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 Serbs.
Various documents listed that the inhabitants of Medieval Doclea or Zeta were Serbs, 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 from Montenegro 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 a religious Orthodox majority, while an Albanian minority was present in the Shkodra region.

18th century

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

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.
  • 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.

1900

In 1900, according to international sources, the Principality of Montenegro had 311,564 inhabitants. By religion:
By literacy:77% illiterate
  • 71,528 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:

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

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:

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.

1953

This census witnesses the forming of the Yugoslav nation.

1961

The 1961 census results:
In 1968 the Communist Yugoslav government introduced a new category, ethnic Muslims.

1981

The 1981 census results:
Total: 584,310 inhabitants

1991

The 1991 census results:
Total: 615,035 inhabitants

Ethnic structure

Linguistic structure

Religious structure

2003

The 2003 census was undertaken by authorities in Montenegro, which at this time, together with Serbia, constituted Serbia and Montenegro.
Total: 620,145

Ethnic structure

This census witnessed the forming of the Bosniak nation, but some people still thought of themselves ethnic Muslims, however. Also, there are very few people left who consider themselves Yugoslavs. But the biggest difference compared to the 1991 census is the dramatic increase in self-identification of many inhabitants as Serbs, which was not the case in Socialist Yugoslavia.

Linguistic structure

  • Serbian - 393.740
  • Montenegrin: 136.208
  • Albanian - 32.603
  • Bosniak - 19.906
  • Bosnian - 14.172
  • Croatian - 2.791
  • Roma - 2.602
  • undeclared: 13.902

2011

Total: 620,029

Ethnic structure

Linguistic structure

  • Serbian: 265,895
  • Montenegrin: 229,251
  • Bosnian: 33,077
  • Albanian: 32,671
  • Roma: 5,169
  • Bosniak: 3,662
  • Croatian: 2,791
  • Others: 47,513

Religious structure

2023

Total: 623,633

Ethnic structure