Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a south Slavic people mostly living in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (where they're one of the constitutive nations). Autochthonous Croat minorities exist in Vojvodina in northern Serbia, Boka Kotorska in western Montenegro, and Burgenland in the eastern part of Austria (as well as bordering areas of western Hungary and Slovakia). There is a notable Croat diaspora in western Europe, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Croats are predominantly Catholic and their language is Croatian. The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... More than 95% of population of Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to one of its three constitutive nations: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. ... Serbia and Montenegro  – Serbia    – Kosovo and Metohia        (UN administration)    – Vojvodina  – Montenegro Official languages Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Rusyn1 Capital Novi Sad Area  – Total  – % water  21,500 km²  n/a Population  – Total (2002)  – Density  2,031,992  94. ... Serbia and Montenegro  – Serbia    – Kosovo and Metohia        (UN administration)    – Vojvodina  – Montenegro Official language Serbian1 Capital Belgrade Area  – Total  – % water  88,361 km²  n/a Population  – Total (2002)     (without Kosovo)  – Density  7. ... Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor, Bocca di Cattaro) in western Montenegro is a winding bay on the Adriatic sea. ... Serbia and Montenegro  – Serbia    – Kosovo and Metohia        (UN administration)    – Vojvodina  – Montenegro Official language Serbian Capital Podgorica Former Royal Capital Cetinje President Filip Vujanović Prime Minister Milo Đukanović Area  – Total  – % water  13,812 km²  n/a Population  – Total (2003)  – Density  616,258  48. ... Minorities and neighbours Burgenland has notable Croatian (29 to 45 thousand) and Hungarian (5 to 15 thousand) minorities. ... The term diaspora (Greek διασπορά, a scattering or sowing of seeds) is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands, being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture. ...

The population numbers are reasonably accurate domestically: a bit under four million in Croatia and around 600,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abroad, the count is approximated due to incomplete statistical records and naturalization but estimates suggest that there at least as many Croats abroad as there are at home. The largest emigrant groups are in western Europe: primarily Germany, where the emigrant community groups estimate around 450,000 people with direct Croatian ancestry. Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom etc follow. Overseas, the Americas contain the largest Croatian emigration: the United States (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California) and Canada (southern Ontario), as well as Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia. There is also notable Croat population in Australia (Perth, Melbourne, Sydney) and New Zealand as well as South Africa. The foremost organization of the Croatian diaspora is the Croatian Fraternal Union. Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ... The term diaspora (Greek διασπορά, a scattering or sowing of seeds) is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands, being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture. ... The Croatian Fraternal Union Logo The Croatian Fraternal Union (Hrvatska bratska zajednica) is a fraternal benefit society of the Croatian diaspora based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ...

It should be noted that the domestic population number includes a non-negligible amount of people who don't actually live in Croatia all year: instead, they live work in a nearby European country during large parts of the year, returning home for the holiday seasons (and the census, obviously).

Tanais stone with the inscription "Horoatos" highlighted

The origin of the Croat tribe before the great migration of the Slavs is uncertain. One theory suggests they are descended from ancient Persia (cf. Alans). The earliest mention of the Croatian name, Horoathos, can be traced on two stone inscriptions in Greek language and script, dating from around the year 200 AD, found in the seaport Tanais on the Azov sea, Crimea peninsula (near the Black Sea). Both tablets are kept in the Archeological museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Download high resolution version (425x603, 62 KB)photo of the Tanais stone containing the word for Croats, from German wikipedia (18:53, 18. ... Download high resolution version (425x603, 62 KB)photo of the Tanais stone containing the word for Croats, from German wikipedia (18:53, 18. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... Persian art is conscious of a great past, and monumental in many respects. ... The Alans or Alani were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people, warlike nomadic pastoralists of mixed backgrounds, who spoke an Iranian language and shared, in a broad sense, a common culture. ... The Greek language (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of some 3,000 years. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... For other uses, see number 200. ... Tanais, the Greek name for the River Don in antiquity, was also the name of the city on the river situated in the Don river delta that reaches into the northeasternmost part of the Sea of Azov, which the Greeks called Lake Maeotis. ... The shallow Sea of Azov is clearly distinguished from the deeper Black Sea. ... The Crimea (officially Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukrainian transliteration: Avtonomna Respublika Krym, Ukrainian: Автономна Республіка Крим, Russian: Автономная Республика Крым, pronounced cry-MEE-ah in English) is a peninsula and an autonomous republic of Ukraine on the northern coast of the Black Sea. ... Satellite view of the Black Sea, taken by NASA MODIS Cities of the Black Sea The Black Sea (known as the Euxine Sea in antiquity) is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland...

In the 7th century, the Croat tribe moved from the area north of the Carpathians and east of the river Vistula (what was referred to as the White Croatia) and migrated into the western Dinaric Alps. Genetically, most Croats have a mixed genotype similar to other Slavs, but with the major set of genes being specific to a "Dinaric" subgroup probably inherited from pre-Slavic Croatia's and Bosnia's inhabitants. (6th century - 7th century - 8th century - other centuries) Events Islam starts in Arabia, the Quran is written, and Arabs subjugate Syria, Iraq, Persia, Egypt, North Africa and Central Asia to Islam. ... This is about the terrestrial mountain range. ... Vistula river basin Vistula ( Polish Wisła, German Weichsel) is the longest river in Poland. ... Dinaric Alps or Dinarides are a mountain chain in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... In physical anthropology, the Dinaric race is one of the Europid (White, Caucasoid) races, and it is endemic primarily to the Dinaric Alps (the western part of the Balkan Peninsula). ...

For the rest of the history of the Croats, please see history of Croatia. This is the history of Croatia. ...

See also: List of Croats