Demographic history of Vojvodina reflects its rich history and its former location at the border of the Ottoman and Habsburg empires and at the confluence of various peoples, making it a hotbed of invasion, colonization, and assimilation processes.

Historical preview The area of present-day Vojvodina had been inhabited since the Paleolithic period. Indo-European peoples moved into this area during three migration waves, which are dated in 4200 BC, 3300 BC, and 2800 BC, respectively. Before the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC, Indo-European peoples of Illyrian, Thracian, and Celtic origin inhabited the region.

During the Roman administration (which extended to Syrmia and Banat), the original inhabitants were heavily romanized, and would later be known as Vlachs. The region of Bačka, which did not belong to the Roman Empire, was populated by Iranian Sarmatians (Iazyges). After the end of Roman rule, the romanized inhabitants of the area escaped to the Balkan Mountains (where they mixed with South Slavs) as well as the Romanian Carpathians (later known as Romanians).Trajan Stojanović, Balkanska civilizacija, Beograd, 1995, page 103.

The territory of present-day Vojvodina was invaded by the Turanic nomads such as the Huns and Avars, as well as by the Germanic Goths, Gepids, and Lombards, but after their military defeat, they were quickly absorbed by the local (Slavic) population, without leaving much ethnic traces in the region's population.

During the early medieval migrations, Slavs (Severans, Abodrites, Braničevci, Timočani, and Serbs) settled in the territory of present-day Vojvodina in the 6th and 7th centuries.Dr. Drago Njegovan, Prisajedinjenje Vojvodine Srbiji, Novi Sad, 2004. Until the Hungarian conquest in the 10th century, the region had a dominant Slavic population.Dr Jovan Radonić, Srbija i Ugarska u srednjem veku, zbornik Vojvodina, knjiga I, PROMETEJ, Novi Sad, 2008, page 129.

The region was conquered by the Principality of Hungary in the 10th century, and Hungarians started to settle in the area. Hungarians mainly settled in the northern part of the region, where they lived mixed with Slavs. Until the late 12th and early 13th century, the region was mainly populated by Slavs, after which the proportions changed in favor of Hungarians. The larger number of Hungarians began settling in the region from the 13th century. The presence of Slavs in the area increased again in the 14th century with the arrival of Serbs from the south. During the Hungarian administration, much of the native local Slavs were Magyarization. Initially, the Hungarian language was spoken only by the knights and nobility of the Kingdom of Hungary, but it was later adopted also by the rest of the population. By the opinion of some researchers, the non-Magyarized descendants of these local Slavs are the present-day Šokci.Mile Nedeljković, Leksikon naroda sveta, Beograd, 2001.

Although Serbs were part of the aboriginal Slavic population in the territory of present-day Vojvodina, especially in Syrmia, an increasing number of Serbs began settling from the 14th century onwards. Because of the presence of the large Serb population, many historical records and maps from the 15th to the 18th century refer to the territory of present-day Vojvodina as Raška.

The Ottoman Empire took control of Vojvodina in the 16th century, and this caused a massive depopulation of the region. Most of the Hungarians and many local Slavs fled from the region and escaped to the north. The majority of those who left in the region were Serbs, mainly now engaging either in farming or in Ottoman military service.

Under Ottoman policy, many Serbs were newly settled in the region. During the Ottoman administration, Serbs comprised an absolute majority of region's population. Villages were populated exclusively by Serbs, while towns were populated by various ethnic and religious groups, including mainly Muslims, but also some Serbs, Cincars, Greeks, Jews, and Roma.Dr Dušan J. Popović, Srbi u Vojvodini, knjiga I, Novi Sad, 1990, page 212.

The Habsburg monarchy took control of Vojvodina by the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699) and Treaty of Passarowitz (1718). Following the establishment of the Habsburg administration, the Muslim population fled from the region. Some of these Muslim refugees were resettled in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the Habsburg administration, many new Serb settlers from the Ottoman Empire immigrated to the region. In 1687, the northern parts of the region were settled by ethnic Bunjevci.

Many other non-Serb settlers were also settled in the territory of present-day Vojvodina during the 18th and 19th century. These settlers were mainly Germans and Hungarians, but also included Rusyns, Slovaks, Romanians, and others. Because of this immigration, Serbs were no longer the absolute ethnic majority in the region, and Vojvodina became one of the most ethnically diverse regions of Europe. Nevertheless, Serbs remained the largest ethnic group in the region. According to the 1910 census, Serbs comprised 33.8% of the population in the territory of present-day Vojvodina. After Serbs, the most numerous ethnic groups were Hungarians (comprising 28.1%) and Germans (comprising 21.4%).

In 1918, Vojvodina became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and new Serb settlers came to the region. As a consequence of the World War II, most Vojvodina Germans (about 200,000) left Vojvodina together with the defeated German Army.Dragomir Jankov, Vojvodina – propadanje jednog regiona, Novi Sad, 2004, page 76. Those who remained in the region were confined to prison camps until 1948, when the camps were dissolved and Yugoslav citizenship was returned to the Germans.Nenad Stefanović, Jedan svet na Dunavu, Beograd, 2003, pages 174–176. Despite this, the remaining German population would leave Yugoslavia for economic reasons, moving to Germany, other European countries, or the United States. In their place, new South Slavic (Serb, Montenegrin, Macedonian, Croat, etc.) colonists would settle in the region. Serbs regained the absolute majority in Vojvodina with 51% of the population in 1948, rising to 68% nowadays.

Principality of Hungary/Kingdom of Hungary 9th century When Hungarians arrived to Central Europe (in 896), this region was populated exclusively by Slavs.Dr Jovan Radonić, Srbija i Ugarska u srednjem veku, zbornik Vojvodina, knjiga I, PROMETEJ, Novi Sad, 2008, page 129.

15th century In the 15th century, according to opinion of various researchers, South Slavic (Serbian and Croatian) population was dominant in Syrmia and southern Banat, while Hungarian population was dominant in Bačka and northern Banat. Some 194,000 inhabitants might have been living on the present-day territory of Vojvodina in 1495. That number was calculated is based on data of the tax inventory. Some 52 townships (civitas, oppidium) and 801 villages could be found in the area, in which Hungarians are likely to have constituted the majority of population. According to this view, the population of the area included 148,000 Hungarians (76.1% of population), 39,000 Serbs (20%), and 7,500 Croats (3,9%).Károly Kocsis (DSc, University of Miskolc) – Zsolt Bottlik (PhD, Budapest University) – Patrik Tátrai: Etnikai térfolyamatok a Kárpát-medence határon túli régióiban, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) – Földrajtudományi Kutatóintézet (Academy of Geographical Studies); Budapest; 2006.; , CD Atlas However, calculation of demographic data from this time period can be described as vague and of a rather varied nature, due to the lack of censuses that would collect comprehensive ethnic information. For the time of the Hungarian royal tax registration in 1495, conclusions for a probable absolute or relative „ethnic" majority of the population living in the area were drawn from the given sources through analysing direct references of „ethnic nature", in most cases by the linguistic analysis of taxpayers' names and that of geographical names.

Ottoman Empire During Ottoman administration (16th–18th century), the area of present-day Vojvodina had an absolute Serb majority.

Habsburg monarchy/Austria-Hungary 1690 In 1690, about 210,000 Serbs lived in territory of present-day Vojvodina (excluding Syrmia).Dr Dušan J. Popović, Srbi u Vojvodini, knjiga 2, Novi Sad, 1990, page 26. In this time, almost entire population of the region was composed of Serbs, also including some Šokci.Dr Dušan J. Popović, Srbi u Vojvodini, knjiga 2, Novi Sad, 1990, page 27.

1715 According to the Austrian census in Bačka from 1715, Serbs, Bunjevci, and Šokci comprised 97.6% of population.

1718–1720 After the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, the first Habsburg census in Banat recorded about 20,000 inhabitants, mostly Serbs.Milan Tutorov, Banatska rapsodija, Novi Sad, 2001, page 261. The 1720 census in Bačka recorded 72% Serbs and 22% Bunjevci and Šokci.Jovan Pejin, Velikomađarski kapric, Zrenjanin, 2007, page 28.

1787 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 281,690 59.2% Germans 58,866 12.4% Hungarians 50,316 10.6% Croats 38,161 8.0% Romanians 27,436 5.8% Slovaks 9,704 2.0% Rusyns 3,836 0.8% Total 476,018

1828 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 442,923 51.1% Germans 142,653 16.4% Hungarians 130,918 15.1% Croats 67,692 7.8% Romanians 46,645 5.4% Slovaks 19,464 2.2% Rusyns 6,068 0.7% Total 864,281

1840 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 448,341 49.1% Germans 154,047 16.9% Hungarians 145,930 16.0% Croats 66,362 7.3% Romanians 55,984 6.1% Slovaks 22,924 2.5% Rusyns 7,373 0.8% Total 912,754

1857 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 417,838 40.5% Germans 217,510 21.1% Hungarians 202,188 19.6% Romanians 65,387 6.3% Croats 60,690 5.9% Slovaks 35,328 3.4% Rusyns 8,452 0.8% Total 1,030,545

1880 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 416,116 35.5% Germans 285,920 24.4% Hungarians 265,287 22.6% Croats 72,486 6.2% Romanians 69,668 5.9% Slovaks 43,318 3.7% Rusyns 9,299 0.8% Others 10,635 0.9% Total 1,172,729

1890 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 457,873 34.4% Hungarians 324,430 24.4% Germans 321,563 24.2% Croats 80,404 6.0% Romanians 73,492 5.5% Slovaks 49,834 3.7% Rusyns 11,022 0.8% Others 12,525 1.0% Total 1,331,143

1900 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 483,176 33.7% Hungarians 378,634 26.4% Germans 336,430 23.5% Croats 80,901 5.6% Romanians 74,718 5.2% Slovaks 53,832 3.8% Rusyns 12,663 0.9% Others 12,394 0.9% Total 1,432,748

1910 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 510,186 33.8% Hungarians 424,555 28.1% Germans 323,779 21.4% Romanians 75,223 5.0% Slovaks 56,689 3.7% Croats 34,089 2.3% Rusyns 13,479 0.9% Others 72,804 4.8% Total 1,512,983

Note: linguistic data from this census might not correspond with ethnic structure in some settlements (Novi Sad, Subotica, Zrenjanin, etc.), due to the fact that Hungarian language was spoken by several ethnicities (Hungarians, Jews, Bunjevci, etc.).

Yugoslavia/Serbia 1921 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 526,134 34.7% Hungarians 370,040 24.4% Germans 333,272 22.0% Croats 122,684 8.1% Romanians 65,197 4.3% Slovaks 58,273 3.8% Rusyns 13,664 0.9% Others 25,182 1.7% Total 1,528,238

1931 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 528,000 33% Hungarians 413,000 26% Germans 343,000 21% Croats 120,000 7% Romanians 78,000 5% Slovaks 67,000 4% Rusyns 21,000 1% Jews 21,000 1% Others 37,000 2% Total 1,624,158

1941 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 577,067 35.3% Hungarians 465,920 28.5% Germans 318,259 19.4% Croats 105,810 6.5% Others 169,311 10.3% Total 1,636,367 Note: 1941 census data for Bačka was combined with 1931 census data for Banat and Syrmia.

1948 Ethnicity Population Share Serbs 841,246 50.6% Hungarians 428,932 25.8% Croats 134,232 8.1% Slovaks 72,032 4.3% Romanians 59,263 3.6% Germans 31,821 1.9% Montenegrins 30,589 1.9% Rusyns, Ukrainians 22,083 1.3% Others 42,714 2.5% Total 1,663,212

1953