page_title: Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina
section_title: Demographic history
hierarchical_section_title: Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina / Demographics / Demographic history
caption_attribution_description: English: A Catholic from Central Bosnia. Deutsch: Katholik aus Mittelbosnien Français&#160;: Un catholique de la Bosnie Centrale
context_page_description: The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often referred to as Bosnian Croats or Herzegovinian Croats, are the third most populous ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs, and are one of the constitutive nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina have made significant contributions to the culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most Croats declare themselves Roman Catholics and speakers of Croatian.
  From the 15th to the 19th century, Catholics in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina were often persecuted under the Ottoman Empire, causing many of them to flee the area. In the 20th century, political turmoil and poor economic conditions caused more to emigrate. Ethnic cleansing within Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s saw Croats forced to different parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina, although having lived in numerous regions prior to the Bosnian War. According to the report by the Bosnia and Herzegovina statistics office, on the census of 2013 there were 544,780 Croats living in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
caption: A Croat from Central Bosnia (1901)
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