page_title: Demographics of Croatia
section_title: Census data
hierarchical_section_title: Demographics of Croatia / Population / Census data
caption_attribution_description: English: A briefcase containing documents used for the 2011 census in Croatia, which spanned a period of 28 days from April 1 until April 28.
context_page_description: The demographic characteristics of the population of Croatia are known through censuses, normally conducted in ten-year intervals and analysed by various statistical bureaus since the 1850s. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics has performed this task since the 1990s. The latest census in Croatia was performed in April 2011. The permanent population of Croatia at the 2011 census had reached 4.29 million. The population density is 75.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, and the overall life expectancy in Croatia at birth was 78,2 years in 2018. The population rose steadily from 2.1 million in 1857 until 1991, when it peaked at 4.7 million. Since 1991, Croatia's death rate has continuously exceeded its birth rate; the natural growth rate of the population is negative. Croatia is in the fourth stage of the demographic transition. In terms of age structure, the population is dominated by the 15 to 64 year‑old segment. The median age of the population is 43.4, and the gender ratio of the total population is 0.93 males per 1 female. The country is projected to lose 350,000 citizens by 2045.
  Croatia is inhabited mostly by Croats, while minorities include Serbs, and 21 other ethnicities.
context_section_description: The first modern population census in the country was conducted in 1857, and 15 more have been performed since then. Since 1961 the censuses are conducted in regular ten-year intervals, with the latest one in 2011. The first institution set up in the country specifically for the purposes of maintaining population statistics was the State Statistical Office, founded in 1875. Since its founding, the office changed its name and structure several times and was alternately subordinated to other institutions and independent, until the most recent changes in 1992, when the institution became the Croatian Bureau of Statistics. The 2011 census was performed on 1–28 April 2011, recording situation as of 31 March 2011. The first census results, containing the number of the population by settlement, were published on 29 June 2011, and the final comprehensive set of data was published in December 2012. The 2011 census and processing of the data gathered by the census was expected to cost 171.9 million kuna (23.3 million euro). The 2011 census was performed using new methodology: the permanent population was determined as the enumerated population who lived in the census area for at least 12 months prior to the census, or plans to live in the same area for at least 12 months after the census. This method was also retroactively applied to the 2001 census data.
caption: An official briefcase used by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics census takers for the purposes of the 2011 census
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