World History, Grades 9-12

Ethnic Groups in the Former Yugoslavia

Many ethnic and religious groups lived within Yugoslavia, which was

a federation of six republics. The map shows how the ethnic groups

were distributed. Some of those groups held ancient grudges against

one another. The chart summarizes some of the cultural differences

among the groups.

Struggles for Democracy 1057

42 °N

46 °N

16

°E

20

°E

A

d

ri

at

ic

Se

a

Belgrade

Podgorica

Sarajevo

Zagreb

Ljubljana

Skopje

ROMANIA

HUNGARY

AUSTRIA

ALBANIA

ITALY

GREECE

BULGARIA

MACEDONIA

MONTENEGRO

SERBIA

BOSNIA

AND

HERZEGOVINA

CROATIA

SLOVENIA

Kosovo

Vojvodina

Albanian

Croat

Hungarian

Macedonian

Montenegrin

Muslim

Serb

Slovene

No majority present

Former Yugoslavia

Borders of 1992

Republic boundaries

Provincial boundaries

0

0

100 Miles

200 Kilometers

Ethnic Groups in the

Former Yugoslavia, 1992

Differences Among the Ethnic Groups

Group

Albanians

Croats

Hungarians

Macedonians

Montenegrins

Muslims

Serbs

Slovenes

Language

(slavic unless noted)

Albanian (not Slavic)

dialect of Serbo-Croatian*

Magyar (not Slavic)

Macedonian

dialect of Serbo-Croatian*

dialect of Serbo-Croatian*

dialect of Serbo-Croatian*

Slovenian

Religion

mostly Muslim

mostly Roman Catholic

many types of Christians

mostly Eastern Orthodox

mostly Eastern Orthodox

Muslim (converted

under Ottoman rule)

mostly Eastern Orthodox

mostly Roman Catholic

• Since Yugoslavia broke apart, many residents of the former republics have started to
  refer to their dialects as separate languages: Croatian for Croats, Bosnian for
  Muslims, Serbian for Serbs and Montenegrins.

SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Visuals

1.Analyzing IssuesUse the chart to find out

information about the various groups that lived

in Bosnia and Herzegovina (as shown on the

map). What were some of the differences among

those groups?

2.ContrastingKosovo was a province within

Serbia. What group was in the majority there,

and how did it differ from Serbs?