Croatia Population 2024 (Live)

3,993,351

Croatia is in demographic crisis and losing people each year. Its fertility rate is just 1.5 children per woman, one of the world's lowest, and its death rate has exceeded the birth rate since 1991. Natural growth is negative. It's predicted that Croatia's population will shrink to 3.1 million by 2050, after reaching its peak of 4.7 million in 1991.

Croatia Population Growth

Croatia is in demographic crisis and losing people each year. Its fertility rate is just 1.5 children per woman, one of the world's lowest, and its death rate has exceeded the birth rate since 1991. Natural growth is negative. Croatia is now ranked as the 14th fastest shrinking country in the world. It's predicted that Croatia's population will shrink to 3.1 million by 2050, after reaching its peak of 4.7 million in 1991.

Croatia Population Projections

The negative growth rate in Croatia is expected to continue, but it shouldn't get much worse with the rate of decrease staying fairly constant. Current projections believe that the annual rate of change will be -0.57% in 2020, before slowing getting down to -0.63% by 2050. If these numbers are to be believed, the population in Croatia will be close to 4,115,947 in 2020, 3,895,784 in 2030, 3,681,556 in 2040, and 3,460,901 by 2050.

Population Rank
Growth Rate
2024 World Percentage
Land Area
55,960
The current population of Croatia is 3,993,351 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2024 population at 3,986,627.

Croatia Growth Rate

Croatia Population 2024 (Live)

Croatia Population Clock

Croatia Population (as of 3/11/2024)3,993,351
Next UN Estimate (July 1, 2024)3,986,627
Births per Day91
Deaths per Day146
Migrations per Day-5
Net Change per Day-61
Population Change Since Jan. 1-4,331

Components of Population Change

One birth every 15.82 minutes
One death every 9.87 minutes
One emigrant every 288 minutes
Net loss of one person every 23.6 minutes

Croatia Population Clock

City
2024 Population
Zagreb698,966
Split176,314
Rijeka141,172
Osijek88,140
Zadar71,258
Slavonski Brod60,742
Pula59,078
Sesvete52,411
Karlovac46,833
Varazdin41,808

Croatia Area and Population Density

Located in the Balkan region of Europe, the country of Croatia is located along the Adriatic Sea, sharing its borders with Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia. In addition to the mainland, Croatia has 1244 islands, of which only 48 are inhabited. The total surface area is 21,851 square miles (56,594 square kilometers), making Croatia the 126th largest country in the world. Croatia has been experiencing a population decline (nearly .60% in 2018). Croatia has a population density of 189 people per square mile (73 people per square kilometer), which ranks 109th in the world.

Largest Cities in Croatia

Roughly 60% of Croatia's population live in or around urban centers, however, most of these are relatively small. The capital and largest city, Zagreb, has a city population of 793,000. Zagreb is located along the Sava River and serves as the country's trade and business centers on top of being the nation's capital. The next largest city is Split, which is the oldest city in the country, dating back to the 4th century, but the population is only 178,000 people. Other notable cities with populations around 100,000 include Rijeka, Osijek, and Zadar.

Croatia Population Density Map

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Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
20243,986,627-0.7%71130142
20234,008,617-0.74%72130142
20204,096,869-0.8%73130138
20194,129,752-0.74%74130137
20184,160,485-0.76%74130136
20174,192,467-0.74%75127135
20154,254,815-0.53%76126131
20104,368,682-0.28%78123123
20054,429,681-0.53%79117116
20004,548,434-1.1%81115113
19954,807,100-0.27%86107106
19904,873,7070.29%87104106
19854,803,3250.52%8610198
19804,680,1440.44%849891
19754,579,4280.38%829589
19704,492,6380.55%809189
19654,371,3810.73%788684
19604,215,3240.8%757977
19554,049,6590.94%727774

Croatia Population by Year (Historical)

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Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
20243,986,627-0.7%71130142
20253,964,392-0.66%71130144
20303,850,140-0.58%69131149
20353,729,368-0.64%67132154
20403,600,992-0.7%64133156
20453,467,671-0.75%62136158
20503,333,425-0.79%60140161
20553,199,548-0.82%57140165
20603,067,081-0.84%55141168
20652,934,086-0.88%52142170
20702,801,047-0.92%50142171
20752,669,861-0.95%48143172
20802,544,047-0.96%45143173
20852,426,537-0.94%43143176
20902,316,445-0.92%41143179
20952,212,198-0.92%40143180

Croatia Population by Year (Projections)

Croatia Population Pyramid 2024

Croatia Median Age

43.9

Total

42

Male

45.9

Female

Croatia Population by Age

There are people over age 18 in Croatia.

Census Years

Year
Date
20212021
201128 April 2011
200131 March 2001
199131 March 1991

Croatia Population Pyramid

Croatia sits at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Southern Europe and Central Europe, and thus has very diverse climates. The climate is inviting to cold winters and hot summers over the majority of the country, with coastal areas enjoying milder conditions.

Croatia Demographics

90.4% of the population is Croats. This makes Croatia the most ethnically homogeneous of the 6 countries of former Yugoslavia. Other groups include Serbs (4.4%), Bosniaks, Italians, Germans, Czechs, Romani and Hungarians.

Croats arrived in the area during the 7th century and founded the kingdom of Croatia, which retained sovereignty for almost 200 years. It was conquered and eventually declared independence once more in 1991. The Croatian War of Independence caused a sharp drop in population, with hundreds of thousands fleeing violence outside the country.

78% of Croatians speak at least one foreign language. About half speak English as a second language, while 34% speak German and 14% speak Italian. Croatian is the official language in Croatia.

Croatia Religion, Economy and Politics

According to the constitution of Croatia, there is no official religion in the country and its citizens have freedom of religion. However, more than 86% of the population is Roman Catholic. The second-most common religion is Eastern Orthodoxy at 4%, and 0.34% are Protestant. Aside from 1.47% of the population practicing Islam, there are no other major religions represented in Croatia.

Post-civil war in the 1990s, the economy in Croatia has been doing increasingly well, largely due to its shift into a market-based economy. The majority of Croatia's GDP is tied up in the services sector. In terms of exports, the industrial sector plays a big roll in the economy through the building of ships, which account for 10% of the country's GDP. Another one of Croatia's important outputs is food processing and chemical engineering. Agriculture only accounts for 5% of the GDP. Tourism is a flourishing industry during the summer months.

Croatia Population History

The country of Croatia doesn't have much of an extended history. They joined the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918 following the breakdown of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The area was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929 and the government became a centralized dictatorship, but the Croatian Peasant Party fought for their autonomy. The Germans invaded Croatia in 1941, killing hundreds of thousands of Jewish people are Serbs.

A new constitution was written up declaring Croatia's complete autonomy in 1974, and the collapse of communism in eastern Europe led to a more democratic system. Still not completely independent, Croatian Serbs in the east ousted other Croats with the help of the Yugoslavian Army in 1991. The UN stepped in to separate the Serbs from the Croats, with the Croats eventually taking back the land that was invaded by the Serbs.

Croatia Population Rank 2024
Area (km²)
56,594
2024 Growth Rate
Capital
GDP (IMF '23)
$80.19
GDP (UN '22)
$71.55 Bn

Croatia - General Info

  1. Croatian Bureau of Statistics
  2. World Population Prospects (2022 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  3. GeoNames

Sources