The effect of war and post-war migrations on the demographic composition of the Town of Knin (1991-2011)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze changes in the total population change in the settlements of the Town of Knin in the last two intercensal periods (1991-2001, 2001-2011), as well as the changes in the ethnic composition. As the war caused forced migrations which largely determined demographic processes in this region, a special attention in this research was given to the migration features of the population. The results of this research indicate that the greatest changes occurred in the 1991-2001 intercensal period. Both components of growth (natural increase and migration) were negative and caused a significant decrease of the indigenous population. This transformed the ethnic structure of the region; pre-war Serb population decreased by more than three quarters, while the influx of people from other parts of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in the predominance of the Croat population. Although the region experienced a positive net migration in the last intercensal period, unfavourable demographic processes characterized by negative natural population change and demographic ageing occurred in most settlements included in this research. This suggests that the region is likely to continue experiencing depopulation, which will cause the extinction of population in some settlements.