The Three Branches of Slavic Peoples in Central Europe

Slavic peoples are traditionally divided into three branches. Central Europe is primarily the domain of the West Slavs, with South Slavs to the south and East Slavs to the east.

1. West Slavs (Central Europe)

• Poles (Poland) — ~38M
• Czechs (Czechia) — ~10.5M
• Slovaks (Slovakia) — ~5.4M
• Sorbs (Lusatians) (Eastern Germany) — ~60k (minority)
• Kashubians (N. Poland) — ~200k (ethnic subgroup)

Languages: Polish, Czech, Slovak, Sorbian — all Latin-script, mutually intelligible to a degree.

2. East Slavs (Eastern Europe)

• Russians (Russia) — ~144M
• Ukrainians (Ukraine) — ~41M
• Belarusians (Belarus) — ~9M
• Rusyns (Carpathians) — ~1M (often classified separately)

Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Rusyn — Cyrillic script.

3. South Slavs (Balkans)

• Serbs (Serbia, BiH, Montenegro, Kosovo) — ~12M
• Croats (Croatia, BiH) — ~5.5M
• Bosniaks (Bosnia & Herzegovina) — ~3M
• Slovenes (Slovenia) — ~2.1M
• Macedonians (North Macedonia) — ~2M
• Montenegrins (Montenegro) — ~600k
• Bulgarians (Bulgaria) — ~7M

Languages: BCS (Serbo-Croatian), Slovene, Macedonian, Bulgarian — mix of Latin (Croat, Slovene) and Cyrillic (Serb, Macedonian, Bulgarian).

Central Europe = West Slavic heartland. The historical boundary between West and East Slavs runs roughly along the Bug River; West/South divide follows the Danube/Sava/Kupa line.