There have been five major waves of emigration from Croatia.
- 1880s to World War I – to USA, Oceania, South America and South Africa
- Interwar period – to Germany, France and Belgium
- Post-World War II – to South America and North America
- 1960s-1980s – to Western Europe, Oceania, Canada
- 1990s to present – Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada
The primary reasons for emigrating were economic hardship, outbreak of war, political struggle, and the Homeland War.
In a one hundred year span, the region of Dalmatia fell under control of different political entities: Kingdom of Dalmatia; Austria-Hungary Empire; Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia; Kingdom of Italy; Independent State of Croatia; Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; Croatia.
When people left for new territories, their documents may have listed their nationality or race as Austrian, Hungarian, Dalmatian, Italian, Yugoslavian or Croatian, depending on which time period they emigrated and how they personally identified.