Croatia Population 2018
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. In 2018, the population is estimated at 4.16 million.
Population Density and Recent Changes
Croatia has been experiencing a population decline (nearly .60% in 2018), although it's believed its population has increased slightly to 4.16 million in 2018 from the 2011 census figure of 4.28 million. This makes Croatia the 128th most populous country in the world. Croatia has a population density of 73 people per square kilometer, which ranks 133rd in the world.
Croatia Capital and City Centers
The capital and largest city, Zagreb, has a city population of 698,000. The next largest city is Split, with only 178,000 people.
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.
More than 86% of the population is Roman Catholic. The second-most common religion is Eastern Orthodoxy at 4%.
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 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.
Components of Population Change
| One birth every 14 minutes | |
| One death every 10 minutes | |
| One net migrant every 65 minutes | |
| Net loss of one person every 22 minutes |
