In mid-2020 men accounted for 48.6% of Croatia's population and data indicate that the share of men in education is falling as educational qualifications rise and they are more likely to emigrate than women but also travel more, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

The data was released on Friday on the occasion of International Men’s Day, marked 19 November, to raise awareness of men’s health, promote equality and highlight positive men’s roles.

DZS notes that during 2020 there were 35,845 live births in Croatia and 51.3% of them were boys.

Men accounted for 48.6% of the population and their average age was 42 while life expectancy for men in 2020 was 74.7%.

Number of men falls as level of education rises

As a result of more boys being born, there were more boys in elementary school than girls and at the start of the 2020/2021 school year boys accounted for 51.2% of elementary school pupils.

However, the share of boys in later stages of education declines. At the start of the 2020/2021 school year, boys accounted for 49.9 of secondary school students and 42.7% of students in higher education.

Men live with parents until aged 34 

Men also marry later than women. The average age of men leaving their parents’ homes in 2020 was 34, which is three years later than women (30.9).

In 2020 the average age for men to marry for the first time was 31.6 whereas the average age for women was 29.1 years.

Men in households with children have a greater employment rate and some vocations still carry a “male indicator”, DZS notes.

Predominantly male jobs in 2020 were in construction (men accounting for 90%); mining and quarrying (87.5%), and water supply and wastewater and waste management (78.8%).

It is interesting to see that the employment rate for men varied depending on whether they were in households with children (89.0%) or in single households (74.2%).

Men travel more, emigrate more often

Figures for the pre-coronavirus year 2019 indicate 837,000 business trips in the duration of several days, with men accounting for 70% of them.

The average business trip lasted 4.5 bed nights. Men accounted for more single-day business trips as well, generating 595,000 such trips or 70%. Most business trips (80%) were within Croatia while 20% were abroad.

About 64.4% of the population that emigrated from Croatia were men.

The average age of men who emigrated in 2020 was 36.2 years.