Croatian diaspora in Ecuador

There are approximately 4,000 Croats and their descendants living in Ecuador. One can mention two major periods of the immigration of Croats to Ecuador; the first one at the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century and the recent that started in the 1990s.  During the first period, Croat immigrants were mostly traders from Dubrovnik, Split and the island of Vis who settled in agricultural parts of Ecuador, especially in the region of Manabi, and in the cities such as Bahia De Caraquez, Chone, Manta, Portoviejo and Guayaquil, Cuenca and Quito. The current immigration of Croats is not significant and it  was largely motivated by the interest in the fish industry and the exploration of marine crustaceans.  Most of these new immigrants come from the Adriatic coast, especially from Split, and are employed in the tuna and sardines processing industry. Ecuadorian Croats and their descendants have a high cultural and economic status in the society and are quite prominent, particularly in the agricultural and fishing sectors, as well as in commerce and industry.

Ecuador has a large fleet of ships for bananas transportation; also fish and merchant vessels whose crew is also made up of Croats living in Guayaquil. They are, however, not registered as Croatian immigrants.
In 2004 an association was established in Ecuador where Croats and their descendants often congregate.
In Quito there is Sisters of Charity order and their head is Sister Clementina Banozic. They run the Centre for integrative education Paola di Rosa (CEIPAR) and take care of 250 children. The Sisters Iva Jelić and Antonela Medić also work in Ecuador. Besides them, there is a Mission of Christ Missionary of prayers run by Sister Lenka Čović in the area of San Francisco de Oyacoto. Missionairies, assisted by laymen, conduct evangelization in remote parts of the country.