croats () are a south slavic ethnic group mostly living in croatia, bosnia and herzegovina and nearby countries. there are around 5 million croats living in the southern central europe region, along the east bank of the adriatic sea and an estimated 9 million throughout the world. large croat communities exist in a number of countries, including chile, the united states, argentina, australia, germany, new zealand and south africa. croats are noted for their unique culture, which comes from their location on the edge of the western world which subjected them to various non european influences. the croats are predominantly catholic and their language is croatian.