The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was an interwar country. Its first census, conducted in 1921, recorded a population of 11,984,911, while its second and final census, conducted in 1931, recorded 13,934,038 people. Both censuses classified ethnic groups by mother tongue; however, the 1931 census did not record the kingdom’s constituent nationalities separately, instead listing all speakers of "Serbo-Croato-Slovene" as "Yugoslavs".
Ethnic groups
+ Kingdom of Yugoslavia's ethnic structure, 1918Banac, Ivo. The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics. Cornell University Press, 1988. pp. 49–53, 58. Ethnic group Number Percent Serbs 4,665,851 38.8% Croats 2,856,551 23.8% Slovenes 1,024,761 8.5% Slavic Muslims 727,650 6.1% Macedonians or Bulgarians 585,558 4.9% Other Slavs 174,466 1.5% Germans 513,472 4.3% Hungarians 472,409 3.9% Albanians 441,740 3.7% Romanians and Cincari (Aromanians and Megleno-Romanians) 229,398 1.9% Turks 168,404 1.4% Jews 64,159 0.5% Italians 12,825 0.1% Others 80,079 0.7% Total 12,017,323 100% 1 Source: (The table represents a reconstruction of Yugoslavia's ethnic structure immediately after the establishment of the kingdom in 1918.)
+ Kingdom of Yugoslavia's ethnic structure, 1931 Ethnic group Number Serbs 5,963,000 Croats 3,221,000 Slovenes 1,133,000 Bosnian Muslims 729,000 Macedonians 642,000 Germans 498,000 Albanians 479,000 Hungarians 467,000 Turks 353,000 Czechs and Slovaks 153,000 Romanians 134,000 Jews 68,000 Others 174,000 Total 14,014,000 1 Source: (The table represents a reconstruction of Yugoslavia’s ethnic structure based on a document from the corpus of the Ministerial Council of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which provides a detailed ethnic breakdown contrary to the principle on which the 1931 census was conducted and to which reference was later made retroactively.)
+ Kingdom of Yugoslavia's ethnic structure, 1939 Ethnic group Number Percent Serbs 5,167,300 37.08% Croats 4,010,000 28.88% Bulgarians (including Macedonians) 1,165,100 8.32% Slovenes 1,101,500 7.90% Germans 498,600 3.58% Albanians 478,600 3.43% Hungarians 467,300 3.35% Montenegrins 284,100 1.75% Slavic Muslims 281,000 1.72% Romanians 134,300 0.96% Turks 132,200 0.95% Slovaks 71,500 Roma 64,900 Czechs 52,200 Russians 36,600 Ukrainians 30,900 Spanish Jews 27,600 Pomaks 18,600 Total 14,022,300 100% 1 Source: (The table represents a reconstruction of Yugoslavia’s ethnic structure according to the journal National Minorities (3-4/1939).)
Vital statistics (1919–1940)
Average populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1,000)Crude death rate (per 1,000)Natural change (per 1,000)Total fertility rate191911,706,957347,748258,63889,11029.722.17.6 4.83192011,881,764422,267250,090172,17735.521.014.54.79192112,059,178442,530252,104190,42636.720.915.84.75192212,239,245420,910254,478166,43234.420.813.64.70192312,421,997432,779252,543180,23634.820.314.54.66192412,607,480442,835254,527188,30835.120.214.94.62192512,795,732437,070239,429197,64134.218.715.44.57192612,986,796459,035244,761214,27435.318.816.54.53192713,180,709451,617276,294175,32334.321.013.34.49192813,377,523437,523272,606164,91732.720.412.34.44192913,577,272452,544286,249166,29533.321.112.24.40193013,780,006489,270261,497227,77335.519.016.54.36193113,982,000470,275276,840193,43533.619.813.84.31193214,174,000465,935272,180193,75532.919.213.74.27193314,369,000452,229243,717208,51231.517.014.54.22193414,566,000460,913248,882212,03131.617.114.64.18193514,767,000441,728248,978192,75029.916.913.14.14193614,970,000435,861240,879194,98229.116.113.04.09193715,172,000424,448242,337182,11128.016.012.04.05193815,384,000411,381240,303171,07826.715.611.14.01193915,596,000403,938233,196170,74225.915.010.93.96194015,811,000
Marriages and divorces (1919–1940)
Average populationMarriagesDivorcesCrude marriage rate (per 1000)Crude divorce rate (per 1000)Divorces per 1000 marriages191911,706,957225,60519.3192011,881,764185,9545,68715.70.530.6192112,059,178157,0556,72013.00.642.8192212,239,245131,7766,54810.80.549.7192312,421,997129,7966,49210.40.550.0192412,607,480114,8965,5089.10.447.9192512,795,732123,0055,4819.60.444.6192612,986,796124,2494,9409.60.439.8192713,180,709124,1045,2549.40.442.3192813,377,523121,3345,5809.10.446.0192913,577,272128,1206,0709.40.447.4193013,780,006138,3225,82610.00.442.1193113,982,000126,0726,3939.00.550.7193214,174,000111,0595,2317.80.447.1193314,369,000111,5035,5007.80.449.3193414,566,00099,7045,5206.80.455.4193514,767,000110,1295,5617.50.450.5193614,970,000109,5285,0227.30.345.9193715,172,000117,7176,5477.80.455.6193815,384,000121,6056,4667.90.453.2193915,596,000123,8177,1037.90.557.4194015,811,000
Languages The following data, grouped by first language, is from the 1921 population census: Serbo-Croatian: 8,911,509 (74.4%) Serbs, Macedonian Slavs and Montenegrins: 44.6% Croats: 23.5% Muslims of Yugoslavia: 6.3% Slovene: 1,019,997 (8.5%) German: 505,790 (4.2%) Hungarian: 467,658 (3.9%) Albanian: 439,657 (3.7%) Romanian: 231,068 (1.9%) Turkish: 150,322 (1.3%) Czech and Slovak: 115,532 (1.0%) Ruthenian: 25,615 (0.2%) Russian: 20,568 (0.2%) Polish: 14,764 (0.1%) Italian: 12,553 (0.1%) Others: 69,878 (0.6%)Group of Authors (1997). Istorijski atlas (1st ed.). Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva & Geokarta, Belgrade. p. 91. .
Based on language, the Yugoslavs (collectively Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and other South-Slavic groups in the kingdom) constituted 82.9% of the country's population.
Religious groups Christian: 10,571,569 (88.2%) Eastern Orthodox: 5,593,057 (46.7%) Roman Catholic: 4,708,657 (39.3%) Protestant: 229,517 (1.9%) Greek Catholic: 40,338 (0.3%) Sunni Muslim: 1,345,271 (11.2%) Jewish: 64,746 (0.5%) others: 1,944 (nil%) atheists: 1,381 (nil%)
Class and occupation Agriculture, forestry and fishing – 78.9% Industry and handicrafts – 9.9% Banking, trade and traffic – 4.4% Public service, free profession and military – 3.8% Other professions – 3.1%Group of Authors (1997). Istorijski atlas (1st ed.). Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva & Geokarta, Belgrade. p. 86. .
References