Croatia (Hrvatska) is a small country at the crossroads of central and south-east Europe, with a long Adriatic coastline. Covering an area of 56 594 km2, Croatia is bordered by Slovenia and Hungary (to the north), and by Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro (to the east and south) (Fig1.1). Shaped as a horseshoe, it is diverse in terms of climate and relief, consisting of three major geographical regions: the Pannonian region in the east, the central mountain region and the coastal region in the south, with a multitude of islands. Croatia has an important geographical position as several pan-European transport corridors and their branches pass through the country.
Fig1.1
According to the World Bank (2021), Croatia’s total population in 2020 was 4.0 million (Table1.1). The war in 1991–1995 negatively affected the number of births, the mortality of younger age groups and migration trends. Ever since, there has been a population decline, due to a low fertility rate and emigration. Emigration has been driven by a mix of economic and political factors and, recently, by Croatia’s entry into the EU in 2013 (Župarić-Iljić, 2016).
Table1.1
Like other European countries, Croatia is experiencing population ageing. The share of the population aged 65 years and above increased from 13.7% in 1995 to 21.3% in 2020. Over the same period, the share of the population aged 0–14 years decreased from 18.4% to 14.5% (Table1.1).
With the exception of the city of Zagreb, the population has been shrinking across the country, although this process is more pronounced in the eastern regions (European Commission, 2019a). The majority of the population (57.6% in 2020) lives in urban areas and the share of the rural population is declining (Table1.1).
The official language is Croatian. As of the latest population census in 2011, the main minority groups are Serbs (4.4% of the total population), followed by Bosniaks, Italians, Albanians and Roma (together accounting for 1.96% of the population). The most prevalent religion is Roman Catholicism (86.3%) (Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 2018).