The Centre for Peace Studies (CMS) presented the results of a survey on attitudes towards foreigners on Wednesday. According to the results, 34% of citizens believe that Croatia should be open to asylum seekers, while 45% see people from the Arab world as a threat.

“Most citizens believe that Croatia should be open to tourists (81%) and returnees from the diaspora (71%), which is partly in line with national policy. Somewhat surprisingly, asylum seekers receive the least support. About a third, 34% of respondents, think that Croatia should be open to asylum seekers,” said Sara Lalic from the Centre for Peace Studies at the presentation of the survey “Attitudes towards foreigners and minorities in Croatian society in 2024: threat, encounter, coexistence?”

About 47% of respondents are not against immigrants from wealthy countries

Among the other categories, foreigners who came to Croatia for educational purposes (69%) and digital nomads (54%) enjoy majority support. Some 47% of respondents are not against immigrants from wealthy countries who have come to Croatia to work or retire. Forty-three per cent support the idea that Croatia should be open to climate migrants, while 42% are in favour of accepting economic migrants.

The second question revealed that 45% of citizens see Arabs as a threat to their personal safety and property. Similar percentages were found for asylum seekers, Muslims and Palestinians (42-44%). Very few people see Ukrainians, Bosniaks or immigrants from western EU countries as a threat.

Regarding the treatment of foreigners, the majority of respondents agreed that the state should penalise employers who exploit foreign workers (74%) and landlords who provide workers with poor housing conditions (68%).

“Similarly, around 60% believe that the government should ensure that refugees can arrive in Croatia safely and legally. This is something that progressive civil society and experts in Croatia and the European Union have been advocating for years,” said Lalic.

Ombudswoman: Negative attitudes often fuel right-wing extremism

The survey results also show that 59% of citizens support the right of foreigners to equal treatment before justice, 58% agree that they should be protected from discrimination, and 56% believe that foreign workers should be paid the same as domestic workers when doing the same job.

“There is the least support for political rights, freedom of speech and the right to public expression, especially the right to vote in elections. When asked when foreigners should acquire these rights, 16% responded ‘never,’ but the majority of respondents said they should get them as soon as they obtain citizenship. In practise, if you do not encounter institutional or structural obstacles, you can expect citizenship after eight years of working and living in Croatia,” said Drago Zuparic-Ilic from the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb.

Negative attitudes towards foreign workers and citizens often fuel right-wing extremism, warned Ombudswoman Tena Simonovic-Einwalter. “It exploits such attitudes and propagates the repression of the population, sends the army to the border, forms guard patrols because our security is under threat, etc. The worst manifestations are physical attacks and hate crimes,” she said.

The survey was conducted by the Ipsos agency among a representative sample of adult citizens, with data collected through face-to-face household interviews.