Croatia Emigration and Immigration
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Finding the Town of Origin in Croatia
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Croatia, see Croatia Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.
Croatia Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country.
Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.
Immigration into Croatia
Emigration From Croatia
Balkans
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 384,631
- Serbia 70,602
- Montenegro 6,811
- Romania 6,786
Western and Central Europe
- Germany 450,000
- Austria 150,719
- Slovenia 35,642
- Ireland 24,000
- Switzerland 180,000
- France 100,000
- Hungary 25,730
- Italy 80,000
- United Kingdom 10,000
Northern Europe
- Sweden 28,000
- Denmark 5,400
- Norway 3,909
- Finland 470
Africa
- South Africa 8,000
North America
- United States 420,763
- Mexico 150,000
- Canada 133,965
South America
- Argentina 250,000
- Bolivia 5,000
- Brazil 45,000
- Chile 380,000
- Peru 6,000
- Colombia 5,800
- Venezuela 5,000
Oceania
- Australia 118,046
- New Zealand 2,550 - 100,000(est.)
United States
- According to the 2005 US Community Survey, there are 401,208 Americans of full or partial Croatian descent.
- Croatians in Detroit first appeared around 1890, settling usually in the region of Russel.
- Although it was created a bit later, the Croatian settlement in Chicago became one of the most important ones in the United States. The settlement especially started developing after World War I. It is calculated that there were roughly 50,000 Croats in Chicago in the 1990s, while there were altogether 100,000 Croats living in 54 additional Croatian settlements in Illinois. There is a significant Croat population also in Indianapolis that settled during the Yugoslav Wars of the 90's.
- Pittsburgh has always had a sizable Croatian population. Most of the Croatians in Pittsburgh originally settled in the early 1900s on the city's North Side.
Canada
- There are approximately 114,880 Canadians of Croatian ethnic origin as reported in the 2011 National Household Survey.
- The Croatian community is present in most major Canadian cities (including Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Windsor, and Montreal, as well as Mississauga and Oakville) in the form of designated Croatian churches, parks, and other organizations.
Chile
- Chile has one of the largest communities of ethnic Croats outside the Balkans Peninsula and it is one of the most significant communities in the Croatian diaspora.
- The Croatian community first established itself in two provinces situated in the extreme ends of Chile: Antofagasta, in the Atacama desert of the north and Punta Arenas in the Patagonian region in the south. The massive arrival of Croats in Chile began in 1864 and the migration grew steadily until 1956 – reaching a number of more than 60,000.
- It is officially accepted that there are up to 380,000 Chileans of Croatian descent (who clearly identify themselves as Chilean-Croats).
Argentina
- Argentine of Croatian descent number over 250,000.
- By 1909, Nikola Mihanović, who settled in Buenos Aires, owned the biggest boat company in Argentina. By 1918, he employed 5,000 people, mostly from his native Dalmatia.
- The second wave of Croat immigration was far more numerous, totalling 15,000 by 1939. Mostly peasants, these immigrants fanned out to work the land in Buenos Aires province, Santa Fe, Chaco and Patagonia.
- The third wave after the Second World War was eminently political. Some 20,000 Croatian political refugees came to Argentina, and most became construction workers on Peron's public works projects.
Colombia
The Croatian community is present in most major Colombian cities, including Bogota, Cali and Barranquilla. There are approximately 5,800 Colombians of Croatian ethnic origin as reported.
Venezuela
- Croatian immigration to Venezuela dates back to the late nineteenth century, and was characterized by the individual arrival of merchant seamen.
- Until World War I, a few number of Croats settle in Venezuela.
- During World War II, Croatian families that escaped from the government of Tito began to settle in the country. Most of these immigrants came from present-day Croatian territory, particularly from the coastal and inland areas of Dalmatia. Others came from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- The majority of the members of the Croatian community settled in Caracas and Valencia and, to a lesser extent, in other cities of the interior: Maracay, Maracaibo, Mérida and in localities of the Yaracuy state, where some joined the work in the sugar industry.
- A large percentage of the Croatians were artisans, who later became small entrepreneurs, and many were professionals, especially engineers and technicians, who had outstanding performance in Venezuela.
Australia
- In 2006 118,051 persons resident in Australia identified themselves as having a Croatian ancestor.
New Zealand
- Migration waves began when the Austro-Hungarian Empire allowed Italian wine and oil into the Empire's territories for a substantially less duty thus rendering peasants and farmers bankrupt, this treaty was the beginning of many events which causes migration mainly from Dalmatia .
- 5,000 between 1890 and 1914, prior to World War I.
- 1,600 during the 1920s before the onset of the Great Depression.
- 600 in the 1930s, prior to World War II.
- 3,200 between 1945 and 1970.
- Arrivals during the 1990s, fleeing the conflict in former Yugoslavia.
- Many Croatian men married Māori women as they came to New Zealand as bachelors before a bride could be sent from their home village. The local Maori called them Tarara because they spoke in Croatian very fast. Many Māori nowadays refer to themselves as Tarara and carry Croatian family names.
- In Modern times Croatian immigrants have continued to arrive, with many starting their own business with the abundance of good soil and land many turned to similar work that they did back in Dalmatia such as vineyards, orchards and fishing.
Records of Croatian Emigrants in Their Destination Nations
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One option is to look for records about the ancestor in the country of destination, the country they immigrated into. See links to immigration records for major destination countries below. |
For Further Reading
There are additional sources listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:
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