| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 6,993–15,000 (estimated) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Romania(Caraș-Severin County, Timiș County) | |
| Languages | |
| Croatian | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism |
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Croats (Croatian: Hrvati, Romanian: Croați) are an ethnic minority in Romania, numbering 6,786 people according to the 2002 census. They mainly live in the southwest of the country, particularly in Caraș-Severin County. A large part of them are of Bunjevic extended families. Their ancestors were Vlachs of Bosnia. Due to Otoman invasion, a large group called Buni escaped to Croatian lands where they passed to Catholicism. As a result they were considered Croatians. The advance of Otomans made them to flee to Hungarian and Romanian lands. Declared Croatians form a majority in two Romanian localities: the communes of Carașova and Lupac. In these communes, Croatian is an officially recognised language, with signage, education and access to justice and public administration being provided in Croatian alongside Romanian.
Krashovani
Most Croats in Romania are Krashovani, even though only around 200 people declared themselves Krashovani in the census, the rest declaring Croatian ethnicity. Due to some political, economic, social and cultural factors, most of them started identifying themselves with Croats, and some still continued to call themselves Krašovani. Today, many Krashovani chose the Croatian ethnicity, partly due to the attention given to them by the Croatian state (which also awards them the Croatian citizenship).
Political participation
As an officially recognized ethnic minority, Croats have one seat reserved in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, held by the Union of Croatians of Romania.
Communes with the largest Croat population percentage
- Caraș-Severin County
- Timiș County
- Checea (Croatian: Keča) — 1.63%
See also
- Krashovani
- Croats of Serbia
- List of Croats