RELEASE OF CIA/BI GM 65-4, NATIONAL MINORITIES IN EASTERN EUROPE, JULY 1965, FOUO, TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS

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• Publication Date: August 27, 1965
• Content Type: MF

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CONFIDENTIAL
27 August 5
MEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, Dissemination Control Branch, DD/OR
FROM Acting Chief, Publications Staff, ORR
SUBJECT : Release of CIA/BI am 65-4, fttional Minorittee in.
astern Mime) Jay 196,,, F000, to Foreign Governments
1. It is requested that the attached copies of subject report be
forwarded as follows:
#Te - IT
ITO, 79
480 - 87
25X1C
2. All ORR responsibilities as defined in the DDI memorandum
of 13 August 1952, "Procedures for Dissemination of Finished Intelligence
to Foreign Governments," as applicable to this report, have been
fulfilled.
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Copy No 52
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
CIA/B1 GM 65-4
July 1965
NATIONAL MINORITIES
IN EASTERN EUROPE
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF BASIC INTELLIGENCE
0
cp,s
Approved For For Release 2000/05/11 : CIA-RDP79-01006A000100400001-2
5157
POLAND
The size of the minority population of Poland is not
accurately known but it is only a fraction of that re-
corded before the war. Poland may now have a higher
degree of ethnic homogeneity than any other country
under discussion. According to current reports the mi-
nority population is between L5 and 5.5 percent of the
total population of Poland, depending on the source of
information and the criteria used in defining minorities
by nationality. In absolute figures this would be be-
tween 0.5 million and 1.7 million people, most of whom
live in the German areas placed under Polish admin-
istration after World War II. In contrast, the prewar
minority population numbered approximately 10 mil-
lion, or about 32 percent of the total population.
The latest (1981-62) estimates from Polish sources
indicate a total minority population of only about 450,000.
Eleven distinct minority groups are included, but only
two-Ukrainians and Belorussians-are credited with
more than 100,000 members. With the exception of the
figure for the German minority, these estimates are prob-
ably fairly accurate.
Germans: The 1961-62 Polish estimate of only 3,000
for the German minority is undoubtedly a gross under-
statement of its true size. Conversely, German esti-
mates of as much as 1.2 million are doubtless greatly
exaggerated. This discrepancy between Polish and Ger-
man estimates reflects fundamental differences in the
criteria used in the identification of Germans and Poles,
particularly as this relates to people of mixed blood.
The transfer of the German lands east of the Oder-
Neisse to Poland after World War II resulted in the
mass expulsion of the resident German population and
its replacement mainly by Polish settlers from other
areas. At the time of the Polish occupation of the
Oder-Neisse territories, however, the Polish authorities
reclassified some 1.3 million inhabitants as Autochthonous
Poles who were thereby exempt from being transferred
to Germany. This group consists mainly of bilingual
people of Polish-German ancestry, although it probably
also includes a number of Germans proper who at the
time assumed the identity of Autochthonous Poles, or
Autoehthons, in order to avoid expulsion. In data from
German sources these people still are regarded as Ger-
mans. By far the largest mimber of people, more than
80 percent, that were enumerated by the Poles as
Autochthons lived in Silesia, and most of the others
lived around Gdansk (Danzig) and in Olsztyn Province.
Some 300,000 or more Germans and/or Autochthons
are believed to have left Poland since about 1955, mostly
in a fairly regular flow of repatriates from Poland to
East Germany and even more to West Germany. The
number of Germans and persons of mixed Polish-German
ancestry in Poland now is probably about 1 million.
Ukrainians and Belorussians: The 180,000 Ukrainians
in Poland form, by Polish estimates, the largest minority
now resident in the country. Before the war most of the
Ukrainians within the present Polish boundaries lived
in Fizeszenv Province, but in 1947 many were forcibly
resettled in other parts of Poland. Today, Ukrainians
live in 11 provinces but are concentrated chiefly in those
areas gained from Germany after World War II.
Olsztyn and Koszalin Provinces have the largest num-
ber. In these two provinces the Ukrainians account
for 5 to 7 percent of the population, and in some dis-
tricts the proportion increases to about 25 percent. The
Ukrainian minority still in Rceszow Province accounts
for only 1 or 2 percent of the population. In contrast
to the widely distributed Ukrainians, a few Belorussians
are in Olsztyn Province and the rest of the 165,000 form
a compact group in Bialystok Province.
Other Minorities: The Jews, who number only a small
fraction of their prewar population, are settled in cities
throughout the country. More than one-third are con-
centrated in the provinces of Wroclaw and Katowice.
The smaller minority groups are located chiefly along
the margins of the country: Shioaks in southern Krak6w
Province, Lithuanians in northeastern Bialystok Province,
and Great Russians in Bialystok and Olsztyn Provinces.
The Gypsies, most of whom still do not have fixed homes,
are mainly in the southern provinces. Most of the
Greeks and Macedonians are in the Oder-Neisse lands,
and the small Czech minority is settled mainly in two
small areas along the border with Czechoslovakia. The
migration of Germans to Germany has been counter-
balanced by the repatriation of Poles from the USSR,
reportedly some 300,000 in the period 1957-59. Many
of these "repatriates," however, were in fact non-Polish
Jews who in turn left Poland for Israel. A new na-
tionality agreement between Poland and the USSR was
concluded on 31 March 1965, and this could lead even-
tually to the repatriation of another 1.9 million people
claiming Polish nationality.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
The Czechoslovak Nationalities
The nationality problem of Czechoslovakia has special
aspects because the country is a binational state of
Czechs and Slovaks. Before World War II these two
groups accounted for only a little more than 60 percent
of the total population, but today they comprise more
than 90 percent. The ratio between the Czechs and
Slovaks also has altered over the past several decades.
The Czechs are the dominant group numerically and
economically, but the more prolific Slovaks are increas-
ing at a more rapid rate. In 1921 the Slovaks ac-
counted for less than 23 percent of the combined Czech-
Slovak population, whereas by 1961 the proportion had
increased to nearly 30 percent. The relatively younger
Slovak group is expected to continue to gain at the ex-
pense of the Czech group, and to account for as much
as 35 percent of the combined Czech-Slovak population
by the end of the century.
Both Czech and Slovak populations are concentrated
largely within the limits of their respective territories.
The Czechs, in particular, have continued to live in
the llialitriC CzedLiguyinces_of /Iona and MgraViai_
only 0.5 percent of the Czech population lived in the
Slovak lands at the time of the 1961 census. The
Slovaks tend lobe somewhat more widely dispersed. ln
1961 nearly 276,000 Slovaks, over 7 percent of the entire
Slovak population, lived in the Czech lands, mainly in
the border territories that formerly were occupied by
Sudeten Germans but also in central Bohemia and north-
eastern Moravia.
Slovakia has a higher proportion of minority peoples
than have the Czech lands. The 1961 census lists a
minority population of 568,109 in Slovakia, nearly 14
percent of the entire population, and this figure does
not include the large Gypsy population. The com-
parative proportion of minorities in the Czech lands is
only about 3 percent.
National Minorities
When Czechoslovakia was established after World
War like ethnic minority population in the new country
totaled more than 5 million, or fully one-third of the
entire population. The Germans and Hungarians com-
prised the largest of the national minority groups and,
along with the much smaller Polish group, provided the
basis for foreign claims on Czechoslovak territory in
the late 1930's. Since World War II, the situation has
changed substantially as the result of transfers of popu-
lation and territory. Nearly all of the prewar minority
groups have decreased in size, and most of them prob-
ably will continue to do so.
Hungarians: The Hungarians now comprise the largest
minority in Czechoslovakia, There is some doubt as to
its actual size, because postwar Czech reporting has
been inconsistent and has tended to minimize the num-
ber of Hungarians. The 1981 census figure of 534,000.
which is substantially higher than earlier postwar Czech
figures, probably is the most accurate count from a
Czech source, but even this total may be a considerable
understatement. After the war a few Hungarians were
resettled in former German areas in Bohemia and
Moravia, but most of the Hungarian minority is still
located in Slovakia, where it comprises over 12 percent
of the population. The main areas of Hungarian settle-
ment are along the border with Hungary, where many
villages and a few entire districts are still predominantly
Hungarian despite attempts to introduce Slovak settlers.
Germans: The Germans now constitute a relatively
unimportant element in the population of the country.
agningrad
HUNGARY
DANU8
v.
Ann of Mind PopolatIon
in Transylvania end Molvoito
am moorl, vm vv. sr nr
EM each with over 5x xi population
IM mhunitles, sash over stat pep.n,
mineriii, each mar ss impulalion
As in prewar times they are located chiefly in the border
are. of Bohemia and Moravia. The greatest propor-
tion, over 70 percent, of the German population is con-
cenhated in two districts immediately adjacent to the
Bohemian borders with East Germany and West Ger-
many, but Germans in all areas are far outnumbered by
Czech inhabitants.
The census of 1961 recorded only 140,000 Germans,
indicating a sizable drop from the 165,000 given in the
1950 census. This continuing attrition arises from a
small-scale but steady emigration to West Germany, the
assimilation of Germans into the dominant Czech popu-
lation, and finally, the comparatively older age level of
the German population and correspondingly low rate of
natural increase. At present over 25 percent of the
ethnic Germans are more than 60 years old, as com-
pared with some 14 percent of the total population in
that age group, The future of the German minority
seems to be one of continued decline that may lead
eventually to its virtual elimination as a significant ele-
ment in the population.
Poles: The present Polish minority is only two-thirds
the Ate of the prewar group, and it probably wilt con-
tinue to decline m the coming decades. 'the 1951-
census recorded a decrease of nearly 7 percent from the
number recorded in 1950. This loss probably is due
partly to the assimilation of Poles into the dominant
Czech population but may have stemmed even more
from the comparatively older age level of the Polish
minority. In 1961 over 16 percent of the Poles were
more than 60 years old, a percentage second only to
that of the German population. More than 87 percent
of the Poles are concentrated in the industrialized north
near Cesky Main (historic Teschen Province), an area
long held in dispute between Poland and Czechoslo-
vakia.
Ukrainians: The transfer of the province of Ruthenia
to the USSR after World War II eliminated nearly 90
percent of the large prewar Ukrainian (Ruthenian )
population in Czechoslovakia. The remaining Ukrainian
group, concentrated mainly in eastern Slovakia, ap-
parently has continued to decrease during the postwar
period. The 1961 census lists 55,000 Ukrainians and
Great Russians, a drop of nearly 20 percent from the
1950 total.
Gypsies: The Czechoslovak government does not rec-
ognize the Gypsies . a distinct nationality, and they
are not included in postwar census material. Estimates
of the size of the Gypsy minority, however, have ap-
peared in various Czech publications. They range from
120,000 to about 200,000, but the most commonly used
figure seems to be 150,000. On the basis of various
postwar estimates the greatest proportion (80 percent)
of the Gypsy population appears to be concentrated in
Slovakia, chiefly in the central and eastern sections.
Some attempt was made after the war to resettle Gypsies
in the depopulated border areas of Bohemia, and it is
likely that many, if not most, of the Gypsies now living
in the Czech lands are in these sections. As the Gypsies
generally have succeeded in resisting assimilation into
the Czechoslovak society and economy, they form a
relatively troublesome, though apolitical, minority.
Jews: Although not identified in either the 1950 or
1961 census returns, an estimated 20,000 Jews remain
in Czechoslovakia. Most of this small group has been
assimilated into the dominant Czechoslovak society and
a continuation of this process together with some small-
scale emigration to Israel will undoubtedly make it in-
creasingly difficult to identify a distinct Jewish group.
HUNGARY
Postwar data on the size and distribution of national
minorities in Hungary are incomplete and often mis-
leading or contradictory. Most data, moreover, are con-
cerned chiefly with the absolute size of minority groups
and are entirely inadequate for showing distribution in
any great detail. Before World War II, Hungary had
the smallest proportion of minority population of any
country in Eastern Europe, with the possible exception
of Albania. The 1949 and 1960 censuses show an even
greater ethnic homogeneity than in prewar times, with
Hungarians accounting for over 98 percent of the popu-
lation. This reflects the actual physical elimination of
most of the Jews and the emigration of more than one-
half of the Germans, but it also reflects in part the
weaknesses of postwar census data. The 1949 census
lists only 129,000 people reporting a non-Hungarian
mother tongue, a figure that increased to about 175,000
by the time the 1960 census was taken. It is generally
believed that the actual minority population in both
instances was much larger. Estimates based not ex-
clusively on mother tongue range from a low of about
450,000 to a high of nearly 750,000, or 4 to 8 percent
of the total population. On the basis of all the available
evidence, Hungary's minority population today probably
runs to at least 600,000 and may actually be 700,000,
or between 6 and 7 percent of the total population.
The proportion of non-Hungarians varies greatly from
one section of the country to another, although in none
of the present counties would it be likely to exceed 20
percent. In the main, only the central and western parts
of Hungary have significant (over 2 percent) minority
populations; only one county in eastern Hungary has
an appreciable number of non-Hungarians. An esti-
mated 350 towns and villages have significantly large
minority groups (20 percent or more); and only 79 of
these settlements actually have a non-Hungarian ma(ority.
Germans: The Germans still constitute the largest na-
tional minority in Hungary. Estimates of the number
of Germans range from 200,000 to about 220,000 and far
exceed the number reported in either of the two postwar
censuses-22,000 in 1949 and 51,000 in 1960. Although
their precise distribution is not known, the Germans are
found now, as in prewar times, mainly in Transd.ubia,
particularly in the south. Other smaller concentrations
are west of Budapest, in the north, and along the Aus-
trian border.
Gypsies: The Gypsy population of nearly 200,000 that
has been reported in recent years contrasts sharply with
the small numbers-20,000 to 25,000-listed in prewar
and postwar censuses according to mother tongue. The
Gypsies are much more widely distributed than any
of the other minorities. They are scattered throughout
the country in some 2,100 settlements.
Other Minorities: The Slovaks, estimated to number
between 60,000 and 110,000, are located chiefly in south-
eastern Hungary, though smaller settlements are found
scattered across northern Hungary as well. Although
estimates of the number of Yugoslays vary from 45,000
BOHEMIA.
CZECH,
OF
GERMANY
Distribution of Slovaks
in the Cnch Leads
LANDS
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ANUSIA
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NATIONAL MINORITIES IN
EASTERN EUROPE
CZECHOSLOVAKIA, YUGOSLAVIA RUMANIA, and BULGARIA
ro7:C laatti:hl,"L'I'reetVerdePr.:=27ratetteins.
m90
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POLAND, HUNGARY, and ALBANIA
= Approximate areas of minority groups for which
no postwar census data are available.
nunarAnar Nruns of significant minority group far which no
postwar census data ore available. M Poland the
Gallons include autochMons.
NI
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UR.
-..-m. Boundary at province (Poland) or notional republic (Yugoslavia)
5,0 1,50 Mies
50 100
ALB NIA
SEA OF
Thessalonliii
E CE
to 105,000, the actual number probably runs to slightly
more than 100,000. The Croats account for nearly 90
percent of this Yugoslav total, the remainder consisting
of nearly equal numbers of Serbs and Slovenes. Most
Yugoslays are in the southern counties, chiefly in Trans-
danubia, but the majority of the Serbs are east of the
Danube. A small group of Rumanians, estimated vari-
ously to number between 15,000 and 25,000, also live
in eastern Hungary.
RUM
The present minority population of Rumania is only
about half that of the prewar period, but it is still the
largest of any country in Eastern Europe. The drastic
reduction in the size of the minority population came
about during the World War II period when death,
territorial losses (Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and
Southern Dobruja), and transfers of population com-
bined to greatly reduce the size of nearly every one of
the prewar minorities. In the 1930 census 17 separate
national minorities, totaling over 5 million people, were
recognized; 9 of them had more than 100,000 members
each. By the time of the latest census (1958), 15
minorities, totaling under 2.5 million people, were iden-
tified; and only 4 of them had more than 100,000 mem-
bers. Of the major prewar minorities, only the Hun-
garians were able to maintain their absolute and rela-
tive strength into the postwar period.
By far the largest part of Rumania's postwar minority
population (87.5 percent in 1956) is concentrated in
Transylvania. Within this region the various minorities
account for nearly one-third of the population, and in
some sections non-Rumanians may be in the majority.
In the historic provinces of Moldavia and Walachia,
however, minorities comprise only 2 or 3 percent of the
population, and over wide areas non-Rumanians may be
entirely absent. Somewhat larger proportions, 10 to 13
percent, are found in Dobruja and Southern Bukovina.
Hungarians: The Hungarian minority in Rumania num-
bers over 1.5 million and is by far the largest single
minority group in Eastern Europe. Nearly all (98
percent) of the Hungarians are settled in Transylvania,
where they account for one-quarter of the population,
a proportion that has remained essentially the same over
a period of several decades.
The Hungarians in Transylvania are concentrated in
two areas of settlement that are separated by a zone in
The Jewish community now is estimated to be 80,000.
less than one-quarter of its prewar size. More than 65
percent of the Jews are concentrated in Budapest.
Groups in various provincial cities, chiefly Miskolc and
Debrecen, are much smaller. The Jewish population is
an aging one; and its net losses through deaths over
births, combined with tbme resulting from emigration
and assimilation, could virtually deplete the present
Jewish population within the next decade.
ANIA
which Hungarians are more widely dispersed among
the dominant Rumanian population. About 675,000
Szelders live in a part of eastern Transylvania that is
more than 100 miles from the Hungarian border. They
form the largest and most distinctive Hungarice group
in Rumania as well as the I.gest bloc of Hungarians
outside Hungary. In 1956, most of them were in the
Autonomous Magyar Region, where they comprised over
75 percent of the population, but since then the region
boundaries have been gerrymandered so as to reduce
the proportion to only about 62 percent.
The second area of major Hungarian concentration is
in the western part of Transylvania along the border
with Hungary. About 600,090 Hungarians live in this
narrow border zone. The relative strength of the Hun-
garian population, however, is much less in the western
border area than in the more compactly settled Szelder
area. In only two western districts do the Hungarians
constitute a majority.
Most of the remaining Hungarians in Transylvania
are found in and around Cluj. The nearly 250,000
Hungarians in this area constitute a tenuous link be-
tween the Szekler group and the Hungarians of the
western border area. About 37,000 Hungarians live
in the mining and heavily industrialized districts of
Hunedoara Region.
Germans: The Germans still comprise the second larg-
est national minority in Rumania, and like the Hun-
garians, they are concentrated almost entirely in Tran-
sylvania, where they comprise about 8 percent of the
population. Also like the Hungarians, the Germans are
divided into two major groups, with distinctive char-
acteristics.
The Saxon group has been established in the historic
province of Transylvania since the 12th century. As
compared with nearly 250,000 Saxons in prewar times,
AEGEAN
24
the present group numbers about 180,000, some 80 per-
cent of which lives in the southern part of Transylvania.
A smaller group is in northern Transylvania.
The Swabians of the Banat area form the second
major German group. They now number about 175,000,
or about the same as the Saxons, although in prewar
times the Swabian group was larger than the Saxon
group. Most of the Swabians live in a comparatively
narrow border ship adjoining the Yugoslav Vojvodina
and southeastern Hungary.
It is possible that the Rumanian Government even-
tually may permit large-scale emigration of the German
community to West Germany. Such emigration could
produce, according to West German estimates, a de-
crease of 25 percent or more in the size of the German
minority. The Rumanians actually have allowed small-
scale emigration throughout much of the postwar period,
but this has not been enough to affect significantly the
overall size of the German minority.
Jews: The actual number of Jews in Rumania today
is uncertain, although it is much smaller than it was
before the war. The 1956 census listed according to
nationality a total Jewish population of only 146,000, but
this figure is generally regarded as a serious under-
statement of the true size of the Jewish community.
Estimates from Jewish and other sources for the same
period range between 200,000 and 250,000. Estimates
of the present Jewish population are further compli-
cated by the more or less steady, and frequently heavy,
Jewish emigration in recent years. As many as 90,000
to 100,000 Jews may have emigrated since mid-1958.
An estimate for early 1964 gave a total of from 120,000
to 150,000 Jews remaining in Rumania, which on the
basis of earlier estimates would seem to be approxi-
mately correct.
BULG
Bulgaria is the only country in Eastern Europe in
which the relative size of the minority population (about
13 or 14 percent of the total) has remained substantially
unchanged since the prewar period. In absolute num-
bers the minority population actually has increased,
from little more than 800,000 at the time of the 1934
census to over 1.1 million at the time of the 1956 census.
A large part of this increase, however, is more apparent
than real inasmuch as the 1956 census includes nearly
190,000 Macedonices, a group not even identified in the
prewar census.
The Jewish population in Rumania is located mainly
in urban areas (95 percent) and is unevenly distributed.
The largest single concentration-44,000, or nearly one-
third of the Jews in the country-is in the city of
Bucharest. Other important areas of Jewish settlement
are in northern Moldavia, particularly in Iasi, and in
central and western Transylvania.
Gypsies: The Gypsy population, numbering more than
100,000, is considerably smaller than it was in the pre-
war period. Two-thirds of the Gypsies are concentrated
in Transylvania, and a relatively large number are in
the present Banat Region. The rest of the Gypsies are
widely distributed throughout Rumania.
Other Minorities: For the most part the other minority
groups in Rumania are essentially small remnants of
much larger prewar populations that lived mainly in the
territories that were lost by Rumania to the USSR and
Bulgaria at the end of the war. Most of these small
minority groups are found in the polyglot Dobruja
( Turk.s, Tatars, Great Russians, and a few Ukrainians)
and Banat ( Yugas/ces, Slovaks, Czechs, and Bulgarians)
Regions. Most of the Ukrainians are found along the
USSR border in northern Transylvania and Southern.
Bukovina. The Greek minority is located chiefly in
urban centers: Bucharest; the port cities of Braila,
Galati, and Constanta; and the Transylvanian cities of
Hunedoara and Oradea. The Poles also are -widely
distributed, but nearly half of them are in northern
Moldavia. The Armenians, who comprise the smallest
of the identifiable minority groups in Rumania, have
been permitted to emigrate to Lebanon on a more or
less regular basis since about 1963. If this movement is
allowed to continue it could lead to the virtual elimina-
tion of the Armenian minority.
ARIA
Although the 1956 census identifies 16 separate mi-
nority groups, only 3 of them-the Turkish, Gypsy, and
Macedonian-account for over 94 percent of the total
minority population. The Pomak group, which is dif-
ferentiated on the basis of religion rather than na-
tionality and is not officially recognized, also constitutes
a fairly large minority. The other national minorities
are extremely small, most of them numbering less than
10,000 and nearly all of them having decreased in size
since the war.
Turks: As in the past, the Turks form by far the largest
national minority in Bulgaria. Although the actual num-
ber of Turks exceeds that given in the 1934 census, the
relative size of the group has decreased slightly as a
result of the large-scale transfers of Turks to Turkey
during the last half of the 1930's and again in the
postwar period, chiefly between 1948 and 1951. Prob-
ably some 250,000 Turks were repatriated, but this loss
to Bulgaria was offset in part by an estimated 65,000
Turks who became part of the Tmkish minority when
Southern Dobruja was transferred from Rumania to
Bulgaria in 1940.
Although the 856,000 Turks in Bulgaria may be found
in nearly all parts of the country, about 50 percent of
them are settled in the northeast, where they comprise
about 20 percent of the population; and about 30 percent
live in the eastern part of the Rhodope Mountains in
the south, where in some places they comprise about 75
percent of the population.
Gypsies: The nearly 200,000 Gypsies comprise the sec-
ond largest minority and, in contrast to the other large
minoriti., are distributed over nearly all parts of the
country. Most Gypsies live in distinct sections on the
fringes of major towns and cities as well as in numerous
coral villages. Particularly large numbers of Gypsies
are found in Sofia, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Sliven, Stara
Zagora, and Khaskovo.
Macedonians: The Macedonians are the most highly
localized of the important minority groups identified in
the census of 1956, at whisk time fully 90 percent were
located in the extreme southwestern part of the country,
mainly in the valley of the Strums. River and the Pirin
Mountains. They comprise nearly two-thirds of the
population of the area.
From the Bulgarian point of view the Macedonians
form a geographical rather than an ethnical minority in
that they speak a language that is basically a dialect of
Bulgarian. In prewar times the Bulgarian census did
not recognize the existence of a Macedonian minority,
counting these people as Bulgarians. The present Bul-
garian position is in opposition to the position held in
Yugoslavia, where the Macedonians are recognized as
a separate national group speaking a distinctive South
Slaw language.
Pomaks (not indicated on map): Although not offi-
cially recognized as a national minority in the censuses
or in other Bulgarian publications, a fairly large number
of Bulgarians known as Pomaks form a cohesive group.
They adhere to the Moslem religion, though they retain
many customs of Orthodox Bulgarians and speak the
Bulgarian language. The unity of the Pomak group is
enhanced by its concentration and relative isolation in
the rugged country of the western and central Rhodope
Mountains. Most of the estimated 130,000 to 140,000
Pamela live here.
Other Minorities: The smaller minorities in Bulgaria
are of little significance. Only the Armenians number
more than 20,000, and it is probable that this group will
eventually be reduced to only a small fraction of its
original size. In the early 1960's the Bulgarian Govern-
ment eased reshictions on the issuance of exit permits,
and apparently since then there has been a more or
less steady emigration of Armenians to Lebanon.
YUGOSLAVIA
Ethnically, Yugoslavia is the most complex and het-
erogeneous country in Eastern Europe. Much of its
diversity stems from the fact that Yugoslavia is a multi-
national state of six republics based on the union of five
distinct South Slav nationalities, a situation that is
further complicated by the existence of at least 15
national minorities. Efforts to weld it into a more ef-
fective unit have been opposed by the competing inter-
ests of the several Yugoslav groups, and the existence
of important minorities along international borders has
embittered relations between Yugoslavia and all its
neighbors at one time or another.
The Yugoslav Nationalities
The several Yugoslav nationalities now account for
nearly 90 percent of the entire population of the country,
a proportion that has grown steadily since the first
census in 1921, when they comprised only about 83
percent. The five distinct nationality groups-Serbs,
Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, and Montenegrins-are
distinguished on the basis of a number of criteria: lan-
guage, religion, culture, historical association, and geo-
graphical location. Five of the six Yugoslav republics
are based on the five Yugoslav nationalities. The sixth,
Bosnia-Hercegovina, includes both Croats and Serbs as
well as a large number of Moslems and other Yugoslays
of unspecified nationality. Ethnically, the Moslem Yugo-
slays are Serbs or Croats who have refused to identify
themselves with either of their own groups, mainly on
religious grounds. Historically, the Moslem Yugoslays
have remained apart from the Roman Catholic Croats
and the Orthodox Serbs. Probably most of the Yugo-
slays of unspecified nationality are Serbs or Croats, and
many of them may be Moslems.
The Serbs, with more than 40 percent of the total
population of the country, and the Croats, with nearly
25 percent, are the two dominant Yugoslav groups. All
other Yugoslav nationalities are much smaller, none
having as much as 10 percent of the total population.
significantly altered over the past 4 circa, em, a 05
the Serbs, Macedonians, and Montenegrins have gaiced
slightly at the expense of the more Westernized and
economically advanced Croats and Slovenes.
Geographically, each Yugoslav nationality tends to be
concentrated in one of the constituent republics, though
there are notable variations. Over 95 percent of the
Slovenes and Macedonians are settled within their re-
spective republics, whereas only about 75 percent of the
Serbs, Croats, and Montenegrins are in theirs.
National Minorities
Although maintaining nearly the same absolute size
of about 2 million over the past 40 years, the relative
size of Yugoslavia's minority population has decreased
noticeably during the same period, from a high of 17
percent of the total population in 1921 to less than 11
percent in 196L Geographically, the national minorities
are concentrated largely in border regions in the northern
and southern parts of the country. According to the
1961 census, about 66 percent of the minority population
lived in Vojvodina and Kosmet Autonomous Provinces
of Serbia, as compared with less than 80 percent at the
time of the 1953 census. This increase is due largely
to the striking growth in the minority population of
Kosmet. About 17 percent of the minority population
lives in Macedonia, where it accounts for about 25 per-
cent of the population. The remaining 17 percent is
found mainly in Serbia proper (not including Kosmet
and Vojvodina) and Croatia, leaving Slovenia, Mon-
tenegro, and Bosnia-Hercegovina with only very small
proportions of minority peoples.
Albanians: The Albanians constitute the largest and
potentially one of the most troublesome minorities in
Yugoslavia. The 915,000 Albanians recorded in the 1961
census account for 45 percent of the entire minority
population of the country, and their high rate of growth
promises to increase this proportion even more in the
future. The Albanian minority, doubling in size be-
tween 1921 and 1961, has grown much more rapidly
than my other large minority group or than any of the
Yugoslav nationalities. Between 1953 and 1961, the Al-
banian group increased by more than 20 percent as com-
pared with only about 10 percent for the population
as a whole. A part of this apparent substantial growth
probably is due to the tendency to understate the size
of the Albanian population in 1953; but even with this
factor taken into consideration, the growth of the Al-
banian minority is still as great or greater than that of
any other nationality.
About 70 percent of the Albanian minority is concen-
trated in Kosmet, where it comprises nearly 67 percent
of the population of the province. Other, though less
homogeneous, areas of Albanian. settlement extend be-
yond the borders of Kosmet into northern and western
Macedonia and, to a much smaller extent, also into ad-
joining sections of Serbia proper and Montenegro.
More than 180,000 Albanians live in Macedonia, where
they comprise 13 percent of the population, a slightly
smaller proportion than in 1953.
Hungarians: The Hungarians, numbering over half a
million, are the second largest minority in Yugoslavia,
accounting for about 25 percent of the entire minority
population. Unlike the Albanian group, however, the
number of Hungarians has increased so slowly that their
relative importance has declined steadily over the past
4 decades. Nearly 88 percent of the Hungarians live
in Vojvodina in the extreme northern part of Serbia,
and most of the remaining 12 percent live in adjoining
districts in eastern Croatia.
Within Vojvodina the Hungarians do not dominate
to the same extent that the Albanians do in Kosmet.
The 442,000 Hungarians comprise only about 25 percent
of the population of Vojvodina, although they comprise
70 percent of the minority population of the province.
The heaviest concentration of Hungarians is in the north-
ern part, chiefly between the Danube and Tisa Rivers,
but they are also scattered throughout most other parts
of Vojvodina.
Turks: The Turks probably number about 180,000, but
the reporting on the size of the Turkish minority is one
of the most unreliable featur. of Yugoslav censuses.
Great variations in the count occur from one census to
the next, often as a result of changing political conditions.
It is likely that in 1948 many Turks reported themselves
as of Albanian nationality, whereas by 1953 relations
between Yugoslavia and Albania had deteriorated so
seriously that two and one-half times as many people
(260,000) claimed Turkish nationality. The number of
people claiming Turkish as their mother tongue in 1953,
however, was only 182,000. That this latter figure may
represent more accurately the true size of the Turkish
minority in Yugoslavia is borne out in some degree by
the 1961 census, which recorded 183,000 people claiming
Tmkish nationality.
Like the Albanian and Hungarian minorities, the Turk-
ish minority exhibits a high degree of geographic con-
centration. In 1953, 84 percent of the Turks (by mother
has decreased to some extent, the 1961 census mem.
nearly 73 percent of the Turks (by nationality) in this
province. Most of the remaining Turkish population is
in Kosmet and in Serbia proper, the latter region in
particular showing a marked increase in the size of its
Turkish minority.
Other Minorities: The other minority groups in Yugo-
slavia are comparatively small and, for the most part,
do not constitute serious problems in either internal or
external relations. The Germans, who prior to World
War II comprised the second largest minority, now are
reduced to a group no more than 10 percent of its
former size. The 1953 census counted about 60,000
Germans, most of whom were settled in Vojvodina and
parts of Croatia. The results of the 1961 census so far
made available fail to identify a German minority,
About 85 percent of the Slovaks are concentrated in
Vojvodina, particularly in the southern half. Much
smaller concentrations of Slovaks, along with most of
the Czechs, are in north-central Croatia. The small
Bulgarian minority is concentrated in three districts of
southeastern Serbia bordering Bulgaria. Two of these
districts, which were acquired from Bulgaria after World
War I, are over 90 percent Bulgarian, giving them the
highest proportion of minority population of any section
of the country. The Ukrainians, most of whom live in
three districts of Vojvodina and in one district of Bosnia-
Hercegovina, form one of the most widely distributed
of the smaller minorities. The Great Russian and Polish
minorities also are small and widely scattered.
The Rumanian minority is localized in the south-
eastern part of Vojvodina, whereas the related Vlach
population is centered in the Timok area of northeastern
Serbia. The actual size of the Vlach population is not
known accurately, however, and at times the Vlachs have
been counted as Rumanians. A considerable part of
the Vlach population probably has been assimilated into
the dominant Serbian group. The 1953 census lists
only 35,000 persons claiming Vlach nationality, although
210,000 gave Vlach as their mother tongue. The results
of the 1961 census so far published do not even identify
a Vlach group. The small Italian minority, settled
chiefly in southern Istria, decreased about 30 percent
between 1953 and 1961. Nearly half of the small Greek
minority is concentrated in Macedonia, and most of the
rest is scattered widely across Serbia.
A sizable, though somewhat indeterminate, Gypsy
population is widely distributed throughout much of
Serbia and Macedonia but is largely absent in the other
republics. The 1953 census recorded about 85,000 per-
sons claiming Gypsy nationality, but the actual number
probably is much higher as many Gypsies are believed
to have declared themselves robe Serbs or Macedonians.
The prewar Jewish minority of some 70,000 to 80,000
now probably numbers no more than 6,000. These pro.
pie are found chiefly in urban centers such as Zagreb,
Belgrade, and Sarajevo, each of which has 1,000 or
more Jews.
ANIA
ALB
It is almost impossible to ascertain precisely the size
and distribution of minorities in Albania, although it
is undoubtedly true that the relative importance of
minorities in the total population has declined sub-
stantially since the prewar period. According to most
sources the absolute size of the minority population has
remained essentially the same since about 1930, running
to approximately 80,000. In 1930 minorities comprised
some 8 or 9 percent of the total population, whereas by
1961 they accounted for less than 5 percent.
The Greek minority is the largest and most trouble-
some, but estimates of its size have varied greatly. At
present it probably numbers about 40,000. Much un-
certainty exists concerning the size of the minority com-
prised of various Yugoslav nationalities. The 1955 cen-
sus (the latest official data available) counted fewer
than 6,000 Yugoslays, somewhat more than were in-
Approved For Release 2000/05/11: CIA-RDP79-01006A000100400001-2
dicated in prewar estimates. A Russian estimate for
1961, however, gives a total of 15,000-a number that
far exceeds all earlier estimates. Although the 1955
census does not identify the Vlach and Gypsy groups,
these two peoples have long been part of the population
of Albania and postwar estimates give 10,000 for each
group.
Data are inadequate to show in any detail the present
distribution of minority populations. At best it is pm-
sible to state that the Greeks are found in the extreme
southern part of the country. This area, referred to by
the Greeks as Northern Epirus, has long been in dispute
between Albania and Greece. The various Yugoslav
groups reportedly live in border area: in the northern
and western parts of the country. The Gypsies and
Vlachs are believed to be settled mainly in the central
and southern parts.