During recent decades rural areas in
Croatia underwent fundamental change. In
most of them depopulation was rife and
the participation of the agricultural
population decreased greatly, there was a
diversification of non-agrarian activities
and urban patterns of life spread through
rural areas.
However, changes in rural areas differ and
vary from one part of Croatia to the other.
This article treats social and demographic
change in the commune of Imotski, with
reference to economic factors.
Meager conditions of life and an
inclination towards mobility had a strong
influence in the Imotski area, resulting in
migration towards cities and abroad. The
result was that the population relied on
three existential foundations: small farms,
employment in local non-agricultural
activities and work abroad.
Thus a social and economic symbiosis
developed in the Imotski region what is
today threatened by demographic secession
