What Is the Croatian Diaspora?
The Croatian diaspora broadly describes Croatians and people of Croatian ancestry living outside Croatia.
It includes recent emigrants who grew up in Croatia and moved abroad as adults.
But it also includes families whose Croatian connection stretches back five, six or more generations.
Some speak Croatian fluently.
Others know only a handful of words.
Some visit Croatia every summer.
Others have never been.
Some can identify the exact house or village their family came from.
Others simply grew up knowing that somewhere in their family’s past, they were Croatian.
That diversity is important.
There is no single Croatian diaspora experience.
Instead, there are millions of individual family stories connected by a shared history of migration
Why Did So Many Croatians Leave Croatia?
Croatian emigration stretches back centuries, but large-scale overseas migration accelerated during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Economic circumstances were a major driver.
In many Croatian regions, particularly rural and coastal communities, limited economic opportunities encouraged people to look elsewhere for work and a more secure future.
Steamships and expanding global transport networks made distant destinations increasingly accessible, while letters from relatives and neighbors who had already emigrated encouraged others to follow.
This created what migration historians often call chain migration: one family member would leave, establish themselves overseas and help relatives or people from the same community follow.
Later waves of migration were shaped by the political upheavals and conflicts of the 20th century, as well as post-war economic migration.
During socialist Yugoslavia, many Croatians also moved to countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland as temporary foreign workers – often known by the German term Gastarbeiter.
Some eventually returned.
Many stayed.
By the time Croatia became independent in 1991, Croatian communities had been established around the world for generations
Where Did Croatian Emigrants Go?
Almost everywhere.
Large Croatian communities developed across:
- United States
- Canada
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Argentina
- Chile
- Brazil
- South Africa
- Germany
- Austria
- Switzerland
Often, migrants from the same Croatian region settled near one another.
Someone from Dalmatia might arrive in a foreign city and discover neighbors from the same island – or even the same village.
These networks helped newcomers find work, accommodation and community thousands of kilometers from home.
Over time, Croatian clubs, churches, cultural associations, sports teams and community organizations helped preserve a sense of identity.
The Croatian Government today estimates that around 3.2 million Croatian emigrants and descendants live outside the country.
Source: Central State Office for Croats Abroad
Croatian Immigration to the United States
The United States became one of the major destinations for Croatian emigrants during the era of mass European migration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Croatian newcomers often entered industrial America.
They found work in industries including mining, steel production, construction, manufacturing and farming, with significant communities developing in places such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and California.
Pittsburgh and the surrounding Pennsylvania industrial region became particularly important centers of Croatian-American life.
In 1894, Croatian immigrants in the United States established what would eventually become the Croatian Fraternal Union of America, an organization that remains active today.
It provided practical support to immigrants and their families while also helping preserve Croatian culture and community.
Source: Croatian Fraternal Union of America
Today, Croatian-American identity spans generations.
For some families, the Croatian language disappeared long ago.
But surnames, food, churches, community organizations and stories about the family’s European origins survived
Croatians in Australia
Australia is home to one of the world’s largest Croatian diaspora communities.
Croatian migration there has a long history, with early migrants – including many from Dalmatia – arriving during the 19th century.
Migration expanded significantly during the 20th century, particularly after the Second World War and during the decades that followed.
Croatians established communities across Australia, including in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and other cities and regional areas.
Football clubs became especially important centers of Croatian-Australian community life, alongside churches, cultural associations and social clubs.
The Croatian Government estimates there are approximately 250,000 Croatians and their descendants in Australia.
Source: Central State Office for Croats Abroad – Australia
For some Croatian-Australian families today, the connection is immediate: Croatian-speaking parents or grandparents, regular visits and close relatives still living in Croatia.
For others, it is becoming something to rediscover.
Croatian Communities in South America
Croatian migration to South America also has deep roots.
Argentina and Chile became particularly significant destinations, while Croatian communities were also established in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay and other countries.
Many early emigrants came from Dalmatia and the Croatian islands.
Over generations, their descendants became deeply integrated into their new countries while Croatian institutions, associations and family traditions helped preserve links to their origins.
Brazil is especially relevant to Salona’s story today.
The Croatian Government estimates that approximately 70,000 Croats and their descendants live in Brazil, with Croatian immigration dating particularly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Source: Central State Office for Croats Abroad – Brazil
After several generations, however, family identity can become complicated.
A Croatian surname may have changed spelling.
The language may have disappeared.
The name of an ancestral village may survive only as a family memory.
And historical documents may not even describe an ancestor as Croatian.
Croatians in South Africa
South Africa’s Croatian community is smaller than those in Australia or North America, but it forms another part of Croatia’s global migration story.
The Croatian Government estimates that around 8,000 Croats and their descendants live in South Africa.
Croatian migrants established community and cultural organizations there, maintaining connections with Croatia while building lives thousands of kilometers away.
Source: Central State Office for Croats Abroad – South Africa
For descendants several generations removed from migration, reconstructing that connection can require following records across two continents.
A Croatian Story at the Other End of the World
One of the most fascinating Croatian migration stories can be found in New Zealand.
From the late 19th century, significant numbers of migrants from Dalmatia arrived in New Zealand.
Many worked in the difficult kauri gumfields of Northland, digging for fossilized kauri resin that had become a valuable export commodity.
New Zealand historical sources frequently referred to these migrants as Dalmatians, reflecting their regional origin and the political geography of the period.
Over time, Dalmatian-Croatian migrants became established in New Zealand life, particularly around Auckland and Northland.
Their influence of the Croatian diaspora can still be seen today – including within New Zealand’s wine industry.
Source: Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Dalmatians
It is a remarkable example of just how far Croatian migration reached
When Your Croatian Ancestor Wasn’t Recorded as “Croatian”
This is one of the most interesting – and confusing – parts of researching Croatian family history.
Your Croatian ancestor’s overseas documents may not say they were born in Croatia.
Depending on when and where they were born, you might instead encounter descriptions such as:
Austrian
Hungarian
Dalmatian
Istrian
Yugoslav
Slavonian
or simply the name of a town or village.
That’s because Croatia’s political borders and status changed repeatedly during the period in which millions of Europeans emigrated.
A person born in Dalmatia in the late 19th century, for example, was born within the Austro-Hungarian political world – not the modern Republic of Croatia.
Later records might describe that same person’s birthplace differently.
This is why genealogy requires historical context, particularly in regards to the Croatian diaspora.
A document that appears to contradict a family story may actually help confirm it.
For more on this, see How to Trace Your Croatian Family History.
What Did Croatian Families Take With Them?
Not everything that connects a family to Croatia appears on a certificate.
Migrants carried culture with them.
Recipes traveled.
So did songs.
Religious traditions.
Names.
Christmas and Easter customs.
Football loyalties.
Stories about villages and islands.
In many Croatian diaspora communities, churches, clubs and cultural organizations became places where those traditions could survive.
Children grew up with Croatian food even when they couldn’t speak Croatian.
Grandchildren inherited surnames they weren’t quite sure how to pronounce.
Family homes contained photographs of people nobody could fully identify.
And stories were told about a place simply called “home”, even by people who had never seen it.
Over several generations, some traditions inevitably disappeared.
Others adapted.
But something often remained.
The Journey Is Beginning to Move in the Other Direction
For much of modern Croatian history, the migration story pointed outward.
Croatia → United States
Croatia → Australia
Croatia → Brazil
Croatia → South Africa
Today, something interesting is happening within parts of the Croatian diaspora.
Descendants are beginning to look in the other direction.
United States → Croatia
Australia → Croatia
Brazil → Croatia
South Africa → Croatia
That doesn’t necessarily mean permanent migration.
For one person, reconnecting might mean visiting the island their grandfather left a century ago.
For another, it means learning Croatian.
Someone else might begin building a family tree.
Another person might find distant relatives.
And for some, researching their family history eventually raises another question:
Could I be eligible for Croatian citizenship?
When Genealogy Becomes Something More
Sometimes the journey begins with very little.
An old photograph.
A surname.
A baptism certificate.
A grandfather who always said the family came from somewhere near Split.
Then one discovery leads to another.
A village is identified.
A Croatian birth record appears.
An immigration document confirms when an ancestor left.
Suddenly, someone living thousands of kilometers away can trace an unbroken family story back to Croatia.
For descendants of qualifying Croatian emigrants, that research can sometimes have a practical consequence too.
Under current Croatian citizenship law, descendants of emigrants may potentially qualify for Croatian citizenship by descent, depending on their family’s individual circumstances.
The previous generational restriction applying to this particular pathway was removed in 2020.
That means descendants whose Croatian connection stretches back several generations may still have reason to investigate their eligibility.
For more information, see Who Is Eligible for Croatian Citizenship by Descent? and How Far Back Can You Claim Croatian Citizenship by Descent?
A Story About Leaving – and Finding Your Way Back
Body Text: For generations, Croatia watched its people leave for new lives around the world.
They crossed oceans.
They built families, businesses and communities thousands of kilometers from the villages, towns and islands their parents and grandparents called home.
And they became part of their new countries.
But they also carried pieces of Croatia with them.
Names.
Recipes.
Traditions.
Faith.
Music.
Photographs.
Stories told around family tables.
Today, some of their descendants are following those stories back.
Sometimes they find a village.
Sometimes a birth record.
Sometimes relatives they never knew existed.
And sometimes they discover that the connection their family preserved for generations can be formally recognized through Croatian citizenship.
At Salona Consulting, we see these journeys as something much bigger than an administrative process.
They connect the person searching today with the person who stepped onto a ship generations ago and began a new chapter of the family’s story.
The Croatian diaspora isn’t simply a story about leaving Croatia.
It’s also a story about the many ways people find their way back.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Croatians live outside Croatia?
The Croatian Government estimates that approximately 3.2 million Croatian emigrants and their descendants live outside Croatia. Estimates vary because defining and counting descendants across multiple generations is inherently difficult.
Source: Central State Office for Croats Abroad
Which countries have the largest Croatian communities?
Large Croatian diaspora populations can be found in countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Germany, alongside communities throughout Europe, South America, New Zealand and South Africa.
What if I don’t have all my documents?
Missing documentation is common.
Historical records can often be located through Croatian archives, parish records and civil registries.
Why did Croatians emigrate?
There was no single reason. Different periods of Croatian emigration were shaped by economic hardship and opportunity, political circumstances, conflict, employment abroad and family reunification.
Why do some Croatian ancestors appear as Austrian or Yugoslavian in historical records?
Croatia’s political status and borders changed considerably during the 19th and 20th centuries. The nationality or birthplace recorded on a historical document may therefore reflect the state that governed the area at the time rather than the person’s cultural or family identity.
Can descendants of Croatian emigrants become Croatian citizens?
Potentially. Croatian law provides a citizenship pathway for descendants of qualifying Croatian emigrants. Eligibility depends on the circumstances of the original emigrant and the applicant’s documented relationship to them.
Margherita Pescia
Marketing & Growth Intern | Salona Consulting