Turks of Croatia, also referred to as Turkish Croatians or Croatian Turks, (; ) are one among 22 recognised national minorities in Croatia. According to the 2021 census, there were 404 Turks living in Croatia, most of which most lived in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and later in the City of Zagreb. Only 368 native Turkish-language speakers live in that country.
Turks compose approximately 0.01% of the total population. The majority of Croatian Turks are Sunni Muslims, and make up 0.6% of Croatia's Muslim population (50,981 Muslims in total).
History
During the Croatian-Ottoman Wars of the 15th and 16th centuries, parts of Croatia were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and settled by Turks. However, the majority of these retreated to other parts of Rumelia or Anatolia after the end of Ottoman rule. Many ethnic Turks in Croatia today are from more recent immigrations from the mid-20th century onwards.
Culture
In the Independent State of Croatia, the Croatian Muslim Printing House issued a magazine in Turkish language intended for the Turkish public, the European turkologists and those in the Independent State of Croatia who spoke Turkish language. The magazine was called The East and the West: the Cultural, Economic, Social and Political Magazine (). It was issued between 6 April 1943 and 15 August 1944. It was the first magazine in Turkish language on the territory of the present-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and second on the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
Population
+ Official name of Croatia Year Number of Turks - 1931 186 1948 13 1953 276 1961 2,710 1971 221 1981 279 1991 320 2001 300 2011 367 2021 404(Croatian Bureau of Statistics)Population of Croatia 1931-2001
Notable people Banu Alkan, Turkish actress
See also Croatia–Turkey relations Turkish minorities in the former Ottoman Empire Turks in the Balkans Turks in Bosnia and Herzegovina Turks in Kosovo Turks in Montenegro Turks in North Macedonia Turks in Serbia
References
Notes
Journals