Population and Demographics of Croatia
Population declining at 0.53% in 2024 · 23.19% aged 65 or older
The current population picture in Croatia starts with 3.88 million people and -0.53% annual change. Age composition is uneven, with 13.92% below age 15 versus 23.19% at 65 and above; the working-age group accounts for 62.89%. By 2050, the medium path points to 3.23 million, equivalent to a -16.5% change from the 2024 estimate.
Population Over Time in Croatia
A longer view puts Croatia at 4.326M in 2000 and 3.875M in 2024. That works out to a 10.4% fall. The UN medium projection places 2050 at 3.234M, about 16.5% below the 2024 reference point. The chart connects dated reference points only and should not be read as an annual interpolated series.
Age Structure and Sex Balance
Looking beyond the headline population number, Croatia's 2024 age structure is older. Older adults represent 23.19% of residents and children under 15 represent 13.92%; the broad working-age group makes up 62.89%. Older adults outnumber children in these broad age bands.
Population by broad age group
In the World Bank 2024 series, females account for 51.8% of Croatia's population and males 48.2%. Females exceed males by 3.6 percentage points.
Female and male population share
Females made up 51.8% of the population in the World Bank's 2024 series, compared with 48.2% males.
What Is Shaping Population Change
Two current indicators frame Croatia: -0.53% annual population change and fertility at 1.5, and 62.89% of residents fall in the broad 15-to-64 age group.
Croatia's population path over 2000 to 2024 records -10.4% change, while the 2050 medium projection is 16.5% below 2024; this profile does not infer unobserved migration or natural-change components.
2024 estimate for Croatia. The world comparison value is 2.25 children per woman.
Croatia vs. World
Croatia's demographic position looks different depending on the measure: annual change is lower than the world rate, fertility is below it, and its population is older than the global median-age profile.
| Indicator | Croatia | World | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual population change | -0.53% | +0.87% | 2024 |
| Total fertility rate | 1.5 | 2.25 | 2024 |
| Median age | 45 | 30.6 | 2024 |
For comparability, the growth, fertility and median-age rows are kept to the same 2024 harmonized dataset, which cites UN World Population Prospects 2024 as its demographic source.
Key Takeaways
The 2024 total is 3,875,325 people. Annual change in the same harmonized table is -0.53%.
Age structure is a key feature of the profile: 13.92% are under 15 and 23.19% are 65 or older.
The 2024 female and male shares are 51.8% and 48.2% respectively.
On the medium path, 2050 reaches 3.234M, a -16.5% shift from the 2024 level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Croatia?
The 2024 harmonized population estimate for Croatia is 3,875,325 people.
Is the population of Croatia growing or declining?
In the 2024 estimate, Croatia's population is declining, with annual change of -0.53%.
What percentage of the population of Croatia is aged 65 or older?
People aged 65 or older account for 23.19% of Croatia's 2024 population in the UN WPP-based broad age data.
What is the projected population of Croatia in 2050?
The UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection puts Croatia's 2050 population at 3,234,160.
What is the fertility rate in Croatia?
The 2024 harmonized fertility estimate for Croatia is 1.5 children per woman.
Sources & methodology
This profile uses United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 as the primary framework for globally comparable population, age, fertility and projection data. The World Bank is the primary source for the female population share. Some country values were accessed through secondary retrieval interfaces that republish or organize UN data; those interfaces are identified below as secondary and are not treated as the original statistical publishers.
View sources used for this page
Primary global framework for the population estimates and projections.
Harmonized 2024 country table based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized broad age shares based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized reference for the 2000 population point.
Harmonized 2050 country projection based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Used for the 2024 female share; the male share is calculated as the remainder to 100%.