Izvanbračna rađanja na hrvatskim otocima: posebnost otoka Korčule
Illegitimate births on the Croatian islands: The distinctiveness of the island of Korčula

Summary/Abstract: Over the last fifty years, the proportion of extra-marital births has increased significantly in all European countries. In this respect, Croatia falls in the group of countries with a low percentage of extra-marital births, albeit with significant regional differences. The objective of this paper is to analyse extra-marital birth trends on the larger Croatian islands over a period of almost fifty years (1970-2017). The focus of our research was the island of Korčula (especially the western part – the towns of Vela Luka and Blato), which shows significantly higher extra-marital birth rates than the other islands during the observed period. In addition to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics regarding birth rates in rural areas, information from 19th-century birth registers was also used to explain the reasons Korčula’s distinctiveness in terms of extra-marital births.

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