On Thursday, the government submitted a draft law on the Central Population Register to parliament, the adoption of which will make the organisation of a census superfluous. The register will link data from all existing registers and is due to be fully introduced in June 2026.

“A new law, a new tool for better insight so that we can provide targeted and precise support to citizens who need help in various crises,” said Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic at a government meeting.

The Central Population Register will be managed by the Ministry of Finance, in particular by the Tax Administration.

The data will be used for the exercise of social and other rights

“The register will contain data on Croatian citizens residing in Croatia, foreigners with permanent or temporary residence in Croatia, as well as data on Croatian citizens residing abroad, in order to create for the first time a data set on our citizens living outside Croatia,” said Finance Minister Marko Primorac.

It will include data on the number and spatial distribution of the population by social, economic, educational, migratory, housing and other characteristics, as well as data on kinship and households.

The data will be used for the exercise of social and other rights, for conducting statistical, social, economic and other research, for processing data for which there is a legal basis and for the effective management of administrative, tax and other procedures.

“A significant and ambitious reform step”

The register may also contain data collected on the basis of voluntary declarations on non-marital cohabitation or informal partnerships, religion, mother tongue and nationality.

Its establishment will eliminate the need for a census. Funds totalling 12.8 million euros excluding VAT have been made available in the state budget for the implementation of the law.

“The establishment of the register represents a significant and demanding reform step,” Primorac said, adding that the collection and processing of personal data will be carried out in accordance with the regulations on personal data protection.

He said the register will also help to keep an electronic record of work and non-working persons to facilitate the detection of criminals and combat undeclared work, as well as speed up inheritance procedures.

The government has also submitted amendments to the Air Protection Act to Parliament to improve the monitoring and reduction of pollutant emissions from engines, said the Minister of Environmental Protection and Green Transition, Marija Vuckovic.