Croatia: population and ages
Croatia: 3.84 million people on 1 January 2026.
The population peaked in 1990 at 4.84 million and is now 21% below that peak.
Figures for 2026 are UN projections (medium variant). Estimates end in 2023.
- Population, 1 January 2026
- 3,835,005
- Median age
- 45.5
- Births in 2026
- 30,609
- Deaths in 2026
- 53,431
- Life expectancy at birth
- 79.1
- Children per woman
- 1.47
- Under 15
- 13.6%
- 65 and over
- 23.8%
Where does your age fit here?
Only the year is needed. It stays in this browser.
Enter your birth year to see where you fit in.
Population over time
In mid-1950 there were 3.86 million people, about as many as today.
The UN projects 30,600 births and 53,400 deaths in 2026, 22,800 more deaths than births.
Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 1991.
Ages
The median age is 45.5, which is 14.4 years above the world’s 31.1.
14% of the people are under 15 and 24% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).
People aged 65 and over have outnumbered children under 15 since 2003.
Women have 1.5 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 2.9 in 1950.
Life expectancy at birth is 79.1 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 58.5.
Births, deaths and the years ahead
For mid-2050 the UN projects 3.23 million people, 15% fewer than now, with a median age of 49.1.
Development and urbanisation
In 2025, 28% of the people lived in cities, 27% in towns and semi-dense areas and 45% in rural areas. For 2050 the UN projects 31% in cities.
Degree of urbanisation: one rule for every country, a city has at least 50,000 people at 1,500 or more per km². National definitions of “urban” differ.
| Indicator | Latest value | Year |
|---|---|---|
| People using the internet | 83.6% | 2024 |
| Access to electricity | 100.0% | 2024 |
| Adult literacy (ages 15 and over) | 98.2% | 2001 |
| 99.9% | 2024 | |
| 95.8% | 2021 | |
| 97.0% | 2024 | |
| Human Development Index | 0.889 | 2023 |
Each value is the latest one published, with the year it refers to. Countries publish in different years. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (ITU, SDG 7.1.1, UNESCO UIS), UNDP, Human Development Report, UN, World Urbanization Prospects 2025.
Longevity, ageing and the future
By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 78.6 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 19.4 more years for women and 15.5 for men.
On 1 January 2026, there are 38.1 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 54.0.
For 2100 the UN projects a population of 2.14 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 1.07 million to 3.95 million.
Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.
Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, life tables, probabilistic projections, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
International migrants
In mid-2024, 528,000 international migrants lived here, 13.6% of the population.
In mid-2024, 826,000 people from here lived in other countries.
| Country | People |
|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 363,041 |
| Serbia | 45,887 |
| Germany | 30,277 |
| Ukraine | 25,475 |
| Slovenia | 17,559 |
Counted by country of birth. A migrant stock counts people living outside their country at mid-year, not journeys or yearly moves. Sources: International Migrant Stock 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
Cities
Cities of 50,000 people or more here, by the UN degree of urbanisation: 5.
| City | Population 2025 |
|---|---|
| Zagreb | 623,091 |
| Split | 190,315 |
| Rijeka | 115,993 |
| Osijek | 69,790 |
| Zadar | 65,529 |
Sources: World Urbanization Prospects 2025, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
Data and sources
| Year | Population (1 July) | Median age | Births | Deaths | Life expectancy | Children per woman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 3,864,990 | 25.4 | 97,115 | 47,388 | 58.5 | 2.93 |
| 1960 | 4,200,264 | 28.0 | 78,919 | 40,840 | 65.9 | 2.24 |
| 1970 | 4,462,674 | 31.2 | 63,300 | 43,607 | 69.2 | 1.88 |
| 1980 | 4,643,896 | 32.2 | 69,742 | 48,259 | 71.0 | 1.93 |
| 1990 | 4,835,066 | 34.6 | 56,936 | 52,192 | 72.2 | 1.63 |
| 2000 | 4,326,105 | 38.6 | 40,917 | 52,624 | 74.0 | 1.42 |
| 2010 | 4,301,145 | 41.0 | 43,443 | 51,994 | 76.7 | 1.55 |
| 2020 | 3,953,958 | 44.2 | 33,454 | 57,059 | 77.5 | 1.48 |
| 2030 | 3,725,770 | 46.6 | 29,759 | 52,485 | 79.8 | 1.48 |
| 2040 | 3,488,309 | 48.3 | 28,461 | 52,471 | 81.4 | 1.50 |
| 2050 | 3,234,160 | 49.1 | 25,161 | 50,541 | 82.9 | 1.52 |
| 2060 | 2,978,213 | 50.1 | 22,136 | 46,816 | 84.3 | 1.53 |
| 2070 | 2,735,392 | 51.2 | 20,729 | 43,607 | 85.5 | 1.54 |
| 2080 | 2,518,232 | 51.5 | 19,160 | 39,182 | 86.7 | 1.55 |
| 2090 | 2,324,531 | 51.9 | 16,916 | 35,548 | 87.8 | 1.56 |
| 2100 | 2,141,439 | 52.8 | 15,534 | 33,122 | 89.0 | 1.56 |
Rows from 2024 on are UN projections (medium variant), shown in italics.
The UN estimates every country and area within its present borders for every year since 1950, also for years before it became independent or took its present shape. Figures for earlier years therefore describe the people who lived on today’s territory.
Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).