Where Is Croatian Spoken? Official Status and Diaspora Communities

Croatian is a South Slavic language with official status in two countries and recognized minority communities across Europe.

Official Language

• Croatia – Sole official language (EU's 24th official language since 2013).
• Bosnia and Herzegovina – One of three official languages (with Bosnian and Serbian).

Recognized Minority Language

• Serbia – Official in Vojvodina province.
• Italy – Recognized in Molise region (Molise Croats).
• Austria – Recognized in Burgenland (Burgenland Croats).
• Slovenia – Recognized for Croatian minority.
• Romania, Hungary, Slovakia – Minority language rights.

Global Diaspora

Significant Croatian-speaking communities exist in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand due to 19th–20th century emigration waves.

Language Facts

• Standard Croatian uses Latin script (Gaj's alphabet).
• Mutually intelligible with Serbian, Bosnian, Montenegrin (collectively "BCMS").
• ~5.5 million native speakers worldwide.