Croatia has lost a total of 396,360 of its inhabitants since 2011, the first results of the country’s 2021 Census show. The latter is a statistical survey carried out at regular intervals, collecting basic data on demographic, ethnic, educational, economic, migration and other characteristics of population.
According to the census, Croatia now counts a population of 3,888,529, which is 9.25 per cent smaller than in 2011, when the last census was carried out.
At the same time, the number of households in the country has decreased by 80,615 or -5.31 per cent, in contrast to the number of housing units which increased by 103,534 or by 4.61 per cent compared to the 2011 Census.
Commenting on the results of the Census, Croatian demographer Stjepan Sterc said that though the census results claim that there are 3,890,000 people living in Croatia, at least 50,000 of them are fictitious people who were enumerated.
“Our estimates are that in 3,890,000 people, at least 50,000 fictitious people were enumerated. This is easy to calculate when looking at the natural decline between the two censuses and “When you look at the departure, not what is shown is a negative migration balance. This happened because part of the population that entered Croatia is not listed in the census as a permanent population, so the difference is bigger,” he said for rtl.hr.
Further, Sterc explains that in the 50,000 enumerated fictitious people are included Croatian citizens who left after 1990, who hold Croatian documentation but are not permanent residents of the country, which means that the number of those who have left Croatia since then is higher than it presents to be.
Moreover, he argues that if the government does not pay attention to demographers’ predictions and undertake the necessary measures to stop the exodus, the country could lose another half-million population in the next ten years.
“The great loss is the natural disappearance of Croatia, it is 160 thousand people, these others who left Croatia in a normal development conception of the state may be Croatian wealth as such wealth in some other countries with more inhabitants in emigration than domicile area,” Sterc explained.
He recommended that the authorities undertake the necessary measures to encourage births, and marriage, as 80 per cent o children are born from marriage, he noted. He also suggested selective immigration so that Croatia could encourage youngsters from other countries to move to its territory.
Since Croatia joined the European Union in 2013, over a quarter million Croatians have left the country to work in other EU countries, in particular in Germany, Austria and Ireland. Projections by the United Nations predict that Croatia will likely have just 2.5 million people by the end of the century.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
