Main Demographic Characteristics of Hungarians in Slovakia: Insights from the 2021 Census

Harrach, Gabriel (2024) Main Demographic Characteristics of Hungarians in Slovakia: Insights from the 2021 Census. HUNGARIAN JOURNAL OF MINORITY STUDIES, 7. pp. 53-89. ISSN 2560-080X

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Abstract

According to the 2021 Slovak census, the drastic decrease in the number and population proportion of the Hungarians in Slovakia continues. In addition to the natural population decrease and assimilation, their demographic decline is also due to the internal migration of ethnic-Slovaks to their habitat. Given the aging population of Hungarians and their less favorable age structure compared to other ethnic groups, a further decline in both population size and proportion is expected. In Slovakia, a total of 496,000 persons are affiliated with Hungarians in some way, whether as their primary or secondary identity or through their mother tongue. 85% of them are nominally Hungarian and 74% belong to the so-called core group (i.e. Hungarian native speakers without any other ethnic identity). The higher the weighted average of local proportions (WALOP) of Hungarians within a district, the higher the proportion of core groups in the Hungarian-affiliated population, while the relationship is negative for other subgroups. Considering the observation that a higher local proportion of a minority group is favorable for its identity, this means that only the core group serves as an indicator of strong ethnic identity.

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