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"Yugoslavia" redirects here. For the kingdom, see Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941). For its successor rump state, see Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2006).
| Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Социјалистичка Федеративна Република Југославија Socialistična Federativna Republika Jugoslavija | |
|---|---|
| 1945–1992 | |
 Flag
 Emblem
| |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Belgrade |
| Recognised national languages | Macedonian Serbo-Croatian Slovene |
| Dominant mode of production | Socialism |
| Government | One-party parliamentary republic |
| History | |
• Established | 1945 |
• Dissolution | 1992 |
| Area | |
• Total | 255,804 km² |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 23,229,846 |
Yugoslavia, officially the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was a non-aligned[1] socialist state in the Balkans.
History
Second World War
In April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by fascist armies from Germany, Italy, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. The country was split into German and Italian zones of control. A partisan resistance movement began in the summer of 1941 and grew to an army of 800,000 by 1944, when the partisans and the Soviet Red Army liberated Belgrade.[2]
Postwar period
After the war, the Council of National Liberation was established as the new organ of state power. In 1946, it created the People's Federative Republic of Yugoslavia with six republics and two autonomous regions, both in Serbia. The General Secretary of the ruling League of Communists of Yugoslavia was Josip Broz Tito. Other party leaders included Serbian Alexander Ranković, Montenegrin Milovan Djilas, and Slovenian Edvard Kardelj. In June 1948, the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc broke relations with Yugoslavia, disrupting its five-year plan and increasing its trade deficit.
In 1950, Yugoslavia began a policy of workers' self-management and passed a law stating that the means of production should be controlled by workers' councils.[2]
Market socialism
In the 1960s, Yugoslavia moved to market socialism. The productive forces stayed in control of the state but goods were produced and sold according to the market. By 1968, almost 80% of investment came from enterprises and banks. Market policies increased petty-bourgeois nationalism, especially in Croatia and Slovenia.[2]
In 1974, Yugoslavia adopted a new constitution that decentralized the government.[2]
Decline and collapse
After Tito's death in 1980, the IMF imposed an austerity program on Yugoslavia, increasing unemployment. By 1991, unemployment had reached 20% and annual inflation was about 200%.[2]
Croatia and Slovenia broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991 with support from the United States and Germany. Bosnia and Herzegovina broke away in April 1992, reducing Yugoslavia to only Serbia and Montenegro.[3]
Economy
From 1939 to 1975, income tripled and industrial development increased by nine times.[2] Between 1952 and 1979, Yugoslavia's economy grew by almost 400%. The economy began to stagnate after Tito's death.[4] The republics of Slovenia and Croatia and the autonomous province of Vojvodina were the most economically developed and had the highest per capita income. The southern areas of Montenegro, Macedonia, and Kosovo were the least developed, although the government subsidized more development in these regions.[2]
Living standards
Healthcare
From 1939 to 1978, the number of hospital beds per 10,000 people increased from 19 to 60 and the number of physicians increased by 400%, while infant mortality decreased by 75%. Diphtheria, malaria, and typhus were also eliminated. 82% of the population was covered by health insurance.[5] From 1948 to 1981, the life expectancy increased from 53 years for women and 48.6 years for men to 73.2 and 67.7 years, respectively. By 1966, Yugoslavia's mortality rate decreased to 8.1 deaths per thousand people, which was lower than France or the UK at the time.[4]
Housing
Every year from the early 1960's to the 1980's, over 100,000 apartments were built and given to workers. By the late 1970's, all three-member worker households had electricity and almost all had plumbing.[4]
Literacy
From 1948 to 1981, illiteracy for ages ten and up decreased from 25.4% to 9.5%. In 1921, more than half of the adult population had been illiterate.[4]
References
- ↑ “The Non-Aligned Movement was founded and held its first conference (the Belgrade Conference) in 1961 under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia”
André Munro. Non-Aligned Movement. Encyclopedia Britannica. - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Richard Becker (2005-10-01). "Yugoslavia: Nationalist competition opened door to imperialist intervention" Liberation School. Archived from the original on 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
- ↑ Victor Penn (2009-03-31). "Yugoslavia: Ten years after the NATO massacre" Liberation News. Archived from the original on 2022-05-06. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Latinka Perović, et al. (2017). Yugoslavia from a Historical Perspective. [PDF] Belgrade: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia.
- ↑ Muhamed Saric, Victor R. Godwin. The Once and Future Health System in the Former Yugoslavia: Myths and Realities. New York University.