Serbs in Slovenia are Slovenian citizens of ethnic Serb descent and Serbian citizens living in Slovenia. According to data from the 2002 census, there were 38,964 Serbs in Slovenia, constituting 2% of the total population, making Serbs the second-largest ethnic group in the country.
Although there existed an indigenous community from the 16th century of Serbs of White Carniola (which have been completely assimilated having lost any distinct Serb ethnic identity by the second half of 20th century), the modern Serbs in Slovenia are first- and second-generation immigrants.[2]
Serbs came to Slovenia from countries of former Yugoslavia during its existence, mostly after the World War II and primarily from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Many Serbs employed in the Yugoslav People's Army were stationed in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia with their families. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a spike in Serb immigration many ethnic Serbs as they migrated to pursue better careers and economic opportunities in Slovenia, the most developed of then-Yugoslav republics.
In 2013, the combined community association of Serbs in Slovenia requested that Serbs be given the status of a recognized ethnic minority.[3] They have not been granted minority status however, since, according to the Slovenian constitutional framework, only "historical minorities who have been living on clearly defined territories for centuries can have the status of a minority".
Demographics
According to data from the 2002 census, which was the last census that recored ethnicity, 38,964 people stated that they were of Serb ethnicity. Serbs are concentrated in the largest cities: Ljubljana, Maribor, Celje, Koper, and Jesenice.
Yugo-nostalgia is strong among the older generation of Serbs in Slovenia.[4] The Serb immigrant community in Slovenia had developed a "Balkan culture" in the 1990s.[4] The Leskovac-styled grilled meat, including ćevapčići, have nowadays become part of the daily diet in Slovenia.[5]
According to data from the 2022 census, most Serbs use Slovene as their language of communication, since only 4,300 people declared that they use only the Serbian language at home, while about 15,000 declared they use both languages at home. However more than 31,000 people declared their mother tongue as Serbian. A mixed Slovenian–Serbian slang, srboslovenščina, became an "unofficial" language in football and construction, among other traditional domains of immigrants from former Yugoslavia.[6]
↑ Dragana Radojičić. "SERBIAN DISHES ON THE SLOVENIAN TABLE". Traditiones. 39 (1). [Abstract] The research included immigration trends from Serbia to Slovenia from 1918 to the present, and how these are reflected in the acceptance of food-related products and dishes that originated in Serbia and have become part of Slovenians' everyday diet.
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