According to a report recently published by the Croatian public health service HZJZ, there are 624,019 people with some kind of disability registered in Croatia, which means that about 16 percent of the total 3.88 population - or one in six - are disabled, state agency Hina said, summarizing an article published by the Jutarnji List daily.

This number has increased by as many as 110,000 people over the past three years. In 2019 there were 511,281 Croatians with disabilities.

“The HZJZ explained that there are several reasons for this spike – one is the change in statistics methodology, another is the drop in the population according to the latest population census and the consequent rise in the share of people with disabilities, and ageing population,” Hina said Jutarnji said, citing HZJZ.

Hina did not explain how did the methodology change.

“Obviously, an ageing population inevitably leads to a greater number of people with difficulties in everyday functioning,” Hina opined.

“The share of disabled people in the population in Croatia is significantly higher than the average worldwide. According to United Nations (UN) estimates, one in ten residents is a person with some form of disability. Previously this ratio more or less applied to Croatia as well,” Hina said.

“According to Croatian law, a person with a disability is anyone who has long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments that, in interaction with various obstacles, may prevent their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others,” Hina said.