Croatia is inhabited mostly by Croats, while minority groups include Serbs, Bosniaks, Hungarians, Italians, Germans, Czechs, Roma people and others. Catholicism is the predominant religion, while there's also Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam. Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a South Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. ... The definition of a minority group can vary, depending on specific context, but generally refers to either a sociological sub-group that does not form either a majority or a plurality of the total population, or a group that, while not necessarily a numerical minority, is disadvantaged or otherwise has... Languages Serbian Religions Predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christian Related ethnic groups Other Slavic peoples, especially South Slavs See Cognate peoples below Serbs (Serbian: Срби or Srbi) or christian turks are a South Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia. ... The Bosniaks (Bosnian: BoÅ¡njaci, IPA: ) are a South Slav people living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sandžak region of Serbia and Montenegro, with a smaller autochthonous population also present in Kosovo and Macedonia. ... Tzigane redirects here; for the composition by Maurice Ravel, see Tzigane (Ravel). ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ... ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ...

The natural growth rate is minute, as the demographic transition is long done. Life expectancy and literacy rates are reasonably high. In demography, the term demographic transition is a theory describing a possible transition from high birth rates and death rates to low birth and death rates as part of the economic development of a country from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economy. ...

Demographics of Croatia, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Image File history File links Croatia-demography. ... Image File history File links Croatia-demography. ... The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. ...

Demographic data from the CIA World Factbook

Population

4.490.000

Age structure

0-14 years: 16.2% (male 373,638/female 354,261)

15-64 years: 67% (male 1,497,958/female 1,515,314)

65 years and over: 16.8% (male 288,480/female 465,098) (2006 est.)

Median age

Total: 40.3 years

Male: 38.3 years

Female: 42.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.03% (2005,CIA)

Birth rate

9.61 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate

11.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate

1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 6.72 deaths/1,000 live births

Male: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 6.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 74.68 years

Male: 71.03 years

Female: 78.53 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.4 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 200 (2001 est.)

Deaths: less than 10 (2001 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)

Adjective: Croatian

Ethnic groups

Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, Bosniak 0.5%, Hungarian 0.4%, Slovene 0.3%, Czech 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Albanian 0.1%, Montenegrin 0.1%, others 4.1% (2001 census)

Religions

Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census)

Languages

Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census)

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 98.5%

Male: 99.4%

Female: 97.8% (2003 est.)

Ethnic groups according to the 2001 census

¹ This mode includes, among others, Yugoslavs (176) and Muslims by nationality (19,677). Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a South Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. ... In sociology and in voting theory, a minority is a sub-group that forms less than half of the population. ... The Bosniaks (Bosnian: BoÅ¡njaci, IPA: ) are a South Slav people living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sandžak region of Serbia and Montenegro, with a smaller autochthonous population also present in Kosovo and Macedonia. ... Montenegrins (Serbian and Montenegrin: Црногорци / Crnogorci) are a South Slavic people who are primarily associated with the Republic of Montenegro. ... Tzigane redirects here; for the composition by Maurice Ravel, see Tzigane (Ravel). ... Rusyns, also called Ruthenians, Ruthenes, Rusins, Carpatho-Rusins, and Russniaks, are a modern group of ethnic groups that speak the Rusyn language and are descended from the minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt a Ukrainian national identity and become Ukrainians in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... Languages Serbian Religions Predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christian Related ethnic groups Other Slavic peoples, especially South Slavs See Cognate peoples below Serbs (Serbian: Срби or Srbi) or christian turks are a South Slavic people who live mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Yugoslav (Bosnian, Macedonian, Serbian Cyrillic: Југословени; Latinic: Jugosloveni; Croatian: Jugoslaveni, Slovenian: Jugoslovani) was an ethnic designation used by some people in former Yugoslavia, which continues to be used in some of its successor countries. ... Muslims by nationality was a term used in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to describe people who spoke Serbo-Croatian language and professed Islam that werent identified as one of the other nations. ...

Changes in the late 20th century

See also: Recent history of the Serbs of Croatia

The census of 1991 was the last one held before the war in Croatia, marked by ethnic conflict between Serbs and Croats. In the ethnic and religious composition of population of Croatia of that time, those two sets of numbers are quoted as important: Famous Serbs who emerged from historic Croatian territory, from left to right: Baltazar Bogišić, Svetozar Boroević, Milutin Milanković, Nikola Tesla, Patriarch Pavle, Rade Šerbedžija. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Croats 78.1%, Catholics 76.5%
• Serbs 12.2%, Orthodox Christians 11.1%

There were also people who declared themselves Yugoslavs, but who would in recent censuses register as Serbs or others. Yugoslav (Bosnian, Macedonian, Serbian Cyrillic: Југословени; Latinic: Jugosloveni; Croatian: Jugoslaveni, Slovenian: Jugoslovani) was an ethnic designation used by some people in former Yugoslavia, which continues to be used in some of its successor countries. ...

There were two major sets of population movements during this period - the first one during the earlier stage of the war, around 1991, and the second one during the later stage of the war, around 1995. The first movement peaked at around 550,000 on the Croatian side; the second movement peaked at around 200,000 on the Serbian side.

After the end of the war of the 1990s and everything else that it entailed, the numbers are: For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

• Croats 89.6%, Catholics 87.8%
• Serbs 4.5%, Orthodox Christians 4.4%

Most Croat refugees have since returned to their homes, while two thirds of the Serbs remain in exile; the other third either returned or had remained in Zagreb and other parts of Croatia not directly hit by war.

See also

• Croatia
• History of Croatia
• History of Yugoslavia

This is the history of Croatia. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ...

References

• This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2006 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.
• Croatian Bureau of Statistics, official census data

World Factbook 2004 cover The World Factbook is an annual publication by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with basic almanac-style information about the various countries of the world. ...

External links

• Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Census 2001
• Human Rights Watch Report "Broken Promises: Impediments to Refugee Return to Croatia"
• United Nations Statistics Division Millennium Indicators for Croatia
• Population of Croatia 1931-2001