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 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.
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.
| Croatia Population (as of 10/30/2024) | 3,866,040 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2024) | 3,875,320 |
| Births per Day | 86 |
| Deaths per Day | 148 |
| Migrations per Day | -14 |
| Net Change per Day | -77 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | -23,331 |
Net decrease of 1 person every 18.7 minutes
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 16.75 minutes | |
| One death every 9.73 minutes | |
| One emigrant every 102.85 minutes | |
| Net loss of one person every 18.7 minutes |
City | 2024 Pop. |
|---|---|
| Zagreb | 698,966 |
| Split | 176,314 |
| Rijeka | 141,172 |
| Osijek | 88,140 |
| Zadar | 71,258 |
| Slavonski Brod | 60,742 |
| Pula | 59,078 |
| Sesvete | 52,411 |
| Karlovac | 46,833 |
| Varazdin | 41,808 |
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.
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.
Year | Population | Change | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3,875,320 | -0.56% | 69 | 130 | 144 |
| 2023 | 3,896,020 | -0.65% | 70 | 130 | 144 |
| 2020 | 3,953,960 | -0.81% | 71 | 130 | 140 |
| 2019 | 3,986,330 | -0.96% | 71 | 130 | 139 |
| 2018 | 4,024,870 | -1.33% | 72 | 130 | 137 |
| 2017 | 4,079,200 | -1.38% | 73 | 130 | 135 |
| 2015 | 4,183,730 | -0.55% | 75 | 127 | 133 |
| 2010 | 4,301,140 | -0.06% | 77 | 124 | 123 |
| 2005 | 4,313,950 | -0.06% | 77 | 118 | 118 |
| 2000 | 4,326,100 | -1.3% | 77 | 118 | 114 |
| 1995 | 4,619,360 | -0.91% | 83 | 112 | 106 |
| 1990 | 4,835,060 | 0.34% | 86 | 104 | 106 |
| 1985 | 4,754,560 | 0.47% | 85 | 102 | 98 |
| 1980 | 4,643,900 | 0.4% | 83 | 98 | 91 |
| 1975 | 4,552,730 | 0.4% | 81 | 96 | 89 |
| 1970 | 4,462,670 | 0.53% | 80 | 91 | 88 |
| 1965 | 4,346,710 | 0.69% | 78 | 86 | 83 |
| 1960 | 4,200,260 | 0.58% | 75 | 80 | 78 |
| 1955 | 4,080,740 | 1.09% | 73 | 77 | 74 |
Year | Population | Change | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3,875,320 | -0.56% | 69 | 130 | 144 |
| 2025 | 3,848,160 | -0.54% | 69 | 130 | 145 |
| 2030 | 3,725,770 | -0.64% | 67 | 132 | 149 |
| 2035 | 3,607,220 | -0.65% | 64 | 134 | 154 |
| 2040 | 3,488,310 | -0.67% | 62 | 136 | 155 |
| 2045 | 3,362,950 | -0.73% | 60 | 137 | 159 |
| 2050 | 3,234,160 | -0.78% | 58 | 140 | 161 |
| 2055 | 3,105,970 | -0.81% | 56 | 141 | 163 |
| 2060 | 2,978,210 | -0.84% | 53 | 142 | 165 |
| 2065 | 2,853,840 | -0.85% | 51 | 142 | 169 |
| 2070 | 2,735,390 | -0.84% | 49 | 142 | 171 |
| 2075 | 2,624,400 | -0.83% | 47 | 142 | 171 |
| 2080 | 2,518,230 | -0.82% | 45 | 143 | 174 |
| 2085 | 2,419,110 | -0.8% | 43 | 143 | 175 |
| 2090 | 2,324,530 | -0.8% | 42 | 143 | 176 |
| 2095 | 2,231,790 | -0.81% | 40 | 143 | 177 |
43.9
Total
42
Male
45.9
Female
There are people over age 18 in Croatia.
Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 2021 |
| 2011 | 28 April 2011 |
| 2001 | 31 March 2001 |
| 1991 | 31 March 1991 |
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.
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.
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.
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.