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.[1]
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.[2]
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 Bratonožićclan, who later became a major in the Russian army, wrote "A brief and objective description of the present state of Montenegro"[3] 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: Kuči, Bratonožići, Donji and Gornji Vasojevići, Piperi, Rovčani, Moračani, Bjelopavlići, who are Serbian Orthodox but Ottoman citizens. They, also, count Roman Catholics: Hoti, Kelmendi, Gruda, Tuzi, Skrivali, Huzi, Maltezi, Kastrati and others who outnumber Montenegrins."[3]
Metropolitan Sava called his people, the Montenegrins, by the "Serbian nation" (1766).[4]
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.[5]
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:
Religious structure of Montenegro by settlements 1913
Religious structure of Montenegro by settlements 1914
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.[citation needed] In the counties Andrijevica, Bar, Kolasin, Niksic, Podgorica and Cetinje, which are categorized in official statistics as Montenegro, there were:
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:
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.
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.
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 2003
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 2003
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by settlements 2003
Share of Montenegrins in Montenegro by settlements 2003
Share of Serbs in Montenegro by settlements 2003
Share of Muslims in Montenegro by settlements 2003
Share of Albanians in Montenegro by settlements 2003
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Ethnic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Linguistic structure
Serbian - 393.740 (63,49%)
Montenegrin: 136.208 (21,96%)
Albanian - 32.603 (5,26%)
Bosniak - 19.906 (3,21%)
Bosnian - 14.172 (2,29%)
Croatian - 2.791 (0,45%)
Roma - 2.602 (0,42%)
undeclared: 13.902 (2,24%)
Linguistic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Serbian language in Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Montenegrin language in Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Albanian language in Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Linguistic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Linguistic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Linguistic structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Religious structure
Religion structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Religious structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
Religious structure of Montenegro by municipalities 2003
