Ml. F R I G A N O V I C
In Y ugoslavia socio-economic changes and th e process of p o stw ar in d u striali
zatio n since th e S econd W orld W ar h ave g re atly influenced th e m ig ratio n and s tru c tu re of the ru ra l population. The v icto ry of th e n atio n al re v o lu tio n and th e in tro d u ctio n of socialist elem ents h a v e fu rth e r co n trib u te d to th e acceleration of th ese changes. T he process, how ever, differs regionally because of th e geographical v a ria tio n s in individual p a rts of th e co u n try , th e ir v ario u s c u ltu r
al tra d itio n s and econom ic developm ent.
The e x te n t of p o stw a r in d u strializatio n can be seen from th e fa c t t h a t from 1921 to 1938 in Y ugoslavia th e p ro p o rtio n of th e ru ra l p o p u latio n decreased from 78‘8 per cent to 74‘9 per cen t, or only by 0 2 3 p er cent a y e a r on the average, while a fte r th e w ar from 1948 to 1961 it dim inished from 67'4 p e rc e n t to 49'4 per cent of th e to ta l p o p u latio n or by an average of T 3 9 per cent a y e a r.1 T he new era h as caused fu n d a m e n tal changes b u t has also im posed special problem s, p a rtic u la rly regarding th e m igration of th e ru ral p o p u latio n , its age an d economic stru c tu re , and m o st recently, it has resulted in considerable lab o u r force problem s. The flow of lab o u r from co u n try to tow n, caused b y th e industrializatio n , is also illu stra te d b y th e fact t h a t from 1949 to 1960 over 2 m illion people le ft th e ir n ativ e villages, considerably m ore th a n th e n a tu ra l increase of th e p o p u latio n during th a t period.1 2 3
T he m igration to tow ns, how ever, was no t th e only w ay in w hich ag ricu ltu re was abandoned. M any farm w orkers h av e found em ploym ent in non-ag rarian activ ities, such as m ining, in d u stry an d m unicipal services. T h ey trav e l to th e ir w ork either d aily or w eekly b u t reside p erm a n en tly in th e irn a tiv e villages.
The fa rm census of 1960 showed t h a t of th e to ta l farm lab o u r force of 4,738,000 as m a n y as 1,306,000 did n o t w ork on th e ir own farm s. This phen o m en o n is a consequence of in d u strializ atio n an d represents a tra n s itio n stage. A fairly w ide-spread ty p e of so-called m ixed households has developed w hich retain th e ir farm lan d w hile a num ber of th e household m em bers w ork outside th e ir villages in n o n -a g ricu ltu ral p ursuits. The above-m entioned census counted 874,000 such m ixed households. 'Their num ber has certainly grow n consider
ably, to g e th e r w ith th e num ber of ru ra l people, such as stu d en ts an d workers, who h av e definitely left agriculture an d deserted th e ir villages. This has al-1 M arkovié, D. (al-1963) Poljoprivredno stanovnistvo Jugoslavije u p roteklili 40 godina (The A g rarian P o p u latio n of Y ugoslavia d u rin g th e L a st 40 Y ears). Sociologija sela, I. (1), J u ly —S eptem ber, 1963, p. 44, Zagreb: A grarni I n s titu t, Zagreb.
3 F riganovic, Ml. (1964) Sociogeographical Consequences of th e D epopulation of A grarian A reas, Proceedings o f the F irst Yugoslav Sym posium on Agrarian Geography, M aribor, 3rd to 5 th December, p. 145.
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te re d th e age and sex stru c tu re of th e rem aining ru ra l population. The rural
dim inished th e im p o rta n c e of th e M editerranean during the la s t century. This
is no longer only farm ing h ave re ta in e d th eir hom estead s and land. This
P u la, S plit, Z ad ar a n d Sibenik. This can be seen from the fa c t t h a t from 1953 to 1961 th e p o p u latio n of th e C roat A driatic region grew b y 75,000 while the n a tu ra l increase w as 110,000, a n e t loss of 35,000 people th ro u g h em igration.7 The A driatic region in general, and its villages in p articu lar, h av e been th e scene of an exceptionally stro n g postw ar em igration w hich w as strongest a fte r 1950, b u t w ith in th e region a ch a rac te ristic regional differentiation is clearly noticeable. Three zones can be d istin g u ish ed —th e islands, th e coast an d th e h in terlan d . The em igration from th e islands is oldest a n d has advanced so th a t th e age s tru c tu re of th e popu latio n is v e ry u nfavourable, th e em igra
tio n from th e coast has been a n d is even to d a y considerably sm aller due to th e a ttra c tio n of th e coastal to w n s and th e increased to u rist v a lu e of this zone in re cen t tim es, w hile in th e Z agora, em igration began la s t because of its geographical isolation and its in h a b ita n ts ’ stro n g a tta c h m e n t to tra d itio n a l extensive livestock farm ing. H ow ever, during th e stage of in ten siv e in d u stria li
za tio n , p a rtic u la rly afte r 1950, th e em igration of labour from th e Zagora s u r
passed absolutely an d relatively th e em igration from th e islands. Thus, to d a y th e Zagora is th e zone of the m o st im pressive ru ra l exodus of th e A driatic region and p ro b a b ly of all Y ugoslavia.
A fte r th e Second W orld W a r th e chief directions of em ig ratio n were first, to th e in d u strial u rb a n regions of th e interio r, secondly, to th e p o rts and in d u stria l centres a t th e coast, a n d th ird ly , abroad.
Since 1964, th e im m igration to th e in terio r of th e co u n try has w eakened w hile it has becom e stronger to th e coast w here th e to u rist in d u s try has been developing v e ry quickly, an d to W estern E u ro p e an countries for tem p o ra ry em ploym ent. M any settlers are th o se who, re tu rn in g from w ork ab ro ad , inv est th e ir savings in building fam ily houses a t th e coast. Thus re c e n t years h av e w itnessed an in ten siv e econom ic and pop u latio n revival in th e coastal b elt ou tsid e th e tow ns. This has been favoured b y th e new coastal ro ad and th e increasing o rien ta tio n of th e co astal zone to w ard s th e to u ris t in d u stry . This m akes it reasonable to speak of a specifically new kind of p o p u latio n and new econom ic processes in the A d ria tic region an d of a so-called zoning of th e region in which th e Zagora an d th e islands continue to lose th eir ag rarian population, th e Zagora m ore th a n th e islands, while the co astal b e lt becomes th e zone of an increasing co n cen tratio n of form er ru ral in h a b ita n ts , of denser population, of a m ore active an d com plex econom y and of m o d ern settlem ents.
In th is m ost recen t process, th e in d u strial role of th e coastal tow ns dim inishes, w hile th e to u rist in d u stry w ith its associated econom ic activ ities becomes th e chief incentive to m igration a n d s tru c tu ra l econom ic change am ong th e ag rarian pop u latio n in th e A d ria tic region of C roatia. This is th e p artic u la r characteristic w hich distinguishes this region from all th e o th e r p arts of Y ugoslavia.
7 Friganovic, M. (1965) The MS of a stu d y for th e G eographical In s titu te of th e School for N a tu ra l H istory an d M athem atics in Zagreb.
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DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES IN POST-WAR