Croatia has lost nearly 10% of its inhabitants in ten years, according to the final results of the last census published on Friday January 14 in this Balkan country, and described as a “
disaster
” by experts.
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The European Union member country has 3.8 million people against 4.2 million a decade ago, a decline of 9.25%, according to the Croatian statistics office.
"A desaster"
“
It's an incredible disaster for Croatia
,” demographer Stjepan Sterc told N1 television.
The central and eastern regions of Croatia, already hard hit by the war of independence in the 1990s, are the most affected by demographic decline.
The country has long suffered from a haemorrhage of its inhabitants due to a sluggish economy, corruption and a lack of prospects for young people.
Emigration has also been encouraged by the entry of Croatia into the EU in 2013. More than 250,000 Croats have since left to live in other member countries, especially in Germany, Austria and Ireland, according to official figures. .
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According to UN projections, Croatia will have only 2.5 million inhabitants by the end of the century.
In December, the Croatian government announced bonuses of up to 26,000 euros to encourage expatriates living in other EU countries to return to the country.
