Country or area · Southern Europe · Europe · UN WPP 2024

Croatia population

Croatia population now

3,816,136

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 3.7–3.9 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 3,896,024

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 3.82235 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 3.7–3.9 million
Median age: 46.5
Aged 65+: 24.0%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 1,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

HRV · 1950–2100 · in brief

Croatia in numbers

The UN counts 3,896,024 people in Croatia in mid-2023, which makes it the 130th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and 0.05% of the world's people. That is about as many as in 1950 (3.9 million).

Its population peaked in 1990 at 4.8 million and has been falling since. The UN's medium projection has 2.1 million in 2100. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 1.1 million to 3.9 million.

Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 1991, and do so in every projected year to 2100.

The median age was 26.4 in 1950 and 45.8 in 2023; the projection has 53.8 in 2100. 22.8% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 35.9% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) peaked in 1990 at 3.3 million; in 2023 it was 2.5 million.

By size it is the 130th country in 2023; the projection puts it 140th in 2050 and 142nd in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Hong Kong in 2099. It is overtaken by Georgia in 2027, Eritrea in 2028 and Mongolia in 2031.

Population, mid-2023: 3,896,024
Rank by population, 2023: 130 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.05%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: −0.28% · −11,003 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 70
Land area, 2023: 55,960 km²
Births, 2023: 31,446
Deaths, 2023: 55,029
Net migration, 2023: +10,202
Children per woman, 2023: 1.47
Median age, 2023: 45.8 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 78.6 years
In a city, 2025: 28 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 3,864,990
Projected, mid-2050: 3,234,159
Projected, mid-2100: 2,141,438

HRV · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections01 m2 m3 m4 m5 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Croatia, 1950–2100

Croatia: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	3,840,125		97,115	47,388	2.93	58.5
1951	estimate	3,889,855		90,187	46,555	2.66	59.0
1952	estimate	3,933,487		94,009	46,147	2.73	59.8
1953	estimate	3,981,341		94,030	44,485	2.68	61.5
1954	estimate	4,030,902		94,161	44,120	2.63	62.2
1955	estimate	4,065,326		93,220	43,476	2.59	63.1
1956	estimate	4,096,145		90,302	43,031	2.50	63.6
1957	estimate	4,124,103		85,148	41,846	2.36	64.4
1958	estimate	4,149,305		81,190	41,089	2.26	65.0
1959	estimate	4,172,079		80,906	40,928	2.27	65.5
1960	estimate	4,192,107		78,919	40,840	2.24	66.0
1961	estimate	4,208,421		77,161	40,572	2.22	66.5
1962	estimate	4,238,433		75,413	40,080	2.19	67.3
1963	estimate	4,271,595		72,933	40,304	2.15	67.6
1964	estimate	4,302,938		71,918	40,185	2.14	68.0
1965	estimate	4,332,577		73,789	40,278	2.22	68.5
1966	estimate	4,360,834		73,477	40,193	2.23	68.9
1967	estimate	4,387,769		69,352	40,844	2.10	69.0
1968	estimate	4,412,769		67,177	42,252	2.03	68.9
1969	estimate	4,434,886		65,039	43,128	1.95	69.0
1970	estimate	4,454,007		63,300	43,607	1.88	69.2
1971	estimate	4,471,340		67,149	43,898	1.97	69.5
1972	estimate	4,488,984		69,074	43,980	2.01	69.8
1973	estimate	4,506,798		70,042	43,787	2.01	70.1
1974	estimate	4,524,718		69,674	43,135	1.98	70.6
1975	estimate	4,543,188		69,176	42,725	1.95	71.0
1976	estimate	4,562,273		69,068	42,716	1.94	71.4
1977	estimate	4,581,227		69,803	43,665	1.95	71.4
1978	estimate	4,600,018		70,385	45,046	1.96	71.3
1979	estimate	4,618,021		70,247	46,641	1.95	71.1
1980	estimate	4,635,897		69,742	48,259	1.93	71.0
1981	estimate	4,651,896		69,512	49,663	1.93	70.9
1982	estimate	4,676,621		68,882	51,282	1.91	70.7
1983	estimate	4,701,691		68,099	52,040	1.89	70.8
1984	estimate	4,724,077		67,343	52,274	1.88	71.0
1985	estimate	4,744,898		65,456	51,692	1.83	71.5
1986	estimate	4,764,211		63,230	51,810	1.77	71.8
1987	estimate	4,781,892		61,932	52,259	1.75	71.9
1988	estimate	4,798,526		60,196	52,426	1.71	72.2
1989	estimate	4,813,538		57,821	51,896	1.65	72.5
1990	estimate	4,827,927		56,936	52,192	1.63	72.2
1991	estimate	4,842,204		53,741	55,870	1.54	70.6
1992	estimate	4,808,110		50,133	54,020	1.46	71.7
1993	estimate	4,756,355		50,671	54,283	1.51	72.3
1994	estimate	4,703,130		49,995	54,795	1.52	72.6
1995	estimate	4,647,898		50,815	55,995	1.58	72.6
1996	estimate	4,590,822		52,768	56,139	1.68	73.0
1997	estimate	4,533,776		51,941	57,352	1.69	73.0
1998	estimate	4,475,466		45,143	56,801	1.50	73.2
1999	estimate	4,415,869		42,335	55,013	1.44	73.6
2000	estimate	4,355,775		40,917	52,624	1.42	74.0
2001	estimate	4,296,434		40,925	50,952	1.46	74.3
2002	estimate	4,305,715		40,123	50,299	1.43	74.7
2003	estimate	4,305,848		39,669	50,547	1.41	74.7
2004	estimate	4,307,524		39,882	50,264	1.42	75.3
2005	estimate	4,312,587		42,452	50,362	1.51	75.6
2006	estimate	4,315,305		41,464	51,325	1.47	75.7
2007	estimate	4,316,295		41,939	51,511	1.49	75.9
2008	estimate	4,315,614		43,778	52,235	1.55	76.0
2009	estimate	4,313,647		44,632	52,221	1.59	76.3
2010	estimate	4,307,414		43,443	51,994	1.55	76.7
2011	estimate	4,294,877		41,321	51,961	1.49	77.0
2012	estimate	4,266,771		41,575	51,855	1.52	77.3
2013	estimate	4,251,702		39,661	52,022	1.46	77.5
2014	estimate	4,233,093		39,192	53,291	1.46	77.5
2015	estimate	4,205,865		36,996	53,770	1.40	77.6
2016	estimate	4,161,592		36,663	54,816	1.43	77.6
2017	estimate	4,111,295		35,415	55,053	1.42	77.7
2018	estimate	4,047,105		35,134	54,586	1.47	77.9
2019	estimate	4,002,631		33,999	53,353	1.47	78.2
2020	estimate	3,970,038		33,454	57,059	1.48	77.5
2021	estimate	3,937,878		35,785	57,804	1.62	77.1
2022	estimate	3,911,342		33,039	53,353	1.53	78.3
2023	estimate	3,902,712		31,446	55,029	1.47	78.6
2024	estimate	3,889,335		31,379	54,207	1.47	78.8
2025	projection	3,861,315	3.8–3.9 million	30,995	53,831	1.47	78.9
2026	projection	3,835,005	3.8–3.9 million	30,609	53,431	1.47	79.1
2027	projection	3,809,685	3.7–3.9 million	30,360	53,154	1.48	79.3
2028	projection	3,785,020	3.7–3.9 million	30,095	52,854	1.48	79.4
2029	projection	3,761,579	3.6–3.9 million	29,944	52,655	1.48	79.6
2030	projection	3,737,606	3.6–3.9 million	29,759	52,485	1.48	79.8
2031	projection	3,713,934	3.6–3.9 million	29,600	52,370	1.48	79.9
2032	projection	3,689,424	3.5–3.9 million	29,391	52,307	1.49	80.1
2033	projection	3,665,496	3.5–3.9 million	29,174	52,245	1.49	80.3
2034	projection	3,642,027	3.4–3.9 million	29,069	52,266	1.49	80.4
2035	projection	3,618,521	3.4–3.9 million	29,003	52,292	1.49	80.6
2036	projection	3,595,910	3.3–3.9 million	28,913	52,333	1.50	80.7
2037	projection	3,572,834	3.3–3.9 million	28,824	52,422	1.50	80.9
2038	projection	3,548,692	3.2–3.9 million	28,756	52,447	1.50	81.0
2039	projection	3,524,543	3.2–3.9 million	28,617	52,502	1.50	81.2
2040	projection	3,500,453	3.1–3.9 million	28,461	52,471	1.50	81.4
2041	projection	3,476,165	3.1–3.9 million	28,329	52,452	1.50	81.5
2042	projection	3,451,384	3.1–3.9 million	28,120	52,398	1.51	81.7
2043	projection	3,426,487	3.0–3.9 million	27,870	52,259	1.51	81.9
2044	projection	3,401,429	3.0–3.9 million	27,531	52,193	1.51	82.0
2045	projection	3,375,718	2.9–3.9 million	27,173	51,985	1.51	82.2
2046	projection	3,350,188	2.9–3.9 million	26,824	51,801	1.51	82.3
2047	projection	3,324,829	2.9–3.9 million	26,473	51,512	1.52	82.5
2048	projection	3,298,940	2.8–3.9 million	26,006	51,194	1.52	82.6
2049	projection	3,273,067	2.8–3.9 million	25,574	50,902	1.52	82.8
2050	projection	3,247,185	2.7–3.9 million	25,161	50,541	1.52	82.9
2051	projection	3,221,134	2.7–3.9 million	24,764	50,179	1.52	83.0
2052	projection	3,195,323	2.6–3.9 million	24,436	49,825	1.52	83.2
2053	projection	3,169,872	2.6–3.9 million	24,063	49,403	1.52	83.3
2054	projection	3,144,162	2.6–3.9 million	23,702	48,982	1.52	83.5
2055	projection	3,118,747	2.5–3.9 million	23,399	48,603	1.52	83.6
2056	projection	3,093,196	2.5–3.9 million	23,130	48,252	1.53	83.7
2057	projection	3,067,331	2.5–3.9 million	22,822	47,904	1.53	83.9
2058	projection	3,041,917	2.4–3.9 million	22,570	47,557	1.53	84.0
2059	projection	3,016,332	2.4–3.9 million	22,349	47,162	1.53	84.1
2060	projection	2,990,954	2.4–3.9 million	22,136	46,816	1.53	84.3
2061	projection	2,965,472	2.3–3.9 million	21,913	46,475	1.53	84.4
2062	projection	2,940,142	2.3–3.9 million	21,758	46,130	1.53	84.5
2063	projection	2,914,991	2.2–3.9 million	21,587	45,863	1.53	84.7
2064	projection	2,890,073	2.2–3.9 million	21,443	45,555	1.54	84.8
2065	projection	2,865,961	2.1–3.9 million	21,328	45,263	1.54	84.9
2066	projection	2,841,715	2.1–3.9 million	21,182	44,950	1.54	85.0
2067	projection	2,817,502	2.1–3.9 million	21,041	44,636	1.53	85.1
2068	projection	2,793,614	2.0–3.9 million	20,956	44,318	1.54	85.3
2069	projection	2,769,778	2.0–3.9 million	20,829	43,974	1.54	85.4
2070	projection	2,746,525	2.0–3.9 million	20,729	43,607	1.54	85.5
2071	projection	2,724,258	1.9–3.9 million	20,629	43,278	1.54	85.6
2072	projection	2,701,786	1.9–3.9 million	20,539	42,898	1.54	85.7
2073	projection	2,679,190	1.9–3.9 million	20,408	42,487	1.54	85.9
2074	projection	2,657,148	1.8–3.9 million	20,280	42,080	1.54	86.0
2075	projection	2,635,364	1.8–3.9 million	20,137	41,624	1.55	86.1
2076	projection	2,613,433	1.8–3.9 million	19,969	41,144	1.55	86.2
2077	projection	2,591,787	1.7–3.9 million	19,783	40,666	1.55	86.3
2078	projection	2,570,271	1.7–3.9 million	19,595	40,172	1.55	86.5
2079	projection	2,549,265	1.7–3.8 million	19,367	39,674	1.55	86.6
2080	projection	2,528,418	1.6–3.9 million	19,160	39,182	1.55	86.7
2081	projection	2,508,047	1.6–3.9 million	18,943	38,725	1.56	86.8
2082	projection	2,488,004	1.6–3.9 million	18,704	38,263	1.56	86.9
2083	projection	2,468,042	1.6–3.9 million	18,459	37,818	1.56	87.0
2084	projection	2,448,377	1.5–3.9 million	18,247	37,409	1.56	87.2
2085	projection	2,428,751	1.5–3.9 million	18,007	37,036	1.56	87.3
2086	projection	2,409,472	1.5–3.9 million	17,765	36,682	1.56	87.4
2087	projection	2,390,494	1.4–3.9 million	17,545	36,386	1.56	87.5
2088	projection	2,371,689	1.4–3.9 million	17,332	36,082	1.56	87.6
2089	projection	2,352,599	1.4–3.9 million	17,125	35,801	1.56	87.7
2090	projection	2,333,733	1.4–3.9 million	16,916	35,548	1.56	87.8
2091	projection	2,315,329	1.3–4.0 million	16,721	35,313	1.56	88.0
2092	projection	2,296,730	1.3–3.9 million	16,569	35,055	1.56	88.1
2093	projection	2,278,101	1.3–3.9 million	16,398	34,844	1.56	88.2
2094	projection	2,259,666	1.3–3.9 million	16,285	34,598	1.56	88.3
2095	projection	2,241,029	1.2–3.9 million	16,135	34,336	1.56	88.4
2096	projection	2,222,547	1.2–3.9 million	15,999	34,089	1.56	88.5
2097	projection	2,204,106	1.2–3.9 million	15,899	33,850	1.56	88.6
2098	projection	2,186,112	1.1–3.9 million	15,762	33,617	1.56	88.7
2099	projection	2,168,083	1.1–3.9 million	15,626	33,370	1.56	88.8
2100	projection	2,150,256	1.1–3.9 million	15,534	33,122	1.56	89.0

Show the numbers: Croatia, mid-2026, by single year of age

Croatia: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	15,766	14,875
1	15,904	15,000
2	16,035	15,119
3	16,540	15,610
4	17,663	16,675
5	17,707	16,705
6	17,158	16,182
7	17,445	16,440
8	17,553	16,544
9	17,670	16,712
10	17,946	16,948
11	18,604	17,466
12	19,384	18,123
13	20,105	18,751
14	20,587	19,272
15	21,003	19,772
16	21,648	20,629
17	21,688	20,735
18	21,089	20,052
19	20,674	19,514
20	20,876	19,724
21	20,572	19,440
22	19,836	18,690
23	19,566	18,588
24	19,687	18,671
25	20,286	19,088
26	20,935	19,690
27	21,490	20,348
28	22,327	21,179
29	22,898	21,526
30	22,362	20,966
31	21,346	20,399
32	21,201	20,240
33	21,089	19,822
34	21,688	20,398
35	22,470	21,382
36	22,478	21,574
37	23,241	22,206
38	23,837	22,865
39	24,074	23,396
40	24,974	24,402
41	26,272	25,514
42	26,866	26,016
43	26,984	26,187
44	27,270	26,536
45	27,751	26,968
46	28,083	27,274
47	27,813	27,172
48	27,480	26,910
49	27,046	26,882
50	26,662	26,728
51	26,501	26,444
52	26,327	26,502
53	26,261	26,592
54	26,156	26,475
55	25,334	25,867
56	25,022	25,941
57	25,572	26,902
58	26,083	27,608
59	26,758	28,603
60	27,138	29,285
61	26,470	28,718
62	25,766	28,261
63	25,852	28,774
64	26,012	29,431
65	25,920	29,717
66	25,676	29,660
67	25,176	29,330
68	24,440	28,928
69	24,288	29,258
70	24,128	29,354
71	23,613	28,444
72	22,384	27,474
73	20,845	26,638
74	19,128	24,954
75	17,834	23,996
76	16,922	23,848
77	15,085	22,218
78	13,406	20,450
79	11,833	18,678
80	9,232	15,194
81	7,610	13,174
82	7,482	13,622
83	7,388	13,895
84	6,674	12,994
85	5,798	11,885
86	5,083	11,008
87	4,222	9,837
88	3,507	8,763
89	2,856	7,632
90	2,224	6,452
91	1,704	5,363
92	1,265	4,396
93	905	3,525
94	632	2,726
95	437	2,056
96	285	1,459
97	174	997
98	102	669
99	57	447
100+	65	736

HRV · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Croatia, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

HRV · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Croatia

Croatia had the most working-age people it is ever expected to have in 1990: 3,316,950 people aged 15–64, against 2,456,290 in 2023.

100 aged 15–64

22 children

36 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: one orange square for each of 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023. Beneath them, teal for the children living alongside those 100 and violet for the people aged 65 or older.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 44 years: 1968–2006 and 2009–2013.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

HRV · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Croatia, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Croatia gains 1,232 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 25–29, at 279 a year more arriving than leaving.

one square = 50 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: each column is one age, youngest on the left. Above the line, in blue, are the ages gaining people; below it, in orange, the ages losing them. This is the UN's projection for 2020–2025 — the record of migration by age does not go back beyond 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 19,298 (2001); its biggest loss, 53,688 (1996).

In 2024, 527,831 people living in Croatia had been born in another country, 14 of every 100 people there, against 10 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

HRV · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Croatia

Of every 100 babies born in Croatia in 2023, 2 had a mother under 20, 74 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 24 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 8 under 20 and 16 aged 35 or older.

1950
8 · 76 · 16

2023
2 · 74 · 24

2050 · projected
1 · 64 · 35

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: shrink a year's babies to 100 and colour each one by the age of its mother — that is a block. Under it, the same three groups as numbers, starting with the youngest mothers.

Babies born, 2023: 31,446
Average age when women have a baby: 30.7 years; 28.4 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 7; 39 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Croatia by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	7	28	10	3	1	0
15–19	7,861	9,776	2,199	643	214	135
20–24	32,103	28,858	11,133	3,773	1,574	1,045
25–29	29,577	18,224	13,753	8,885	5,296	3,386
30–34	12,267	7,603	9,140	10,459	9,208	5,839
35–39	10,382	3,621	3,843	6,108	6,553	3,832
40–44	4,654	974	791	1,475	2,076	1,149
45–49	264	78	41	99	237	147
50–54	0	14	7	1	2	1
All babies	97,115	69,176	40,917	31,446	25,161	15,534

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

HRV · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Croatia

In Croatia, WHO puts the healthy years a newborn could expect in 2021 at 66.8 (95% range 66.2–67.5), out of 76.9 in all. The years in less than full health come to 10.1, above the world's 9.5.

Women

68.5 in full health, 11.5 not: 80.0 years

Men

65.1 in full health, 8.7 not: 73.8 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 68.5 healthy years of 80.0. Men: 65.1 of 73.8. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 68.4.

HRV · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Croatia

At the end of 2025, Croatia was hosting 30,182 people who had crossed a border into it, about 8 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad30,182
Croatia nationals abroad17,250

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: one square stands for 1,000 people, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Croatia living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 1,229 people asked for asylum in Croatia for the first time; 14 people from Croatia asked for asylum in another country. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

HRV · of every 100 people

How people live in Croatia

Of every 100 people in Croatia in 2025, 28 lived in a city, 27 in a town or suburb and 45 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

Nearly everyone has electricity at home (2024). 16.4 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: one square for every hundredth person, coloured as the key shows. Because the rule behind the colours is the same everywhere, two countries' squares can be compared directly.

How the world's people live

HRV · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Croatia went in school

Of every 100 adults in Croatia in 2020, 1 never went to school and 78 finished upper secondary or went further.

1 never went to school 1 some primary 5 finished primary 15 finished lower secondary 57 finished upper secondary 21 studied after school

Its people aged 15 to 64 were most numerous in 2020, the first year counted, and are never as many again in the middle projection; nor are the ones who finished upper secondary.

How to read this: every adult here as one of 100 squares. The stronger the colour, the further that person went in school (the Wittgenstein Centre, 2020).

How far the world's people went in school

HRV · cities · 2025

Cities in Croatia

Croatia had 5 cities in 2025, home to 1.1 million people. The largest, Zagreb, holds 16 of every 100 people in Croatia.

Zagreb623,091
Split190,315
Rijeka115,993
Osijek69,790
Zadar65,529

How to read this: the 5 biggest cities here in 2025, drawn on a single scale so the bars can be compared. Each is a built-up area on the UN's rule rather than a city government's patch.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Croatia are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.