Ethnic groups in Vojvodina

This is article about ethnic groups in Vojvodina, province of Serbia.

There are 1,190,785 Serbs in Vojvodina or 68.4% of the population of the province.^[1] Serbs make up majority in 26 of 37 cities and municipalities in Vojvodina. Cities and municipalities with an ethnic Serb majority are: Pećinci (89.3%), Sremska Mitrovica (86.1%), Titel (85.6%), Inđija (85.5%), Opovo (84.7%), Ruma (84.6%), Žabalj (82.6%), Stara Pazova (82.6%), Odžaci (82.4%), Irig (79.5%), Sremski Karlovci (79.3%), Šid (79.3%), Pančevo (79.2%), Bačka Palanka (78.8%), Novi Sad (78.3%), Kovin (76.9%), Zrenjanin (76.6%), Kikinda (75.8%), Bela Crkva (75.1%), Vršac (72.1%), Temerin (69.8%), Beočin (69.4%), Sečanj (68.8%), Novi Bečej (68.4%), Srbobran (67.7%), Nova Crnja (67.2%), Sombor (63.7%), Žitište (62.7%), Apatin (62.6%), Kula (62.4%), Vrbas (62.1%), Alibunar (58.5%), Novi Kneževac (58%), and Plandište (58%). Serbs form relative majority of the population in Bač (45.6%), Bečej (42.3%), and Subotica (34.3%). Serbian is spoken by 76.4% of inhabitants.

There are 182,321 Hungarians in Vojvodina or 10.5% of the population and they are the second largest ethnic group in the region.^[2] Hungarians mostly live in northern Vojvodina (northern Bačka and northern Banat). They constitute an absolute majority in five municipalities: Kanjiža (83.1%), Senta (75.7%), Ada (72.7%), Bačka Topola (55.6%), and Mali Iđoš (51.8%). In Čoka, ethnically mixed municipality with no absolute majority held by any ethnic group, ethnic Hungarians constitute the largest share of the population, 44.8%. Hungarian is one of the official languages of Vojvodina, and is spoken by 9.7% of inhabitants.

There are 40,938 Roma in Vojvodina or 2.3% of the population.^[3] The largest concentration of Roma could be found in the municipalities of Nova Crnja (11.4%), Beočin (8.9%), and Novi Kneževac (8.6%).

There are 39,807 Slovaks in Vojvodina or 2.3% of population.^[4] Slovaks constitute an absolute majority in the municipality of Bački Petrovac (60.6%) and they also constitute the relative majority of the population in Kovačica municipality (41%). Slovak is one of six official languages of Vojvodina, spoken by 2.1% of the population.

There are 32,684 Croats in Vojvodina or 1.9% of the population.^[5] The largest concentration of Croats is found in the municipalities of Apatin (8.9%) and Subotica (7.4%). Most of Bunjevci and almost all of Šokci of Vojvodina declare themselves as Croats.^[6][7] Croatian is one of six official languages of Vojvodina, spoken by 0.5% of the population.

There are 19,595 Romanians in Vojvodina or 1.1% of the population.^[8] The largest concentrations of Romanians are found in the municipalities of Alibunar (23.3%) and Vršac (9.2%). They settled in Banat during great migrations of Balkan peoples caused by Ottoman conquest, and also during the Habsburg rule.^[9] Romanian is one of six official languages of Vojvodina, spoken by 1% of the population.

There are 12,438 Yugoslavs in Vojvodina or 0.7% of the population. They mostly speak Serbian.

There are 12,424 Montenegrins in Vojvodina or 0.7% of the population; this figures however do not include those who identify as Montenegrin on a regional basis yet proclaiming a Serb identity. Montenegrins settled in Vojvodina during the 20th century, mostly shortly after World War II. The largest concentration of Montenegrins could be found in the municipalities of central Bačka: Mali Iđoš (12.3%), Vrbas (11.6%), and Kula (5.6%). Settlements with significant share of Montenegrins include: Lovćenac in Mali Iđoš municipality (37.3%), Kruščić in Kula municipality, and Savino Selo in Vrbas municipality.

There are 11,207 Rusyns in Vojvodina or 0.6% of the population. The largest concentration of Rusyns could be found in the municipalities of Kula (10.1%), Vrbas (7.7%), Žabalj (4%), and Šid (2.9%). There is only one majority Rusyn settlement in Vojvodina, Ruski Krstur in Kula municipality (86%). The Rusyn, spoken mostly in Vojvodina, is one of six official languages in the province and is spoken by 0.5% of the population. It is classified as West Slavic, as it descends from Old Slovak and shares many similarities with Slovak; there is also a Rusyn language spoken in parts of Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine, but it is a different language descending from Old Ukrainian and thus classified as East Slavic.

There are 10,949 Bunjevci in Vojvodina or 0.6% of the population.^[10] The largest concentrations of Bunjevci are found in the cities of Subotica (7.3%) and Sombor (1.8%). Members of Bunjevci community are divided among themselves on the question of ethnic identity since many identify themselves as Croats, with many cases in which one sibling has declared as Bunjevac, while the other one has declared as Croat.^[11] In the past, they spoke a specific Ikavian-Shtokavian dialect of Serbo-Croatian language, while nowadays they mostly declare their language as Serbian.

There are 7,021 Macedonians in Vojvodina or 0.4% of the population. The largest concentrations of Macedonians are found in southern Banat, in the municipality of Plandište (7.7%) and the city of Pančevo (2.6%). Macedonians form significant part of populations (although far from majority) in three villages (Jabuka, Glogonj, and Kačarevo) in the administrative area of city of Pančevo as well as in the village of Dužine, in municipality of Plandište. They settled in Vojvodina during the 20th century, mostly after World War II.

There are 1,985 Germans (or Danube Swabians and Banat Swabians) in Vojvodina or just 0.1% of the populationa. The German population was far more numerous in the past (about 350,000 before World War II). More than 250,000 left in the aftermath of the World War II when the Yugoslav Communist government took a reprisals on ethnic Germans with their citizenship revoked and their belongings and houses nationalized and taken from them. Between 1944 and 1946, a prison camp system was established for Yugoslav citizens of German origin, usually in settlements where they lived. After prison camps were abolished, ethnic Germans of Yugoslavia regained their rights and citizenship and most of them emigrated to Germany or Austria in the following years because of economic reasons. Before the World War II, Germans were majority in the municipalities of Odžaci (68.9%), Vrbas (61.1%), and Apatin (60.3%).

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%). The only settlement with Czech majority is tiny village Češko Selo in the Bela Crkva municipality.

• Demographic history of Vojvodina