2021 Census of population, households and apartments in the Republic of Croatia
August 31, 2021
General information
Country	Croatia
Topics	Census topics Population Household Housing and other residential units
Authority	Croatian Bureau of Statistics
Website	dzs.gov.hr
Results
Total population	3,871,833 ( 9.64%)
Most populous ​state	Zagreb (767,131)
Least populous ​state	Lika-Senj county (42,748)

The Census of population, households and apartments in the Republic of Croatia in 2021 (Croatian: Popis stanovništva, kućanstva i stanova u Republici Hrvatskoj 2021. godine; shortened: Census 2021, Popis 2021.) was the 4th decennial Croatian census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was August 31, 2021.^[1] This was the first Croatian census to offer options to online self-numeration, in addition to the paper response form used for previous censuses. The census was taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected its administration. The census recorded a resident population of 3,871,833 in the twenty counties and the City of Zagreb, a decrease of 9.64 percent, or 413,056 over the preceding decade. The fall rate was the biggest ever recorded.^[2]

Questions and data uses

The Census collects the following data:^[3]

1. Population
   • surname and first name, gender, personal identification number (PIN), date of birth, marital status; the type of living community in which a person lives; number of live births; place of residence/residence; presence in the census settlement at the time of the Census; reason for absence/presence; time of absence/presence; time of intention of absence/presence; place of absence/place of residence; birthplace; place of residence of the mother at the time of the person's birth; the place from which the person immigrated and the year and reason for immigrating; the foreign country where the person resided for a year or longer, the year of moving to the Republic of Croatia and the reason for staying abroad; citizenship; nationality (national affiliation); mother tongue; religious affiliation; achieved education; attending school/studies; economic activity, position in employment; interest; activities; main sources of livelihood; place of work/school; frequency of returning to the place of residence; means of travel to work/school/study
2. Households
   • relative and family composition of the household; type of household; the basis on which the household uses the apartment; area of used agricultural land and ownership of livestock or poultry
3. Housing and other residential units
   • type and manner of use of the residential unit; apartment ownership; surface area of the apartment; number of rooms in the apartment; kitchen, bathroom and toilet in the apartment; types of installations in the apartment (water supply, sewage, electricity, gas installations); method of heating the apartment; type of energy source; air conditioning; type of building in which the apartment is located; the number of apartments in the building where the apartment is located, the location of the apartment in the building; year of construction of the building in which the apartment is located.

Timeline

• 3 April 2021: Law on the Census of Population, Households and Apartments in the Republic of Croatia in 2021 entered into force^[3]
• 13–26 September 2021: citizens could be registered independently using the census questionnaire in electronic form that was available on the e-Citizens portal, simultaneously listing the household and the apartment in which they live^[1]
• 27 September – 14 November 2021: enumerators used electronic devices to enumerate all census units that were not self-enumerated and controlled the data collected by self-enumeration ^[1]
• 22 September 2022: the final results of the Census 2021 have been published^[2]

County rankings

2021 Croatian census by counties

A population decline was recorded in each of 20 counties and the City of Zagreb. The biggest decline in apsolute numbers was in Osijek-Baranja County, which lost 47,006 inhabitants, while the relative decrease was the strongest in Vukovar-Srijem and Sisak-Moslavina County, at 20.3 and 19.0 percent respectively.^[2] The 2020 Petrinja earthquake caused a lot of damage in Sisak-Moslavina County. On the other hand, Zagreb had a large influx of citizens from other parts of Croatia, giving it the smallest relative change.

Population and population change in Croatia by county^[2]

Rank	County	Population as of 2021 census	Population as of 2011 census	Change	Percent change
1	Zagreb	767,131	790,017	22,886	2.9
2	Split-Dalmatia	423,407	454,798	31,391	6.9
3	Zagreb County	299,985	317,606	17,621	5.5
4	Primorje-Gorski Kotar	265,419	296,195	30,776	10.4
5	Osijek-Baranja	258,026	305,032	47,006	15.4
6	Istria	195,237	208,055	12,818	6.2
7	Zadar	159,766	170,017	10,251	6.0
8	Varaždin	159,487	175,951	16,464	9.4
9	Vukovar-Srijem	143,113	179,521	36,408	20.3
10	Sisak-Moslavina	139,603	172,439	32,836	19.0
11	Brod-Posavina	130,267	158,575	28,308	17.9
12	Krapina-Zagorje	120,702	132,892	12,190	9.2
13	Dubrovnik-Neretva	115,564	122,568	7,004	5.7
14	Karlovac	112,195	128,899	16,704	13.0
15	Međimurje	105,250	113,804	8,554	7.5
16	Bjelovar-Bilogora	101,879	119,764	17,885	14.9
17	Koprivnica-Križevci	101,221	115,584	14,363	12.4
18	Šibenik-Knin	96,381	109,375	12,994	11.9
19	Virovitica-Podravina	70,368	84,836	14,468	17.1
20	Požega-Slavonia	64,084	78,034	13,950	17.9
21	Lika-Senj	42,748	50,927	8,179	16.1
Croatia		3,871,833	4,284,889	413,056	9.6

City rankings

2021 Census showed decrease of population in all ten biggest cities with Zagreb staying the largest and followed by Split, most populated city in the south, Rijeka, most populated city in the west and Osijek, most populated city in the east.^[2]

Rank	City	County	Population	Region
1	Zagreb	City of Zagreb	769,944	City of Zagreb
2	Split	Split-Dalmatia	161,312	Adriatic Croatia
3	Rijeka	Primorje-Gorski Kotar	108,622	Adriatic Croatia
4	Osijek	Osijek-Baranja	96,848	Pannonian Croatia
5	Zadar	Zadar	70,829	Adriatic Croatia
6	Velika Gorica	Zagreb	61,198	Northern Croatia
7	Pula	Istria	52,411	Adriatic Croatia
8	Slavonski Brod	Brod-Posavina	50,039	Pannonian Croatia
9	Karlovac	Karlovac	49,594	Pannonian Croatia
10	Varaždin	Varaždin	43,999	Northern Croatia

Population by ethnicity and religion

Census information with a number of Croats and 22 official recognized minorities of Croatia.^[2]

Census also included religion with a connection to nations of Croatia.^[2]

Population by first language

Croatian citizens by first language, including non-official recognized Serbo-Croatian and Croato-Serbian:^[2]

Population by sex and age structure

Population pyramid of 2021 Croatian Census

Sex and age structure of the population of Croatia:^[2]

References