The Serbs of Croatia

The Serbs of Croatia, numbering approximately 187,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a South Slavic people native to the central Balkans, whose culture has been shaped by Orthodox Christianity, village and kinship traditions, centuries of life under competing empires, and a strong sense of historical and cultural continuity. They mostly adhere to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Serbian is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Serb

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Croatia
People Cluster: Slav, Southern
Primary Language(s): Serbian (srp)
Primary Religion(s): Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Population: 187,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000763
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Serbs of Croatia

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

80%
%
Eastern Orthodox Christia… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Serbian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Serbian Speakers

Media Resources in Serbian:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Serbian:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
New Serbian Translation✓

1 entry

Or check out the Serbian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Serbs are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Serbs:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Serbs of Croatia

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will recognize Him as the only way to the Father and follow Him in faith.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:19-20

Pray that God will use His creation – the “things that have been made” – to spark a fresh and passionate curiosity among them to draw near to the Maker and that, as they seek Him, He will make a way for them to hear the gospel and receive it with joy.

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
readRomans 5:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in what God has done for them and will help others know how they can also be reconciled to God.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Serb Across Countries (ROP3 - 108856) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

18 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
SerbsSerbsSerbia6,180,000Engaged yet UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsBosnia and Herzegovina963,000Unengaged and UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsGermany238,000Engaged yet UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsMontenegro200,000Engaged yet UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsCroatia187,000Engaged yet UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsAustria155,000Unengaged and UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsUnited States80,000Engaged yet UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsKosovo76,500Engaged yet UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsFrance60,500Unengaged and UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsSlovenia53,000Unengaged and UnreachedSerbianRoman Catholicism
SerbsSerbsNorth Macedonia38,500Engaged yet UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsCanada38,000Unengaged and UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsItaly36,500Unengaged and UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsAustralia35,500Engaged yet UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsArgentina7,400Unengaged and UnreachedSerbianUnaffiliated
SerbsSerbsTurkiye5,400Unengaged and UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity
SerbsSerbsChile4,100Unengaged and UnreachedSerbianUnaffiliated
SerbsSerbsZambia3,900Engaged yet UnreachedSerbianEastern Orthodox Christianity

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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