Croatia has lost at least about 250,000 inhabitants over the past decade as, according to an estimate from the Croatian state statistics bureau (DZS), it had a population of 4,036,000 at the end of December 2020, Vecernji List daily reported on Tuesday. Pročitaj više

However, the real situation could turn out to be much worse once the DZS releases the first results this year’s census of the population, households, and dwellings at the end of December this year. The City of Zagreb and Istria and Dubrovnik-Neretva counties are the only ones to register population growth since the last census, according to the estimate of the DZS for 2020.

The City of Zagreb, which had a population of 808,000 at the end of 2020, has gained 18,768 inhabitants in the past decade, while the population of Istria County rose by 2,000 to 208,000. Dubrovnik-Neretva County, which had nearly 122,500 inhabitants in 2020, also reports a minor population growth.

According to the national statistical office, all other counties recorded a decline in population since 2011. Osijek-Slavonija County tops the list in terms of population loss since it lost over 35,000 inhabitants and it had fewer than 270,000 inhabitants in 2020.

It is followed by Vukovar-Srijem County whose population downsized by 30,500 inhabitants since 2011 to slightly more than 148,000 at the end of last year. Sisak-Moslavina County is third with a population loss of 28,000, and it had 143,600 inhabitants at the end of 2020.