Why Every Former Yugoslavia Country Is Shrinking Except For Slovenia

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Yugoslavia broke up over 30 years ago. But despite so much time passing, every independent country that makes up the region is shrinking in population, except for one: Slovenia. And this has to do with a unique combination of history, physical geography, and economic circumstances that has helped propel Slovenia while Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia all continue to lose population.
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Tito funeral photo by Museum of Yugoslavia, CC BY-SA 3.0 rs, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Yugoslavia tanks photo by Peter Božič - photo, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
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Animation support provided by DH Designs (needahittman.com)

[@yankochoynev652]

Bulgaria had no war, EU member for 20 years, no regional tensions. How did we go from 9 to 6 million then? I think that's the more interesting topic.

[@JmKrokY]

But Bulgaria was a Warsaw pact member.

[@apollonasplxr2848]

Becouse you have shit economy, simple

[@chrism1990]

Low birth rate is a huge factor.

[@danielkuleshov5876]

no popular domestic made movies too

[@kaylidington]

Work opportunities elsewhere in the EU paying massively more.

[@filipbih]

Slovenias population is just growing because of people from ex-Yugoslavia (mostly Bosnians and Kosovars) are moving to Slovenia for a search for the better life. Only reason. Otherwise it would be in decline.

[@ambrozoblak7371]

Velenje mala Bosna

[@dzonikg28]

Yes, so many people from Bosnia in Slovenia that is not even funny

[@filipbih]

@@ambrozoblak7371 Hahahahah živel sem v Velenju. Vala je mala Bosna

[@ambrozoblak7371]

@@filipbih par km bek sm, hodim u sredno taj, najace mesto

[@filipbih]

@@ambrozoblak7371 Js sm se preselil iz Velenja v Postojno v Junu 2022. Velenje mi tolk manjka. Postojna ni za pol kurca💀

[@miliba]

Slovenia is without doubt one of the best European countries Ive visited and totally underrated. Lake Bled, Ljubljana, Piran, Postojna Caves and the Triglav were some of the many picturesque spots

[@Giga16216]

I agree. My home Croatia has some beauties, but Slovenia is much more interesting.

[@kcpcvideo]

I’m from slovenija thx😀😀😀

[@miliba]

@@kcpcvideo My former flatmate is Slovenian too. You guys are awesome

[@miliba]

@@Giga16216 Bruh I loved cruising the Croatian coast, especially Split and Dubrovnik. There were just too many tourists but that was because of the GoT hype

[@Giga16216]

@@miliba yes me too

[@sandytesch2029]

Very interesting video. I have Slovenian ancestory my Grandfather came to U.S. to work in taconite mines. I will be making traditional Potica bread next week for Easter.

[@JmKrokY]

Cool

[@bojanbukovski1995]

Pozdrav iz Slovenije. 😊

[@Viidarr13]

Dober tek in pozdrav iz Slovenije❤

[@simonmarini766]

Sorry, but Potica isn't a uniquely Slovenian specialty. Almost all European nations know potica; the differences lie only in the use of ingredients.

[@crsx1861]

You forgot to mention that Slovenians are far less migratory than other people in the region. For instance, Croats have historical ethnic communities as far east as Romania, whereas Slovenia’s historical ethnic communities do not extent further than just the immediate areas beyond its borders. Slovenia is in fact unique in this aspect, compared to all other Central and Eastern European ethnic groups.

[@dzonikg]

Even during Yugoslavia in 60s and 70s many from Croatia and Serbia went to Germany to work and stay there while from Slovenia almost no one

[@JmKrokY]

Half of ethnic Croats live outside of Croatia which is kinda insane (I think it's similar for Serbs).

[@BH-yk5cn]

Slovenia does have historical claims and that is Italy. Long live a truly united Italy.

[@BoboSLO1]

Southern Austria and eastern italy was always Slovenian national land..

[@Luka-lf2cz]

@@BoboSLO1 But, Slovenian national land is rebranded Croatian land. Trst je naš. 🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷

[@Slay-Skypra-Here]

Slovenian being near Western Europe along with Croatia has has a lot of help from the eu plus staying out of the yougoslav drama helps

[@tarikmehmedika2754]

Yeah but still both like to dip their fingers in Yugoslav drama even today and especially Croatia.

[@JmKrokY]

And yet Croatia along with Bulgaria are one of the worst countries when it comes to population decline in the European Union. 🤔

[@talesferreiralimadossantos8806]

​​@@JmKrokY Do you know why is there a massive population decline in these two countries? It started after the Cold War ended, it seems, is that a coincidence?

[@HladniSjeverniVjetar]

@@talesferreiralimadossantos8806 it started before WW1 due to agrarian crisis, specially due to Peronospora epidemic in Dalmatia, and overall poverty in the country due to agrarian crisis. And it didn't stop since then...

[@talesferreiralimadossantos8806]

@@HladniSjeverniVjetar And what did Austria-Hungary do to minimize the efects of the epidemic and farm crisis?

[@igorsajn6246]

Slovenia has negative natality for decades, so surplus comes (after joining EU) from imigrants, esp. from other ex-Yu republics. Well after all - it is a very nice place on the sunny side of the Alps.

[@jenniferf1518]

Good video Geoff but you really have to work on your pronunciation of some words. CRO-at, not "croat".

[@B715]

Isn't it also the DANube river, not the d'nube?

[@anthonykaiser974]

​​​@@B715true, but in Latin, Danubius (or Danuvius) the emphasis would be on the second syllable, so it's understandable. Note there are zero English speaking nations on the Donau/Dunaj/Dunărea /Dunav.

[@frankdalton2492]

Moreover, there is no i before the final a in "Herzegovina" and "Vojvodina". Also, the pronunciation of Slovenia is a bit odd.

[@mitchyoung93]

It's actually Hrvat. Roll that 'R'.

[@JmKrokY]

0:08 Kosovo is not a UN member.

[@dusanmilosavljevic258]

Kosovo is Serbia

[@kdexter2690]

@@dusanmilosavljevic258 Kosovo is independent nation

[@Ag-kt3je]

@@kdexter2690 it’s not 🏳️‍🌈🇽🇰

[@kdexter2690]

@@Ag-kt3je yes it is

[@dzonikg28]

@@kdexter2690 9 od 10 biggest country's in the world don't recognize Kosovo, basically USA and USA puppets. It has USA military base and that US only reason USA want it's fake independence. If you drive try Kosovo you will see that 99. 9 % off flags are flags off Albania

[@zer0neverer098]

Someone mentioned here, that slovenians are less migratory than others, however this has more with the fact that, only with Celovec region (Klagenfurt,Austria) and some Istria including Trst (Trieste), the Slovenian Republic is basically at it's ethno-territorial zenith. And staying on the issue, it does help that Slovenia had a sizeable industrial base at the time of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, on top of being the first to declare independence alongside Croatia, yet only fighting for 10 days with little relative costs compared to all other participants in the balkan wars.

[@slavchomarinov9909]

Bit of a pronounciation lesson: 1.Slovinia 2. Cróats not Crouts 3. Dánube not the nube 4. Bosnia and Hercegóvina

[@lost_porkchop]

Cut him some slack, his name is Geoff but pronounced Jeff

[@massafelipe8063]

Slovenia is pronounced correctly, as locals do.

[@RemetaD]

At least he didn't say Monteafricanamerican, like some other american youtube "influencers".

[@TheSandkastenverbot]

@@RemetaD We're not interested in anti-woke hysterics, thank you

[@JmKrokY]

Slovenia*

[@matejb2]

Here are the simplest reasons why slovenia population is growing: - the country has always been richer than the rest of the balkan region, because of the proximity to Austria and it's territory has been part of many different rich states: the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Carolingian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Illyrian Provinces of Napoleon's First French Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. - the country has been less affected by Turkish invaders and have never lived under Ottoman rule. It has also been less affected by Yugoslav wars - it had better political stability and it's population were more educated, so it got more foreign investment - it had more job opportunities and better quality of life, so higher immigration, mostly from the former Yugoslav countries

[@MrDrowranger87]

Romans and Austrians have build like it's their own, at the other hand Ottomans raped and plundered for centuries and bring their religion to divide the population. at last 500 years border have changed here like 10 times

[@David-kf9no]

Slovenian native citizens are shrinking in population equally with other balkans and eastern europeans. All of that that you wrote cannot change the fact that in the last decades Slovenians dont want to have kids and keep population number only thanks to balkan immigrants. Slovenia has good economy but fertility mentality of any other balkan and european country.

[@HeroManNick132]

However Slovenia still has border disputes with Croatia.

[@SaadAlisArt]

I think it is shrinking because of former Yugoslavia and conflicts erupting after breakup of Yugoslavia. Slovenia managed to overcome the affects by being close to Western Europe compared to other former Yugoslavian States and joining European Union along with Croatia

[@josephtrudel1816]

Total lies...always is...now & forever

[@nicholasharvey1232]

Slovenia's proximity to Western Europe certainly couldn't have hurt its chances at becoming the most successful post-Yugoslav state.

[@MacedonianBro]

Why , from perspective of Macedonian, this is why Slovenia is better ? Near the classic West Europe, near Italy and Austria, same healthcare system,free education, EU benefits , similar languages .....

[@sgrant9814]

I remember visiting Yugoslavia in the 80s it was a very nice country with friendly folk Sadly they all let religion and ethnicity get in the way and destroyed themself...a cautionary tale for other nations

[@nicholasharvey1232]

@@sgrant9814 Well there are going to be winners and losers whenever a country breaks up into smaller ones. Compare Estonia to Moldova or better yet, Turkmenistan. Likewise, Slovenia and Croatia are generally going to be bigger players on the world stage than Bosnia or North Macedonia. The breakups of both the USSR and Yugoslavia were good news for some republics but bad news for others. Also Czech Republic arguably came out better than Slovakia after the Velvet Divorce, owing to the former's larger economy and proximity to the West.

[@richardmccarley281]

Do you mean the Danube? DAN-yube

[@jenniferf1518]

Yup. Not the first time he's mispronounced this.

[@jeremywhite92]

DAN-yube. I realize I'm repeating it, but it feels worth repeating.

[@davidwest2880]

Like that famous waltz, blue danoob!

[@dayros2023]

Well the reason is simple. Slovenia borders rich countries like Italy and Austria and got investments and tourists from them, also it was already the richest part of yugoslavia and it was the first of the balkan countries to join the EU, and that boosted its economy. Being richer than the others it attracts immigration. I visited it and it was full of bosnians and especially albanians. So the population is growing a little. The other balkan countries are poorer so they attract less migrants and have very high rates of emigration, especially of the young. Those factors, coupled with a low fertility rate will lead to a population collapse n the balkans.

[@Astuga]

Croatia is also an important tourist destination. I believe your second point is the relevant one. Slovenia, due to it's history and place in the region, is attractive for migrants from neighbouring countries. Also it's a small nation, it has only slightly more inhabitants then fe. the city of Vienna. Such small nations often have their own dynamic that is difficult to compare with those of larger or even just somewhat larger nations.

[@churblefurbles]

Unlike Italy they haven't taken in many disruptive migrants.

[@zionistkillingmachine]

Slovenia contributed 27% of GDP of Jugoslavia-enough said!@@Astuga

[@andrewrogers3067]

Slovenia was the richest in Yugoslavia? Thought it was Croatia.

[@dzonikg28]

Italy is for sure not rich, even during Yugoslavia Slovenia looked so much better, yes Italy has tourist sites but just walk pass them and is totally different story.

[@geoffgero6081]

Usually your videos are very good, this one not so much. Google pronunciation before you record next time. The history had simultaneously too much and not enough. If you're gonna do a full deep dive you need to explain the ethnic and religious differences and the historical reasons for animosity between them. If you're not doing a deep dive then cut out all the unnecessary rambling. Also, not focusing on Slovenia's borders with Austria and Italy and the wealth that comes from trade is pretty silly.

[@indigobaloon8091]

Bit N Macedonia borders Greece(old eu) yet it doesnt matter.

[@couchsofa2977]

Crote? seriously

[@sabrinarodrigues629]

BWAHAHAHAHHAHA

[@JordanDinRI]

Two of my favorite topics; geography and the coast of Hrvatska 🇭🇷 can’t wait to watch!

[@massafelipe8063]

Since 2023. Croatia is growing population wise, fuelled by a huge migratory spike from foreign workers. Since many people left there was a great shortage of workers in some areas.

[@JmKrokY]

Nice

[@temistogen]

Not even a biblical wave of people would help croats at this point.

[@dzonikg28]

If you consider people from Nepal natives then yes

[@Wemzii0]

You made that promised Alaska video (podcast)!!!! You mentioned it in the Kentucky v tennessee video comments after I jokingly asked why Tennessee was so different from Alaska

[@8rlx0]

Slovenia had a nice big buffer of Croatia during the breakup of Yugoslavia, so it was able to separate more easily than others. And it was mostly ethnically Slovene.

[@valentintapata2268]

There was an alliance between Slovenia and Croatia at the beginning, thank god Croatians immediately broke it by letting the JNA tanks cross unopposed.

[@JmKrokY]

@@valentintapata2268 Why?

[@valentintapata2268]

@@JmKrokY Because by doing this the alliance ended and Slovenia was not required to military assist Croatia any further.

[@JmKrokY]

@@valentintapata2268 That's not good, both sides should have kept the alliance.

[@valentintapata2268]

@@JmKrokY In that case Slovenia would be fighting in Croatia (Vukovar, Dubrovnik,...) and we would have a lot higher casualties. Idealism is one thing, realism another. Alliance was broken by Croatia not Slovenia.

[@spiritworldu]

misleading title as you really only discuss the video topic for about 1 minute. also, not sure where you got your pronunciations, but it’s bizarre and very distracting. “Herzegoviña,” “Slo-vane-ia,” “Crotes,” … i know it’s difficult to cover foreign cultures but it’s just bizarre as you seem to have gone out of your way to add different pronunciations for no reason.

[@davidv89955]

also this video could be just 1min long, but he goes to rant about everything else, explaining nothing

[@littlemaridee]

I always love how the music in his videos is used so perfectly. It's at the right volume, but also the right vibe and tempo. It's edited great so that it accents the content, but you barely notice it when he's talking. I hate when I'm distracted by the music.

[@annonannon6712]

New hair looks great man!

[@Tj1212__]

The problem with slovenia is that we slovenians constantly complain about everything and we never have a stable goverment we should be glad we have it so well we are litterally on par with germany and austria when it comes to standar of living and we have a higher gdp per capita then spain

[@MarcHarder]

Some pronunciation tips: Slovenia - slo-vee-nee-a Herzegovina - herts-ay-go-vee-na Croat - cro-at Broz - broz Vojvodina - voy-vo-dee-na Danube - dan-yoob

[@vivocanada]

Okay, pronunciation lesson: SloVEEEEEnia NOT SloVANEia Croh-at, not Crote rhyming with goat Bosnia and HerzogoVEEEnia DANyoub, NOT DenOOB. The first syllable is stressed.

[@ronwinkles2601]

You got it bud! I've been there three times, and it is my favorite country along with the Czech Republic.

[@JmKrokY]

Nothing wrong with that pronounciation of Slovenia.

[@vivocanada]

@@JmKrokY Nope. The English pronunciation of Slovenia is as I indicated. His brain is mixing it up with Slovakia.

[@kj134]

@@vivocanada His pronunciation is closer to Slovenian pronunciation of Slovenia😉. Both are completely fine as long as you don’t mistake us for Slovakia.

[@whiteguardist]

Well the 100,000 surplus versus 2018 in Slovenija aren't native people, we should have been marked red as well.

[@__Bepis]

damn man i haven't checked in on the channel in a long while, and I'm happy to see you popped off, good stuff 👍

[@LibraDiCaprio]

still don’t know how to pronounce anything

[@nikgracanin6180]

I'm 100% certain this whole script for the video was written by AI. This is what "content" has become.

[@xerooxpro199]

Other balkan nations are migrating to Slovenia in mass. And its getting bad.

[@JmKrokY]

But, migration is a good thing. I wish more people migrated to my home country of Croatia (too bad we are quite efficient when it comes to getting rid of large chunks of our population).

[@joshgh8844]

@@JmKrokY - It depends on what kind of people immigrate!

[@JordanDinRI]

Geoff, bože moj… its pronounced “CRO-ats”

[@spiritworldu]

lol i talked about this in my comment as well. pronunciation is all over the place

[@JordanDinRI]

@@spiritworldu 😂 yeah, Geoff needed some assistance with this video!

[@Luka_menorykee]

Yeah, but most of those names are relatively obscure to international audiences. But Croatia and Crots is so obvious that it makes you wonder if he did any research at all or just asked AI to make him a video

[@nummer3357]

@@Luka_menorykeeNo sovereign country is 'obscure' to anyone with a basic education. Knowing the countries of the world is like knowing every number or every letter in the alphabet that your language uses.

[@Luka_menorykee]

@@nummer3357 did you even watch the video? If you did, you'd know I'm not talking about countries.

[@petemitchell9996]

Kosovo is Serbia. There is no former Yugoslav republic of Kosovo. It was a province. Why do people who make these videos about Balkans never actually do proper research? You're a channel about geography you should know the basics.

[@nikolinmarku4020]

Serbia has committed genocide twice and I repeat, twice! In Kosovo in 1999 and before that in Bosnia and Herzegovina!!! It hasn't been too long but it doesn't seem to matter. The Albanian people have suffered too much. Now enough I would say!!!

[@HeroManNick132]

Serbian chauvinist is coping.

[@user-xj3ve7wt8k]

Low birth rate has long since become normal in Europe, which is not surprising when a certain level of economic prosperity is reached. Poor nations in Africa, Middle East, Asia, South America "produce" much more children than Europe and North America, which in the end they are used as "cheap work force" by Europe and North America.

[@joshgh8844]

Well, "cheap work force" is not correct... as they are mostly very expensive burden

[@JmKrokY]

I really wonder why a highly developed nation with no wars is gaining population...

[@ronwinkles2601]

More people of Slovenian ancestry live in America than any other country. They are wonderful, industrious people and a true asset to our Nation.

[@asstaco]

thank you for having such appreciation for our people, god bess you.

[@HUNVilly]

the way you pronounce Croats is disturbing. It's not Herzegovinia, but Herzegovina

[@moden321]

Geoff: Talks about topography for 3 minutes. Also Geoff: Absolutely refuses to use a topographic map.

[@patentleatherkicks]

Dude I can't deal with how you pronounce "Croats." 😂

[@bigbadwulf5785]

Economic unstability has never been a factor to birthrates, see example Africa or parts of the middle east etc.

[@jasonjayalap]

Africa could be having kids _because of_ economic unstability; Could be _despite_ economic unstability; Could be unrelated. How do you know which?

[@Bleilock1]

This is glueater comment

[@NullHand]

Birthrates fall when your young people LEAVE for a better life elsewhere. If they cannot leave, for poverty, linguistic, or "papers" reasons, AND they have no access to family planning... well... Then you get Nigeria.

[@fluidice1656]

It's more about the development and incentives related to it than about stability. Most countries in Africa are underdeveloped and their investment in human resources is very modest, which means that there is little incentive to send children onto highly specialized education paths that would require high financial investment. (A degree in contract law won't be as useful as in highly developed societies.) Countries of Eastern, Central Europe and the Balkans, may be poorer than their Western neighbors (although this is changing fast) but they still have relatively highly developed institutions, including education. This makes having children relatively more costly than in African countries. That's just one factor though. Other factors include social security for old folks, which is often non-existent in developing countries. This makes having many children who could take care of you once you can't work anymore much more important.

[@Kintabl]

Because they don't have birth controls and abortions. So, when people f**k, babies are born.

[@T0m0zuki]

My grand grand mother came from Pennsylvania ... with her parents of course. She was born there, but her parents migrated there in 1870's. Then they came back somewhere around 1912. They lived in Pittsburgh and then returned to Prekmurje to maintain a farm which a relative left behind. But those are not the only folks from my family. From mother's side, some of her ancestors lived in Iowa. Still do, tho. But I've lost their Address. 🫣 Most Slovenian minorities live in Austria and Italy, because our lands shrunk a bit during World war 1 and 2.

[@JmKrokY]

🤔

[@SeverityOne]

You keep calling it Herzegovinia, even though you spell it correctly (Herzegovina). There are roughly 5000 Serbs living in Malta. That doesn't sound like much, but it's almost 1% of the total population. I've several Serbian (former) colleagues and friends. Although nowadays, they are not as prominent as they once were, also because of a large influx of Asians over the past 10 years. Many of these will never go back. In some cases, because there's nothing to go back to. Like one of them told me: 'Other people now live in my old house.' Really nice guy, too. I still find his remark difficult.

[@demasiadissimo]

Hard to take anyone seriously who calls Croats “Crotes”. Does not convey credibility. Do proper research first.

[@davidv89955]

also bosnia and hercegovinya?? the is no Y sound. this is not spanish ñ

[@bosniangamesms8957]

why does he keep naming the countries like 5 times

[@judithkoveleskie7476]

My paternal grandparents came from Slovenia around 1900. They always had a strong sense of national identity and never thought of themselves as Yugoslavian.

[@mariocerin4105]

Judging by this video, Geography By Geoff is dumb geography. Like, counting Slovenia and Croatia into ''western Balkans''?!

[@crsx1861]

They are both.

[@nolex1]

They are not Crots, capital mistake out there. Croats!!!! Croats- Croat- Croatia.. is that so hard to understand

[@Illumisepoolist]

Can you do North and South Korea?

[@darrynmilanmedjeri]

With all due respect, I’m sure this Video has some great points, but I couldn’t listen to the whole thing due to the mispronunciations of countries, people and nationalities… Sorry, it’s a massive trigger for those of us from the region 😂

[@gordonpi8674]

It’s not just the “shared geography “ that connects these countries. Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro speak the SAME language, which means the6 are same people divided culturally. The industry was once one whole for all of them and it’s still connected. The economy is connected too, and most of all, the sport and cultural events are common for all of them, just like in ex Yugoslavia.

[@JmKrokY]

No?

[@gordonpi8674]

@@JmKrokY no?

[@xxtheuniversalmemexx1563]

¿What is Slovenia doing right? being as far away of the rest of the Balkans as possible.

[@joshgh8844]

@xxtheuniversalmemexx1563 - It didn't work, Balkan flooded Slovenia after "independence"… and now flood continues by those from TW

[@53cconadailee46]

The REST of the balkans? Just the balkans. Slovenia is not a part of the balkans.

[@goranmiljus2664]

Slovenia was never really "Balkan", .... They were always more Industrious / Austrian / Western /Liberals.

[@JmKrokY]

Balkan is a geographical term used to describe basically everything east of the Italian peninsula and south of the Pannonian basin, it is not a cultural term.

[@crsx1861]

That’s false. Before Yugoslavia, Slovenia was always one of the poorest and most backward parts of Europe

[@JmKrokY]

@@crsx1861 When you become the most developed area of a country, it is easy to keep being the most wealthy by buying cheap resources and reselling refined versions of those same resources with huge profit margins.

[@goranmiljus2664]

Maybe Europe....but by Yugoslavian Gypsie standards....they were blue eyed blonde Germans.@@crsx1861

[@goranmiljus2664]

It is if you come from there.There is a "Balkan Mentality"....Unfortunately Balkan means FOREST in Turkish.That area was dominated by Turkey for hundreds of years........and that "Middle Eastern " mentality survives. Lebanon and Bosnia are VERY SIMILAR countries politically / Socially UNFORTUNATELY @@JmKrokY

[@fvaraschin]

Incredible!

[@johnlabus7359]

Looks like Geoff got a new camera.

[@IsabelBeatriceJones]

I'm going to the Balkans in late July, early August and I am so happy to see that Slovenia is growing because even though I haven't been yet, it looks like a beautiful country.

[@68404]

Hire a bicycle and ride around Lake Bled. Watch out for flashers though.

[@timprex317]

Slovenia is the switzerland of the slavic world. Economically and nature wise.

[@crsx1861]

@@timprex317 It’s neither neutral nor a tax haven

[@timprex317]

@@crsx1861 i ment the highest salaries and the highest alps lol.

[@crsx1861]

@@timprex317 Bulgaria and Russia have higher mountains in fact

[@user-pc2jp2yr3c]

Bosnia and Herzegovina was Central Croatia in the past. The current borders were loosely taken from the Croatian war borders with the Ottoman Turkish Empire from the Treaty of Karlowitz of 1699 AD.

[@redhidinghood9337]

Bosnia was an independent state since the High Middle Ages centered around current central bosnia. Its borders changed over time (at point including parts of modern south croatia), but that nucleus was always Bosnia. Krajina for example was a part of Croatia until the date you mentioned, but couldn't the same be said about Istria and countless Dalmatian cities being a part of Italy for much longer than they were croatian? I think such historical arguments about territory are pointless and harmful. Why do you want land, if your own ethnicity isn't living there? Even the economy doesn't improve from land acquisition as we aren't agricultural societies anymore. Let's focus on our own societies and how we can improve them, instead of trying to play strategy empire-building games in real life and political discourse.

[@user-pc2jp2yr3c]

@@redhidinghood9337 Bosnia was 100% populated by Croats before the Ottoman Turkish invasion of 1463 AD , for example, Grand Duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić (1350 to 1416 AD) who founded Jajce castle in what is now Central Bosnia and was the biggest Bosnian feudal landowner.

[@user-pc2jp2yr3c]

@@redhidinghood9337 Italy was only created for the first time in 1861 without Venice or Rome.

[@joshx555]

Thanks for teaching me things man. :)... I would say your just as good and important as the "infograph show " " real life lore" "warograpics" "jonny harris". . . Granted most of those channels I just named are geo politic Style channels.. . But you do a good job at giving me information of the lay of the land. .in said places that I learned from other channels.

[@engertejada6930]

Idea for next video: Why is Argentina so unpopulated?

[@sergej23kv]

You started with incorrect info. Kosovo is not a country. Tara canyon is the deepest canyon in Europe and second deepest in the world, after Grand Canyon. One would expect that you would do better preparation for making this video. And you didn't get a single thing right about political situation there.

[@pripri632]

Go and check over there 🤣🤣🤣 Huuh, just don't forget your personal documents, if you want to visit the Independent State of Dardanian Kasua🇦🇱

[@HeroManNick132]

Russian is coping.

[@ronwinkles2601]

Slovenia fought fiercely in 1991 for its independence with every male from 16 to 70 years of age coming to its defense and in two weeks they defeated all invaders. No attack was ever launched against Slovenia after such a tremendous defense. For me who spend 30 years traveling and living in Europe, I think the most beautiful place in all of Europe is Lake Bled in Slovenia. It is an absolute fairy tale from its crystal clear alpine lake, to its 1000 year old castle perched high above the lake, to its ancient church on a small island in the lake to the background of the Triglava snow capped mountains in the background. It is no wonder the church hosts more weddings than any other place in Europe.

[@kj134]

Good observation! I also don’t like it when people downgrade the Slovenian war of independence. Today, almost every Slovenian men over 50 years old, participated in the war as either a soldier or a civilian. The national defense didn’t have enough equipment for everyone who volunteered. We can only thank God that the war was short and without many casualties. But family members of the fallen defenders feel no less sorrow than others with similar experience …

[@MisterJovke]

Slovenians are a gay nation. Ethnic Slovenians make up only 1.4m of Slovenia's population, and the remaining 700,000 inhabitants are immigrants. Mostly from Bosnia.

[@_petrovic179]

What!? ''...in 2 weeks defeated all invaders...!!! '' What invaders? J.N.A (Yugoslav People's Army) was not invader, and the soldiers were not given ANY ammunition! However, Slovenian bandits (yes, bandits, irregulars and so called Civil defense'') attacked non-armed soldiers, killing many! What a bravery! Not a bravery, but war crimes! Yet, supported by Germany who wanted Yugoslavia to break up, they succeeded and never pay back all the credits received and invested to Slovenia from former Yugoslav federation. What a way to become ''independent'' ! There was no real war in Slovenia. Soldiers of Yugoslav army were highly outnumbered, surrounded and many killed. War crimes of killing non-armed soldiers were never accepted. Instead, just transparent nazi propaganda of ''Yugoslav attack on small Slovenia''' - which is very hidden all these years. All around former Yugoslavia, Slovenians are considered to be cowards and pro-German traitors.

[@Azax0]

@@MisterJovke I guess other ex-yugo immigrants loves gays so they are coming to Slovenia to find some.

[@therocketman4494]

i love it when every basic geography channel starts its history after ww1, slovenia spent almost its entire history as a part of diffrent central european empires and was already vastly more educated and richer from the balkan states.

[@EJavierPaniaguaLaconich]

FFS Bosnia- Herzegovina, not HerzegoviNIA. If you don't even know the name of the country to begin with...

[@simonrajh]

Its logical that English speaker cant say it properly... why are you beign hostile AF?

[@shreenilodedra5725]

I thought Slovenia is the richest Yugoslavian state , hence it's growth

[@ronwinkles2601]

Slovenia was Tito's mother's home. She influenced Tito to allow the small farmer's who earned 50 acres or less to retain their family farms. The rest of Yugoslavia was forced to collectivise their farms into state farms. This created a wealth disparity.

[@fluidice1656]

@@ronwinkles2601 The agriculture has been a very minor contributor to the economic growth in Slovenia - about 5%. Also, pretty much all of the development happened after the independence and especially after joining the EU. The disparity between it and all other ex-Yu nations is now much greater than during the Tito's regime. So your hypothesis is false.

[@dzonikg]

.In 1980 SLovenia had 198% off Yugoslav GDP ,Croatia 126% ,Serbia 101% ,Bosnia 66%,MOntenegro 77%,Macedonia 67%

[@JmKrokY]

@@fluidice1656 The past impacts the future.

[@fluidice1656]

@@JmKrokY I'm not suggesting that it doesn't. But you can't reduce the past to a single factor, such as agricultural advantages, especially where, as I pointed out, agriculture has not been playing a major role in the growth of the country.

[@obalasmora4192]

Improved after breakup? Do we talk about the same Yugoslavia? We cannot even paint everything that Yugoslavia built here...

[@antoninomassimovadala7431]

Slovenia's population is growing,however the birth-rate of actual Slovenes is also negative,there are about 86% pure Slovenes living in Slovenia

[@ro.stan.4115]

Relevant source? Last year 9,4% were foreigners. Add slovenian citizens that are not ethnic slovenians. The number of ethnic slovenians is probably around 80% or even less.

[@antoninomassimovadala7431]

I got the info from a geography book that I had about 3 years ago,so its probably outdated by now

[@lovellesokan9107]

All geopo...they shouldn't have broken up ..united we stand ,divided we fall..Live , and love thy neighbors as thyself.Brothers, do not allowed outsiders let you to fight amongst yourselves for their own interest. All that Balkan stuff, when were growing up just a waste of huma resources etc.. That is why !!!. You met this world as is ,and will leave it as it was..This place is a beautiful playground, not a battlefield homosapiens..!!!!! Cheyoooo

[@travismcnamara8919]

I love this comment - I couldn't agree more with the sentiment. Love is the meaning of life and I hope and pray that more wake up to this crucial reality!

[@Tony_417]

You sound batshit crazy. Your nonsensical rambling and run on sentences make me question your mental health

[@SeverityOne]

Yugoslavia was one of the countries that were created by treaty after a pan-European war. Other examples are Czechoslovakia and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (comprising present-day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg). Neither of these still exists. Other that were created and still exist had a more or less homogenous ethnic composition. And when they didn't, some good old ethnic cleansing after WW2 took care of that.

[@drenicasi345]

The whole larger Balkan is shrinking Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania. Every single nation.

[@mojaslovenija9903]

Regarding the term Balkan... I am a professional geographer as my competence to my remark...: Balkan is mot a geographical term but relict and historical for European territory dominated by Osmani empire. It originis from mountain Stara gora in nowadays Bulgaria. It was wrongly used by German geographers in mid 19th century to oppose French geographers terminology. Nowadays it is used only as a folclore or a drunken talk term or local jokes. Geography congress two decades ago suggested use the term South East Europe, Central Europen countries are seperate area. Using term West Balkams means the west part of European territory of Turkye nowadays. The term is wrong used inplrmented by ignorant US joirnalists and politics.

[@valentintapata2268]

The term South East Europe was first suggested by Jernej Kopitar (1780-1844) a Slovene linguist and philologist (also Imperial censor for Slovene literature).

[@nylixneylix8785]

Southern Europe is good enough, don't complicate things.

[@nemanjaprvulovic2728]

This video isn't your best work. Speaking as someone from this region.

[@JaPakaj]

Slovenia is not part of the Western Balkans, which is a geopolitical term for the current non-EU Balkan countries. As for Yugoslavia.. we have a very different history, up until 1918, than most of the ex-Yu area. Slovenia was for centuries inside what used to be "Inner Austria", which made it much more advanced compared to countries who had to fight or live under the Ottomans. It also lies between Trieste, a very important port for the Habsburgs, and Vienna the imperial capital. There are many other reasons as well, like for example not having a catastrophic war on our soil in the 90s. I don't think it is a fair comparison, and we mostly or chase Austria and Germany anyways. Yugoslavia was ok in the 60s and 70s, not great not terrible, and it is the reason why we are still grouped together in many topics today. Culturally and historically tho, we have more in common with Austria, northern Croatia and Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy. With the Balkans, not so much, tho there is still some nostalgia among some people. Mostly older people who miss being young.

[@milansimonovic8267]

What the F u talking about, Kingdom of Serbia had 600km of rail while Slivenia had zero, then they begged Aleksandar to let them in then Tito plunderd Serbia and took all the factorise to Slovenia. Even today Serbs who work for Slovenians say that they are thifes, because they dont know any better.

[@JmKrokY]

​@@milansimonovic8267Do you have evidence to back your claims up?

[@milansimonovic8267]

@@JmKrokY ask the Slovenians they will tell you, or you should justgoogle it

[@valentintapata2268]

@@milansimonovic8267 Southern railroad - built between Vienna and Trieste in 1839-1857,... Only predecessor company of TAM in Maribor and one very small company in Kranj were transfered to Slovenia, others went mostly in Bosnia. Before the division of the Free Territory of Trieste (1947-1954), huge quantities of vehicles, boats, machinery and other things were taken and transfered mostly to Croatia - never to be returned neither to Italians or Slovenes (a few people did get some small change as "compensation"). And how much money did went from Slovenia to Beograd?

[@milansimonovic8267]

@@valentintapata2268 well ok there was 50km of rail. Built by Austrians. And the money that went to Beograd is called taxes every country has them. And all the upper eshalons in Belgrade were abolished Croats and Slovenians. But that is not even close what was stolen from Serbia.

[@MrUneTeube]

The kingdom is more a result of the Triple Entente winning the war in 1918 than a consequence of some kind of national pan-slav movement. France and England needed a buffer to counter the interests of Germany and Austria in central Europe. That's why the state that became Yugoslavia was coined. That is also why it imploded.

[@bubee8123]

It would be nice if u mentioned that territory of Bosnia was once part of Croatia taken by Ottoman empire. They had their grip on population for to long so after their collapse Bosnia became a country. That is a main reason for the boarder we have today. Serbia also lays claims on the Bosnia but Serbia historically had their land on modern day Montenegro, Kosovo and part of the Albania.

[@southepirote7676]

Hahahahaha yeah right, keep dreaming. You are slavic settlers, nothing more 😂

[@bingo737]

Kosovo is not a UN recognized state. Only a NATO base.

[@laonda5673]

Well said

[@JmKrokY]

🗿

[@HeroManNick132]

Serbian is coping.

[@PolecanePC]

Just a small thing... There are differences in words Bosnia, Macedonia, with words Vojvodina , Hercegovina etc. Pretty sure people from Slavic countries smiled a bit when you read all of them in same way

[@elvenrights2428]

Croatia is mostly about tourism for Slovenes and Western Europans, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia are mostly about upbringing expats for working and living on the west (not specifically in Slovenia). Croatia's tourism is main reason it's Adriatic coast is so huge.

[@mitchyoung93]

Since everyone is bagging on pronunciation, the second 'e' in Neretva river is pronounced somewhere between the 'a' in pay and the 'e' in bed, and definitely not like 'ee' in neat. Kotor is stressed on the first syllable KO-tor. The 'h' in Ohrid isn't silent, but makes that sound we Enlish speakers have a hard time with, the 'ch' in the Scottish loch. Och-rid.

[@BosnianBornBeast]

About time someone made a video of saying these countries have shrinking populations (other than Slovenia). I'm tired of nationalists on all sides saying their country is better but failed to look at the shrinking population due to young people moving out it...

[@amarillorose7810]

Slovenia actually has a demographic problem, so this video is not completely accurate, its demographics were filled by Serbs, Bosnians, Croats, Albanians who moved there, so the picture looks better, but the number of native Slovenians is decreasing even faster than in other former Yugoslav countries. Slovenia also has its own fare share of problems.

[@BosnianBornBeast]

@@amarillorose7810 they always had a small population compared to the others tbh and they always had a language problem as well because they are the only group that uses Slovenian as their language in this world while Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians and Montenegrins can for the most part understand each other.

[@ajstanton7081]

A few months ago, I talked with a couple of drunk Croatian guys on Omegle. We had a nice, long discussion about our different cultures and what our living conditions were like. But when I asked about their odd borders with Bosnia and Herzegovina, they weren’t able to explain it very well. This video really helped me get a better understanding! Thanks so much!

[@9and7]

That doesn't explain it at all...

[@dzonikg]

Reason is simple,it was land where Serbs and Croats lived ruled by different Croatian and Serb feudalist until Otomans came ,they created muslims by giving them more rights then non muslims

[@JmKrokY]

@@dzonikg True

[@mtljbc6568]

@@dzonikg trebo si malo vise slusati u skoli, i povezivati stvari pa bi znao

[@Sacto1654]

Well, Slovenia is also next to Italy and Austria. That really helps in terms of economic potential in that country.

[@deanpruit4216]

Slovenia actually has an economy on par with western nations. That probably attracts migrants.

[@Socika14]

I'll tell you exactly what Slovenia is doing. We're giving anyone who comes here free place to live and free allowance for them and each kid they bring with them. The Slovenian birthrate is shrinking faster than the other countries, but Albanian and Kosovan population is moving to Slovenia and exponentially increasing in size. Walking down the street in any major city in Slovenia you don't hear Slovenian language anymore. You can hear some Serbian, but mostly it's Albanian/Kosovarian.

[@JmKrokY]

🗿

[@HeroManNick132]

In fact you are the only Slavic country who recognised the same sex marriage so I'm not surprised.

[@ultonian63]

Slightly undermined by the fact that you can't pronounce DAN-ube, the longest river in Europe (ignoring 'Russia' which isn't in Europe these days).

[@JmKrokY]

You cannot just make something inside of Europe not Europe.

[@JustAPolishAmerican]

​@@JmKrokY what they mean is Russia is currently a pariah state that no one wants to associate with Europe these days.

[@user-mg2ip8cr8z]

Bosnia used to have 2 coasts , the one at Neum & another at Sutorina which was latter given to Montenegro

[@CaptainFSU]

WTF is the Eastern Balkans?

[@Bleilock1]

Bulgaria and romania, even moldova

[@user-tj7hc8ym5e]

Kosovo was never a republic of Yugoslavia .....and is not totally recognized even today... Original republic are 6 not 7....whiteout Kosovo

[@noodengr3three825]

I got to visit Croatia , Bosnia and Montenegro in Sept 2013. Fell in love with the area and people. This September i have tickets booked to go to Kosovo N Macedonia Albania and Serbia. Slovenia is high on my wish list

[@makavelimaka8035]

First it was called the state of Slovenes, Croats And Serbs , later it was renamed to Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.Evident desire for greater Serbia already at that time.

[@parkependleton6453]

I love your videos Geoff, but your historical analysis of what led to the political conditions existing now in the Western Balkins was ill advised and inadequate. The situation is infinitely more complicated, going back over twelve hundred years.

[@fisniksijarina5155]

The population numbers might be much lower than the official numbers released.

[@bedri1]

what is herzogovin-J-a? what is vojvodin-J-a?

[@flux928]

Slovenia attracts outside investments because it's political system isn't corrupt. No corporation wants to payoff the mafia and greedy politicians.

[@JmKrokY]

No country is truly not corrupt to some extent, US is also pretty corrupt yet they are one of the largest economies on Earth.

[@flux928]

@@JmKrokY FBI weeds out corrupt politicians, who try to embezzle or get kickbacks for contracts. You can start a business in America by getting a tax ID and occupational license. No payoffs or protection money to get these things which makes job creation flourish.

[@redhidinghood9337]

​@@JmKrokYthe US is corrupt in the sense that companies influence the state. Post-socialist countries are corrupt in the sense that the state is corrupt and influences/meddles with companies.

[@valentintapata2268]

@@flux928 A LOT of lobbying that is perfectly legal in USA would be regarded as bribery and highly corrupt practises in most of the world. At least in moderatly and higly developed parts.

[@flux928]

@@valentintapata2268 2 term limits like the president would fix a lot of issues. But that vote will have to come from the people for it to ever happen. It will never pass voluntarily.

[@AuoraWolf5911]

0:08 this video is now banned in Serbia

[@anthonyminimum]

Now make a video of New Jersey

[@aliegegursoy3843]

Hello, it is a decent video information-wise, but the pronunciation was all over the place - which made it much more difficult to enjoy. I guess no one has the expectation for you to pronounce native words like Škocjan perfectly, but cannot tell the same for "Herzegovina" (not Herzegovin-ia) or "Croats"

[@SpaceInvader414]

First of all, Slovenia was never part of the geographical Western Balkan. Our ancestors populated this area in 623 and joined the Samo kingdom and until the end of WWI, the nation never had any connections to the Balkan. Only politically do we share the recent 73 years of common history with the Balkan, until Yugoslavia finally fell apart. During WW2 partisans were not only communists I have no idea why everyone labels partisans automatically with communism. The communist ideology spread very late between partisans. TIGR was the first partisan organization and was full of patriots, nationalists, and antifascists. So stop mixing partisans and communists together.

[@crsx1861]

Keyword “recent”. We nowadays have little connections to Austria and Germany and even less to the Czech Republic

[@JmKrokY]

Pretty sure Slovenia shares a lot of history with Croatia considering how they have quite a big border with each other and have been part of the same kingdoms for a long time.

[@SpaceInvader414]

​@@crsx1861 We nowadays have almost no connection even to our own country. Because of years of neglect and shaming our people, history, and values let alone neighboring cultures. In any case, the "central European" culture and history still dominate our way of life compared to the Balkan one. Unless you are from the Balkans living in Slovenia and reject assimilation as it is sadly in their nature I don't see the point of deluding yourself away from the reality.

[@SpaceInvader414]

​@@JmKrokY We do share the most amount of history with Croatia compared to any other Balkan country but it is still not as much as you imagine. Saying "a lot" is an overreach.

[@montecarlo2606]

Kosovo, by definition, is a territory of Serbia. Kind of loose your credit when you can't even get a map right.

[@brianlewis5692]

'Croat' is not pronounced /Kroht/ it's pronounced /KROH-at/

[@jonnyminogue]

I love learning about Alaska…especially Alaska 5000

[@kosmicheskiprah]

The correct pronunciation in English is CroAts and not"Crotes" or Hrvati. This is very common for US people, because I saw another US history video with the same mistake. Slovenia simply has a much better geopolitical location and has richer neighbours. Even their language is different from Serbo-Croatian. Slovenia was also not exposed (luckily) to the Ottomans, that brutally destroyed everything and remained for a long period under the Austro'-Hungarian empire.

[@ronwinkles2601]

They were attacked by the Ottomans, but the fierce resistance of the Slovenians against the Ottomans caused them to bypass their capitol after the failed Siege of Vienna.

[@stipe3124]

Slovenian and northwest Kajkavski Croatian language is like 90+% simillar but still you can talk even using just official Croatian or Serbian

[@squirtlevlogs5105]

Montenegro's population is growing...

[@Just_another_Euro_dude]

Yup. Maybe even 100 000 Ukrainians and Russians moved here. At our wonderful coastline mostly. Murican making vids about Europe should be a thing of the past. As it's a clear waste of time. My IQ is dropping every time i watch such videos listening to Muricans talking nonsense. But it makes me sleep fast. So there's that benefit.