Demographic history of Bosnia and Herzegovina
[2] The oldest traces of mankind in Bosnia and Herzegovina were during the Paleolithic period near Doboj, Prnjavor and in the Valley of the River of Usora.
Throughout the Classical Age cultural and civilization layers of the Illyrians (Daorsi in eastern Herzegovina, Ardiaei, Sardeates, Japodi, Breuci, Autariatae, Dalmatae etc.
Due to a variety of factors (such as frequent boundary shifts and a relative isolation from the rest of Europe) there are no detailed statistics dealing with Bosnia's population during the Middle Ages.
The overwhelming majority of the population was rural and the social organization of Medieval Bosnia developed into what was called Zadruga.
At the same time, intense internal shifting of the population together with recurrent migrations and also immigrations changed the distribution of some ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Ottoman period.
In the Bosnia proper the population started to move out first from lower regions (Posavina and the river valleys) and then from highlands.
[5] Austria-Hungary would later take hold of the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Treaty of Berlin (1878), but under different circumstances, leading up to the Bosnian crisis of 1908.
The Muslim population was characteristic of return migrations as soon as the political and economic situation again became stable or the state borders were shifted.
For example, after the Siege of Vienna (1683–1699), territorial losses of the Ottoman Empire and the conquest of Lika and Krbava by the Austrian Imperial Army, mass movements of the Muslim population from those regions took place; the Muslim population headed towards Bihać, Cazin, and Bosanska Krupa where they created an enclave in the vast region of Bosnian Frontier.
More intensified immigrations of the Muslim population were noticed in 1690 when they moved from Hungary and Slavonia to the region around the mountain of Majevica.
Patriarchal structure was also evident in Eastern Orthodox and Catholic families but the statistics do not tend to show as high natality rates.
[7][8] Turkish historian Ömer Lütfü Barkan conducted a population census based on religion in the Sanjak of Bosnia between 1520 and 1530.
During the late 16th century and early 17th century, according to various Austria-Hungary and Ottoman sources, Bosnia Eyalet's entire nobility, the greater part of her citizenry and a part of the serfdom were Muslims, around 75% of the population, and the Apostolic visitor Peter Masarechi claimed in his 1624 report that the population of Bosnia (excluding Herzegovina) was 450,000 Muslims, 150,000 Catholics, and 75,000 Orthodox.
[citation needed] Both Muslim and Christian populations were considerably thinned in the 18th century due to frequent plagues.
Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch [1], in his "Blicke auf Bosnien, Rascien, die Herzegewina und Servien, bei der Fortsetzung des Russisch-Türkischen Krieges im Jahre 1829", gives us in one portion of his work the following estimates: Making a total of 743,800.
Johann Roskiewicz estimated the ethnic composition of the population in 1867 as: After the Vilayet law came to Bosnia the province was reorganized from an eyalet to a vilayet in 1868, following this the first even census was conducted in the area of the new Vilayet of Bosnia in 1871:[10] (Saray) (Izvornik) (Bihke) (Yenipazar) (Banaluka) (Hersek/Mostar) The Muslim population was mostly urban and comprised the majority in most of Bosnia and Herzegovina towns (Sarajevo, Tuzla, Banja Luka) as in western (Cazin and along the Una valley (Pounje)) and eastern (along the Drina valley) border areas of the country.
Franciscan Order played major role in maintaining Catholic population, in face of periodical emigration.
Due to the frequent migrations and wars, population in many areas of the country was mixed, containing people of different religions.
The immigration of the Roma, Vlachs and Cincars, and Circassians, in small numbers, coincided with the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
As soon as the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was formed, a number of earlier colonized families started to emigrate and return to their homelands, among them Germans, Czechs, Poles, Slovaks, Hungarians and Ruthenians.
The new planned resettlement plans hit most the Orthodox Serb population, as large masses were moved from passive regions of Herzegovina and Bosnia to Vojvodina, eastern Banat to be precise; while some left to Kosovo: inhabiting the region from Kačanik to Vučitrn, around Pristina, Lipljan, Peć, Istok, Đakovica, and in Drenica.
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes conducted a population census in the territorial entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 31 January 1921.
The European Union welcomed the results of the census and evaluated them as correct and in accordance to EU statistical standards.
