Croatia Flag

Croatia

Capital:
Zagreb
Continent:
Europe
Region(s):
Southern Europe
Largest Cities:
Zagreb, Split, Rijeka
Abbreviation:
HRV

Croatia is a country in Europe, known for its Adriatic coastline and ancient Roman ruins. It has a population of nearly 4 million, making it the 130th largest country in the world. Its official language is Portuguese, and the capital is Zagreb. Croatia has a service-based economy with strong tourism sector.

3.8M
Total Population
130
Population Rank
68.77
Density (km²)
-27.2K -0.54%
Annual Population Growth

Population of Croatia

Croatia's population structure shows a somewhat lower male to female ratio of 0.93 to 1, with a median male age of 43.91 years old and a median female age of 48.13 years old. The highest concentration of adults under 75 years old is in the 58 and 63 year-old age groups, while the lowest concentration is in the 21 and 22 year-old age groups.

Croatia Population

Data after 2022 is projected based on recent change

Croatia Population Clock

Croatia Population*
3,858,535
Births per Day
85
Deaths per Day
147
Emigrations per Day
10
Net Change per Day
72
2025 Population Change*
2,664

* As of 2/6/2025

1 birth

Every 16.9 minutes

1 death

Every 9.8 minutes

1 emigrant

Every 2.4 hours

1 person

Every 20.0 minutes

Population by City

City
2025 Pop.
Zagreb698,966
Split176,314
Rijeka141,172

Croatia Overview

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.