Low fertility and brain drain plague Croatia, with the total population shrinking by 10% over the past decade.

The Paper's reporter Nan Boyi

On January 14, local time, Croatia's national news agency Hina released the results of the country's 2021 census, Croatia's current total population is 3.9 million, down 400,000 in the past decade.

According to Reuters reported on January 16, the population data released by Hina is the result of the country's first digitized census and is considered to be of high precision. The results show that the total population of Croatia has fallen from 4.3 million to 3.9 million in the past decade, a decline of nearly 10%. Lydia Barkovic, head of the Croatian National Statistical Office, explained that the main reasons for the rapid decline in population were low fertility rates and outflows. The country's eastern region has seen the fastest population decline, with even the coastal, more developed tourist city of Zadar falling by 5.5 percent. The capital, Zagreb, is in slightly better shape, with a population decline of only 2.5 percent.

With regard to the situation of population outflows, the Croatian National Statistical Office did not give a detailed analysis. But Reuters commented that the situation of population outflows has become more serious after Croatia joined the European Union in 2013, and the outflow destinations are clearly economically developed countries such as Western Europe.

According to Euronews reported on Jan. 15, the Croatian government has listed population issues as a major challenge for the country's future. According to the report, Croatia is a more prominent case, reflecting a similar situation in many countries throughout the Balkan region.

Responsible editor: Wang Lunyu Photo editor: Jin Jie