Demographics of Croatia

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Croatia is inhabited mostly by Croats, while minority groups include Serbs, Bosniaks, Hungarians, Italians, Germans, Czechs, Roma people and others. Catholicism is the predominant religion, while there's also Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam.

The natural growth rate is minute, as the demographic transition is long done. Life expectancy and literacy rates are reasonably high.

Demographics of Croatia, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Contents

Demographic data from the CIA World Factbook

Population

4,494,749 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 16.2% (male 373,638/female 354,261)

15-64 years: 67% (male 1,497,958/female 1,515,314)

65 years and over: 16.8% (male 288,480/female 465,098) (2006 est.)

Median age

Total: 40.3 years

Male: 38.3 years

Female: 42.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.03% (2006 est.)

Birth rate

9.61 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate

11.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate

1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 6.72 deaths/1,000 live births

Male: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 6.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 74.68 years

Male: 71.03 years

Female: 78.53 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.4 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 200 (2001 est.)

Deaths: less than 10 (2001 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)

Adjective: Croatian

Ethnic groups

Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, Bosniak 0.5%, Hungarian 0.4%, Slovene 0.3%, Czech 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Albanian 0.1%, Montenegrin 0.1%, others 4.1% (2001 census)

Religions

Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census)

Languages

Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census)

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 98.5%

Male: 99.4%

Female: 97.8% (2003 est.)

Ethnic groups according to the 2001 census

Population Structure (%)

Total 4.437.460 100

Croats 3.977.171 89,63

National minorities

Total 331.383 7,47

Albanians 15.082 0,34

Austrians 247 0,01

Bosnians 20.755 0,47

Bulgarians 331 0,01

Czechs 10.510 0,24

Germans 2.902 0,07

Hungarians 16.595 0,37

Italians 19.636 0,44

Jews 576 0,01

Macedonians 4.270 0,10

Montenegrins 4.926 0,11

Poles 567 0,01

Roma 9.463 0,21

Romanians 475 0,01

Russians 906 0,02

Ruthenes 2.337 0,05

Serbs 201.631 4,54

Slovaks 4.712 0,11

Slovenes 13.173 0,30

Turks 300 0,01

Ukrainians 1.977 0,04

Vlachs 12 0,00

Others¹ 21.801 0,49

Refrained from stating

their nationality

Total 89.130 2,01

stated regional

affiliation 9.302 0,21

Unknown 17.975 0,41

		Population	Structure (%)
Total		4.437.460	100
Croats		3.977.171	89,63
National minorities
	Total	331.383	7,47
	Albanians	15.082	0,34
	Austrians	247	0,01
	Bosnians	20.755	0,47
	Bulgarians	331	0,01
	Czechs	10.510	0,24
	Germans	2.902	0,07
	Hungarians	16.595	0,37
	Italians	19.636	0,44
	Jews	576	0,01
	Macedonians	4.270	0,10
	Montenegrins	4.926	0,11
	Poles	567	0,01
	Roma	9.463	0,21
	Romanians	475	0,01
	Russians	906	0,02
	Ruthenes	2.337	0,05
	Serbs	201.631	4,54
	Slovaks	4.712	0,11
	Slovenes	13.173	0,30
	Turks	300	0,01
	Ukrainians	1.977	0,04
	Vlachs	12	0,00
Others¹		21.801	0,49
Refrained from stating
their nationality
	Total	89.130	2,01
	stated regional
	affiliation	9.302	0,21
Unknown		17.975	0,41

¹ This mode includes, among others, Yugoslavs and Muslims by nationality.

Changes in the late 20th century

See also: Recent history of the Serbs of Croatia

The census of 1991 was the last one held before the war in Croatia, marked by ethnic conflict between Serbs and Croats. In the ethnic and religious composition of population of Croatia of that time, those two sets of numbers are quoted as important:

Croats 78.1%, Catholics 76.5%
Serbs 12.2%, Orthodox Christians 11.1%

There were two major sets of population movements during this period - the first one during the earlier stage of the war, around 1991, and the second one during the later stage of the war, around 1995. The first movement peaked at around 550,000 on the Croatian side; the second movement peaked at around 200,000 on the Serbian side.

After the end of the war of the 1990s and everything else that it entailed, the numbers are:

Croats 89.6%, Catholics 87.8%
Serbs 4.5%, Orthodox Christians 4.4%

Most Croat refugees have since returned to their homes, while two thirds of the Serbs remain in exile; the other third either returned or had remained in Zagreb and other parts of Croatia not directly hit by war.

References

This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2006 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.

Croatian Bureau of Statistics, official census data

External links

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