The initial results of the 2021 census, which have not yet been officially confirmed, show that Croatia has a population of roughly 3.9 million, the Jutarnji List (JL) daily reported on Tuesday.

The deadline for the publication of official results of the census is mid-January, and the current estimates show that the population has downsized to 3.9 million, the newspaper, assessing that the official number of people who have emigrated from Croatia in recent years is probably lower than their actual number.

Jutarnji List quoted demographer Ivan Cipin as saying that the estimates made by the national statistical office (DZS) in early 2021 indicated that Croatia had more than four million people.

Cipin believes that due to emigration, the country’s population has scaled down by at least 50,000 to 80,000. On the other hand, Croatia has been seeing more and more workers immigrating from other countries, notably those of the former Yugoslavia.

If foreign workers have stayed in Croatia for more than a year or if three months ago they concluded employment contracts for a period of one or more years, they should be added to the census, Cipin said.