Економска емиграција из Југославије шездесетих година XX века
The Economic Emigration from Yugoslavia in 1960s

Author(s): Slobodan Selinić
Subject(s): Economic history, Political history, Social history, Post-War period (1950 - 1989)
Published by: Institut za noviju istoriju Srbije
Summary/Abstract: The economic emigration was one of the most striking features of Yugoslavia’s development in 1960s. It was caused by the economic development of Western countries which felt the need for labor force from Eastern Europe, economic crisis at home, undeveloped labor migrations within the country, excess labor force, particularly prior to the economic reform of 1965, larger traveling opportunities, propaganda of those who had already left etc. There was some half a million Yugoslav workers in Western Europe by the end of 1960s, and together with those overseas, the total was some 600-700.000. In the West- European countries, the largest number of emigrants lived in FR of Germany (300.000), France and Austria. Particularly in the first half of 1960s a large number of emigrants were leaving illegally or without the authorities’ permission or knowledge. In the second half of the decade, the Yugoslav government strove to put this process under control through a number of treaties with Western countries concerning employment of workers from Yugoslavia (with France in 1965, with Austria in 1965, with Sweden in 1967, with Germany in 1968). Just how important migration to work abroad was is shown by the fact that Yugoslavia received large foreign-currency sums in that way and that they increased each year. (There is an information that Yugoslav workers abroad sent 120 million dollars to the country in 1967).

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