Demographic history of Montenegro

The demographic history of Montenegro can be shown through census results and official documents which mention demographic composition.

Medieval

Duklja, today's southern half of Montenegro, under Stefan Vojislav, was inhabited by Dukljans

Various documents listed that the inhabitants of Medieval Doclea or Zeta were Dukljans but also minor populations of Latins, Albanians and Vlachs. The language in usage was primarily the Old Slavonic, while in the early stages Latin also had importance and Greek to an extent among the high-class members of the society.

Between the 15th and 17th century, Montenegro had little history on paper. During these years, hundreds of families of Montenegrins moved to Rascia which Serbs left to sought refuge in Habsburg Monarchy.

1614

Mariano Bolizza of Kotor was a public servant of the Republic of Venice. The main objective of his 1614 report and description of the Sanjak of Shkodra was to provide information on the land routes which could best be utilized by local couriers conveying official correspondence from Venice to Constantinople and back, and to survey the military potential of the territory. He provided a very detailed overview of towns and villages in Montenegro and northern Albania in the early 17th century. The report concluded an ethnic Montenegrin majority, while an Albanian minority was present in the Shkodra region.[1]

18th century

The ethnic composition in the 18th century was clear among the Slavs;

In a letter to Justinian Bert in 1756, Montenegrin chieftains said: "We are of the Orthodox Christian faith and law of the Eastern Church, of the honorable and glorious Slav-Serb kin".
Jovan Stefanov Balevic, of the Bratonožić clan, who later became a major in the Russian army, wrote "A brief and objective description of the present state of Montenegro"[2] in St. Petersburg in 1757, where it said: "All inhabitants of Montenegro are ethnically Slav-Serbs and confessionally Greek-Orthodox . As they are incompetent in some skills, because of their lack of school, they are naturally capable, especially with weapons."; "The number of Montenegrin warriors who live free on the peaks of Montenegro, called by Turks disobedient, does not exceed 5000."; "There are no artisans and schools in Montenegro except at the Cetinje monastery, within the archbishop's residence, where priests learn reading and writing in the Slav-Serb language, which is financed by the archbishop."; "Montenegrins count among themselves neighbouring Slav-Serbs of different provenience: Kuci, Bratonozici, Donji and Gornji Vasojevici, Piperi, Rovcani, Moracani, Bjelopavlici, who are Serbian Orthodox but Ottoman citizens. They, also, count Roman Catholics: Hoti, Klimenti, Grudi, Tuzi, Skrivali, Huzi, Maltezi, Kastrati and others who outnumber Montenegrins."[2]
Metropolitan Sava called his people, the Montenegrins, by the "Serbian nation" (1766).[3]
In June 1789, Montenegrin Chieftains, wrote to Russian Empress Katarina II, in the name of the entire Serb Montenegrin community: "We Serbs Montenegrins hope that we shall not be left without help" and "If we could have organization and munition, we would liberate our glorious Serb lands entirely from the Barbarian yoke (Ottoman Empire), together with our armed Serb brothers who aim to attack this enemy from all sides."

19th century

According to the census conducted in 1863 and 1864, the Principality of Montenegro had a total of 196.230 inhabitants, 99.889 male and 96.339 female.[4]
Bernard Schwartz estimated in 1882 that the Princedom of Montenegro had 160,000 inhabitants. Although, a more usual estimate is that it was around 230,000 inhabitants.

Religious structure of Montenegro by settlements 1862
Religious structure of Montenegro by settlements 1880

1900

In 1900, according to international sources, the Principality of Montenegro had 311,564 inhabitants. By religion:

293,527 Orthodox Christians (94.21%)
12,493 Muslims (4.01%)
5,544 Roman Catholic Christians (1.78%)

By literacy:

77% illiterate
71,528 (23%) literate

The Princedom had around 5,000 Albanians and a colony of 800 Romani.

1905-1909

In 1905 there were 6,674 emigrants, mostly to the United States.

In 1906 there were 4,346 emigrants, mostly to the United States.

In 1907 it has been estimated that there were around 282,000 inhabitants in Montenegro this year.

1909

The 1909 official census was made based on religious affiliation of population of Principality of Montenegro.

Total: 317,856 inhabitants. By religion:

Eastern Orthodox Christians: 94.38%
others (mostly Muslims)

1913-1914

Code of Law 1914.

The Cetinje government stated in the Code of Law in 1914 that there are around 500,000 citizens of Montenegro. It was declared that the term Montenegrin people can only refer to all citizens of the Kingdom of Montenegro, since a Montenegrin ethnicity doesn't exist and Montenegrins were seen as ethnic Serbs.

1921

In 1918 Montenegro entered the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1921 it organised a census which recorded the mother tongue and religion. A category called Serbian or Croatian was to include all respondents who termed their mother tongue as Serbian. In the counties Andrijevica, Bar, Kolasin, Niksic, Podgorica and Cetinje, which are categorized in official statistics as Montenegro, there were:

Total: 199,227 inhabitants

Serbo-Croatian: 181,989 (91.35%)
Albanian: 16,838 (8.45%)

The counties Berane and Bijelo Polje, which are today in Montenegro, were considered counties of Old Serbia:

Berane, total 23,864 inhabitants, Serbs 23,561 or (98.73%)
Bijelo Polje, total 26,147 inhabitants, Serbs 26,136 (99.96%)

1931

The 1931 census was also taken by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia but was later processed in Communist Yugoslavia. Results within today's borders of Montenegro were:

Inhabitants of Montenegro

Eastern Orthodox			272,702 (75.74%)
Roman Catholics			26,070 (7.24%)
Islam			61,038 (16.95%)

Serbo-Croatian			339,955 (94.42%)
Albanian			18,098 (5.03%)
Total: 360,044 inhabitants

Linguistic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1931
Religious structure of Montenegro by settlements 1931

1948

In 1945, after the World War II, Communist Yugoslavia was formed, and Montenegro was proclaimed as one of its constituent republics. The 1948 and following censa were taken by the Republic of Montenegro.

Inhabitants of Montenegro, 1948 census

Montenegrins			342,009 (90.67%)
Albanians			19,425 (5.15%)
Croats			6,808 (1.8%)
Serbs			6,707 (1.78%)
Muslims			387 (0.1%)
Others			1860 (0.52%)
Total: 377,189 inhabitants. Group "Others" include Slovenes (484), Germans (375), Russians (277), Italians (162), Roma (162), Macedonians (133), Czechs (93) and Hungarians (62)

Ethnic structure of Montenegro by counties and cities 1948
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by counties and cities 1948

1953

Inhabitants of Montenegro, 1953 census

Montenegrins			363,686 (86.61%)
Albanians			23,460 (5.58%)
Serbs			13,864 (3.3%)
Croats			9,814 (2.33%)
Yugoslavs			6,424 (1.52%)
Others			2,625 (0.66%)
Total: 419,873 inhabitants

This census witnesses the forming of the Yugoslav nation.

Ethnic structure of Montenegro by counties and cities 1953
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by counties and cities 1953

1961

The 1961 census results:

Inhabitants of Montenegro, 1953 census

Montenegrins			383,988 (81.37%)
ethnic Muslims			30,665 (6.5%)
Albanians			25,803 (5.47%)
Serbs			14,087 (2.99%)
Croats			10,664 (2.26%)
Yugoslavs			1,559 (0.33%)
Total: 471,894 inhabitants

Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1961
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1961
Share of Montenegrins in Montenegro by settlements 1961
Share of Serbs in Montenegro by settlements 1961
Share of Muslims in Montenegro by settlements 1961
Share of Albanians in Montenegro by settlements 1961
Share of Croats in Montenegro by settlements 1961
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1961
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1961

In 1968 the Communist Yugoslav government introduced a new category, ethnic Muslims.

1971

Inhabitants of Montenegro, 1971 census

Montenegrins			355,632 (67.15%)
ethnic Muslims			70,236 (13.26%)
Serbs			39,512 (7.46%)
Albanians			35,671 (6.74%)
Yugoslavs			10,943 (2.07%)
Croats			9,192 (1.74%)
Total: 529,604 inhabitants

Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1971
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1971
Share of Montenegrins in Montenegro by settlements 1971
Share of Serbs in Montenegro by settlements 1971
Share of Muslims in Montenegro by settlements 1971
Share of Albanians in Montenegro by settlements 1971
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1971
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1971

1981

The 1981 census results:

Total: 584,310 inhabitants
:Montenegrins: 400,488 (68.54%)
:ethnic Muslims: 78,080 (13.36%)
:Albanians: 37,735 (6.46%)
:Yugoslavs: 31,243 (5.35%)
:Serbs: 19,407 (3.32%)
:Croats: 6,904 (1.81%)
:Roma: 1,471 (0.25%)
:Macedonian: 875 (0.15%)
:Slovenes: 564 (0.1%)
:Hungarians: 238 (0.04%)
:Germans: 107 (0.02%)
:Russians: 96 (0.02%)
:Italians: 45 (0.01%)
:Other: 816 (0.14%)
:No response: 301 (0.05%)
:Regional affiliation: 1,602 (0.27%)
:Unknown: 4,338 (0.74%)

Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1981
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1981
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1981
Share of Montenegrins in Montenegro by settlements 1981
Share of Serbs in Montenegro by settlements 1981
Share of Muslims in Montenegro by settlements 1981
Share of Albanians in Montenegro by settlements 1981
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1981
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1981

1991

The 1991 census results:

Total: 615,035 inhabitants

Ethnic structure

:Montenegrins: 380,467 (61.86%)
:ethnic Muslims: 89,614 (14.57%)
:Serbs: 57,453 (9.34%)
:Albanians: 40,415 (6.57%)
:Yugoslavs: 26,159 (4.25%)
:Croats: 6,244 (1.02%)
:Roma: 3,282 (0.53%)
:Macedonian: 1,072 (0.17%)
:Slovenes: 369 (0.06%)
:Hungarians: 205 (0.03%)
:Germans: 124 (0.02%)
:Russians: 118 (0.02%)
:Italians: 58 (0.01%)
:Other: 437 (0.07%)
:No response: 1,944 (0.32%)
:Regional affiliation: 998 (0.16%)
:Unknown: 6,076 (0.99%)

Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1991
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 1991
Share of Montenegrins in Montenegro by settlements 1991
Share of Serbs in Montenegro by settlements 1991
Share of Muslims in Montenegro by settlements 1991
Share of Albanians in Montenegro by settlements 1991
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1991
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1991
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1991

Linguistic structure

Serbian: 510,320
Montenegrin: 144,838
Albanian: 43,907 (7.15%)
40,008 Muslims declared their language to be Serbian, while most declared either Bosniak or Bosnian languages as their mother tongue

Religious structure

Eastern Orthodox - 425,133
- Montenegrins - 241,728
- Serbs - 196,333
Muslims - 118,016
- Albanians - 26,216
- Montenegrins - 82,492
- Yugoslavs - 1,856
Catholic - 27,153
- Albanians - 12,772
- Yugoslavs - 4,149
- Montenegrins - 3,081

Religious structure of Montenegro by settlements 1991
Religious structure of Montenegro by settlements 1991
Religious structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1991
Religious structure of Montenegro by municipalities 1991