31%), Kikinda (76.43%), Zrenjanin (74.81%), Pančevo (76.38%), Vršac (72.50%), Ruma (86.58%), Bačka Palanka (78.59%), Inđija (84.87%), Kula (52.01%), Apatin (61.60%), and Temerin (64.20%). Other municipalities with a Serb ethnic majority are: Nova Crnja (70.31%), Novi Bečej (69.94%), Sečanj (70.87%), Žitište (61.90%), Novi Kneževac (59.53%), Alibunar (59.59%), Bela Crkva (76.85%), Kovin (76.75%), Opovo (86.30%), Plandište (56.36%), Odžaci (82.84%), Beočin (68.17%), Srbobran (67.00%), Sremski Karlovci (75.39%), Titel (84.93%), Žabalj (86.25%), Irig (79.49%), Pećinci (92.49%), Stara Pazova (81.16%), and Šid (77.62%). Serbs are also the largest ethnic group in Vrbas (47.77%) and Bač (46.69%). Serbian is one of six official languages of Vojvodina, and it is also a dominant language.

Hungarians

*Hungarians – Hungarians mostly live in northern Vojvodina (northern Bačka and northern Banat). They constitute an absolute majority in 6 municipalities: Kanjiža (86.5%), Senta (80.5%), Ada (76.5%), Bačka Topola (59%), Mali Iđoš (56%) and Čoka (51.5%). There are also 2 ethnically mixed municipalities, with no absolute majority held by any nation, in which ethnic Hungarians constitute the largest percent of the population: Bečej (49%) and Subotica (38.5%). About 60% of all Hungarians in Vojvodina live in these 8 municipalities. There are 290,207 Hungarians in Vojvodina or 14.5% of the population and they are the second largest ethnic group in the region. Hungarian is one of six official languages of Vojvodina.

lovaks

*Slovaks – Slovaks are the third largest ethnic group in Vojvodina. They constitute an absolute majority in Bački Petrovac municipality (66.41%) and they also constitute the largest percent of the population in Kovačica municipality (41.07%). There are 56,637 Slovaks in Vojvodina or 2.79% of population. Slovak is one of six official languages of Vojvodina.

Croats

*Croats – There are 56,546 Croats in Vojvodina or 2.78% of the population. Croatian is one of six official languages of Vojvodina. The largest concentration of Croats could be found in the municipalities of Apatin (11.47%) and Subotica (11.24%). Some of the Croats of Vojvodina also declare themselves as Bunjevci or Šokci in censa.

Yugoslavs

*Yugoslavs – There are 49,881 Yugoslavs in Vojvodina or 2.45% of the population. They mostly speak Serbian. According to the 2002 census there were 80,721 Yugoslavs in Serbia, of which 49,881 were in Vojvodina and 30,840 in Central Serbia. The largest concentration of Yugoslavs could be found in the municipalities of Subotica (5.76%), Beočin (5.35%), and Sombor (5.24%).

Montenegrins

*Montenegrins – There are 35,513 Montenegrins in Vojvodina or 1.75% of the population. They mostly speak Serbian. The largest concentration of Montenegrins could be found in the municipalities of Vrbas (24.79%), Mali Iđoš (20.83%), and Kula (16.34%). Settlements in Vojvodina with Montenegrin majority are: Lovćenac (Mali Iđoš municipality), Kruščić (Kula municipality), and Savino Selo (Vrbas municipality).

Romanians

*Romanians – There are 30,419 Romanians in Vojvodina or 1.50% of the population. Romanian is one of six official languages of Vojvodina. The largest concentration of Romanians could be found in the municipalities of Alibunar (26.47%) and Vršac (10.87%).

Roma

*Roma (Gypsy) – There are 29,057 Roma in Vojvodina or 1.43% of the population. The Roma language is not official in Vojvodina, but there are TV programs and other publications in the Roma language. The largest concentration of Roma could be found in the municipalities of Nova Crnja (6.83%), Beočin (6.51%), and Novi Kneževac (5.04%).

Bunjevci

*Bunjevci – Bunjevci are small ethnic group whose members mostly live in northern Vojvodina. There are 19,766 Bunjevci in Vojvodina. They speak a specific ikavian/shtokavian dialect of the former Serbo-Croatian language, thought they mostly declared that their language is Serbian on the 2002 census. The largest concentration of Bunjevci could be found in the municipalities of Subotica (10.95%) and Sombor (2.8%).

Rusyns

*Rusyns – There are 15,626 Rusyns in Vojvodina and the Rusyn language is one of six official languages of Vojvodina. The Rusyn language is spoken mostly in Vojvodina and it is classified as western Slavic, thought it shares many similarities with Slovak. There is also a Rusyn language in Ukraine, but it is a different language classified as eastern Slavic. The largest concentration of Rusyns could be found in the municipalities of Kula (11.16%), Vrbas (8.21%), and Žabalj (5.11%).

Macedonians

*Macedonians – There are 11,785 Macedonians in Vojvodina. They mostly speak Macedonian. The largest concentration of Macedonians could be found in the municipalities of Plandište (9.69%) and Pančevo (4.14%).

Ukrainians

*Ukrainians – There are 4,635 Ukrainians in Vojvodina. They mostly speak Ukrainian. The largest concentration of Ukrainians could be found in the municipalities of Kula (3.00%) and Vrbas (2.12%).

Muslims by nationality

*Muslims by nationality – There are 3,634 declared Muslims by nationality in Vojvodina. They mostly speak the Serbian language. According to the 2002 census there were 19,503 Muslims by nationality in Serbia in total, of which 15,869 live in Central Serbia and 3,634 in Vojvodina. The largest concentration of Muslims by nationality could be found in the municipality of Bač (1.32%). The number of Muslims in the sense of followers of Islam is significantly higher.

Germans

*Germans – There are 3,154 Germans or Danube Swabians in Vojvodina. They are part of a group that came in a couple waves mostly in the 18th century. The older ones mostly speak a form of Swabian German, with all of the children now fluent in Serbian, and often knowing High German (for economic reasons). The German population of Vojvodina was more numerous in the past (about 500,000 before World War II). As a consequence of the World War II events in Yugoslavia, the Yugoslavian Partisan government took a bloody reprisals on ethnic citizens of German origin in Vojvodina: they had their citizenship revoked, their belongings were taken by force, and they were forced to share their houses with ethnice Serb refugees from other parts of Yugoslavia who were colonized in Vojvodina. Between 1944 and 1946, a concentration camp system was established for all Vojvodina citizens of German origin, in almost all towns where they lived. In those camps, ethnic Germans were used as slave labour, they were tortured, beaten, and left to die from preventative illnesses and starvation (it is believed that this was an idea of one of Josip Broz Tito's closest Communist Party allies, Mose Pijade). Many were raped by drunken Soviet Red Army soldiers and Serbian partisans. Most members of the German community were killed by Serbian Yugoslav Partisans in those concentration camps. Serbian Partisans handed over some of the ethnc Germans to Soviet Red Army, who then took them to Siberia and used them for work in mines as slave labour. Smaller numbers of ethnic Germans of Vojvodina were expelled to Germany or Austria. Before this war, the largest concentrations of Germans were in the municipalities of Odžaci (68.9%), Vrbas (61.1%), Apatin (60.3%). Even nowadays some Germans who fled Yugoslavia in the aftermath of WW2 have friendly contact with their former Serb, Hungarian, and other neighbours.

lovenes

*Slovenes – There are 2,005 Slovenes in Vojvodina. They mostly speak Slovene.

Albanians

*Albanians – There are 1,695 Albanians in Vojvodina. They mostly speak Albanian.

Bulgarians

*Bulgarians (mostly Banat Bulgarians) – There are 1,658 Bulgarians in Vojvodina. They mostly speak Bulgarian of the Banatian standard, somewhat different from that in Bulgaria itself.

Czechs

*Czechs – There are 1,648 Czechs in Vojvodina. They mostly speak Czech. The largest concentration of Czechs could be found in the municipality of Bela Crkva (3.99%). The only settlement in Vojvodina with Czech majority is Češko Selo in the Bela Crkva municipality.

Russians

*Russians – There are 940 Russians in Vojvodina. They mostly speak Russian.

Gorani

*Gorani – There are 606 Gorani in Vojvodina. Ethnic Gorani mostly live in Kosovo and they speak the Gorani and Serbian languages.

Bosniaks

*Bosniaks – There are 417 Bosniaks in Vojvodina. They mostly speak Bosnian.

Vlachs

*Vlachs – There are 101 Vlachs in Vojvodina. The Vlachs of Serbia as a whole mostly live in Central Serbia and they speak a dialect of Romanian.

Šokci

*Šokci (Shokci) – Šokci are small ethnic group, which live in western part of Vojvodina. According to the 1991 census, there were 1,866 Šokci in Vojvodina (from the total number of 1,922 Šokci in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). Šokci mostly speak the Serbian language. The Šokci population was much greater in the past (more than 20,000 in the 19th century).

Jews

*Jews – There were 206 ethnic Jews in Novi Sad city according to the 2002 census. The Jewish population of Vojvodina was quite large in the past (about 19,000 before the World War II), but most of these Jews were killed or deported during the Axis occupation in World War II. The language of Vojvodina Jews was Yiddish, German or Hungarian, with many families bilingual (or even trilingual).

Ashkali

*Ashkali (Ashkaliye, Aškalije) – There were 287 ethnic Ashkali in Novi Sad city according to the 2002 census. Ashkali previously were regarded as part of Roma nationality, but now they are a separate ethnic group. Ashkali mostly live in Kosovo and speak Albanian. They are descendants of Roma who are said to have come to the Balkans from Palestine (their name deriving from Ashkelon, a city in Israel).

Egyptians

*Egyptians (Kosovo Egyptians) – There were 201 ethnic Egyptians in Novi Sad city according to the 2002 census. Egyptians previously were regarded as part of the Roma nationality, but now they are a separate ethnic group. Egyptians mostly live in Kosovo and speak Albanian. They are either descendants of Roma who claim to have come to the Balkans from Egypt, or descendants of Egyptian soldiers who came to Balkans in the 4th century.

Greeks

*Greeks – There were 191 ethnic Greeks in Novi Sad city according to the 2002 census.

Poles

*Poles – There were 103 ethnic Poles in Novi Sad city according to the 2002 census.

Chinese

*Chinese – Officially there were only 27 Chinese in Novi Sad city according to the 2002 census, but these numbers are thought to greatly undercount the actual presence of this group. Thought the Chinese are recent immigrants to Vojvodina, there are many Chinese shops and restaurants in Novi Sad and other cities of the region.

ee also

*Vojvodina
*Demographic history of Vojvodina
*Serbs of Vojvodina
*Montenegrins of Vojvodina
*Hungarians in Vojvodina
*Székelys of Bukovina
*Slovaks in Vojvodina
*Banat Bulgarians
*Banat Swabians
*Danube Swabians
*Romanians in Vojvodina
*Roma people of Vojvodina