1912–2001
○ Natural causes
The demographer who recalculated Yugoslavia’s wartime losses
Comparing censuses with expected population growth, he recalculated Yugoslavia's wartime toll at about 1,027,000, shaking the official figure of 1.7 million that had underpinned the 1946 reparations claim.
Vladimir Žerjavić was a Croatian economist and demographer who became known for studying Yugoslavia’s population and wartime losses after a career in economic-development consulting. Comparing censuses with expected population trends, he sought to distinguish actual deaths from broader demographic loss and estimated about 1.027 million wartime deaths in Yugoslavia in 1989. His figures prompted renewed scrutiny of established narratives about victims of the Yugoslav Partisans and other forces, as well as postwar reprisals, while critics disputed aspects of his data and method.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1912Born in Križ
- 1930년대Graduated in economics at Zagreb and worked in the private sector
- 1945–1958Worked in Yugoslav industry, petroleum research, and economic institutions
- 1958–1982Adviser on industrial development abroad
- 1964–1982Industrial-development adviser and population analyst for the UN Economic Commission for Africa
- 1989Published research on Yugoslavia’s demographic losses in World War II
- 1990년대Continued writing on estimates of wartime and postwar victims