Vojvodina's Croat community exceeded 140,000 in the early 1960s, but has now dropped to below 60,000 declaring themselves as Croats.
Analysts said this was due to assimilation, political migrations in the early 1970s, exile in the early 1990s, and moving for economic reasons. Young, educated people left, resulting in the average age of the Vojvodina Croat being 48.
Analyst Tomislav Zigmanov cautioned that this would primarily affect education in the Croatian language as the number of pupils would keep on dropping.
"The same may be expected in other segments of minority life as well, in culture and information. This also reduces the foundation for the revival of the elite within the community. The Croat community, it seems, is doomed to gradual decline," said Zigmanov.
A deputy of the Democratic League of Croats in Vojvodina in the province's assembly, Dujo Runje, said the party and the Croatian National Council were aware of the problem and felt the solution lay in the economic revival of the community.
"In order for our people, who primarily live in rural areas, to stay and survive in Vojvodina, it is necessary to invest in such areas so that some infrastructure and the economy could take hold there," he said.
It is questionable, however, if the community's leaders will have strength and time to prepare and implement such projects given that they are not much younger than the average Vojvodina Croat, the Radio Subotica programme concluded.