ABSTRACT
The demographic history of Southeastern Europe remains not as well known as that of other parts of Europe. One reason is that sources for population history and historical demography in this region are unfortunately available in smaller number and often in lower quality. The Catholic Church and Protestant churches introduced this kind of record for their followers in the sixteenth century, while the Orthodox Churches introduced it later, and Islam did not have this practice at all. There were major differences within European regions in the level of fertility before the demographic transition and in the dates when it began. Raw fertility rates are available for the territories of the Habsburg Monarchy from 1828 onward and show major variations within them and with the independent Balkan states.
