Where are they located? South Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There is a notable Croat diaspora in western Europe, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
What are their lives like? The area settled by Croats has a large diversity of historical and cultural influences, as well as diversity of terrain and geography. The coastland areas of Dalmatia and Istria were subject to Roman Empire, Venetian and Italian rule; central regions like Lika and western Herzegovina were a scene of battles against the Ottoman Empire, and have strong epic traditions. In the northern plains, Austro-Hungarian rule has left its marks.
Despite that, Croats have maintained a strong, distinctive culture and sense of national identity. The most distinctive features of Croatian folklore include klapa ensembles of Dalmatia, tamburitza orchestras of Slavonia. Folk arts are performed at special events and festivals, perhaps the most distinctive being Alka of Sinj, a traditional knights' competition celebrating the victory against Ottoman Turks. The epic tradition is also preserved in epic songs sung with gusle. Various types of kolo circular dance are also encountered throughout Croatia.
What are their beliefs? The vast majority of Croats are Roman Catholic, and the church has had a significant role in fostering of the national identity. The confession played a significant role in the Croatian ethnogenesis.
What are their needs? Post-war government's policy of easing the immigration of ethnic Croats from abroad encouraged a number of Croatian descendants to return to Croatia. The influx was increased by the arrival of Croatian refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and from Vojvodina (BaÄka and especially Srijem). After the war's end in 1995, most Croatian refugees returned to their previous homes, while some (mostly Croat refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Janjevci from Kosovo) moved into the formerly-held Serb apartments.
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Significant effort is made to match photos with people groups. In most cases the photo source has identified the people group. However, in some instances when the exact people group is not identified Joshua Project has made educated attempts at matching. As a result some photos may be representative of the people cluster rather than the specific people group. Mismatches are the fault of Joshua Project, not the photographer. Please contact us if you believe a photo is not matched with the correct people group.
Percentages may be printed as '0.00%' because of space limitations, but some are slightly greater than zero.
The exactness of the above numbers can be misleading. Numbers can vary by several percentage points or more.
People group population figures are now maintained as a percentage of the national population. Click here for details.
Joshua Project does not have specific ministry activity data supporting the "Other Progress Indicators."
Discrepancies may exist between "Other Progress Indicators" because of the varying sources of information.
Joshua Project does not know the exact content of web audio recordings. In general they are Bible reading and teaching.
As on-site realities are understood, barriers of acceptance may be found in many of the larger people groups that will require multiple distinct church planting efforts.
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