Croatia boosts funding to tackle demographic decline

The news in Croatian

1. premijer  (m.)
   šef ili vođa vlade u nekoj državi ↩︎
2. najavljivati
   reći unaprijed da će se nešto dogoditi ili da će se nešto napraviti ↩︎
3. stanovanje  (n.)
   čin ili način življenja u stanu ili kući ↩︎
4. zaustaviti
   učiniti da se nešto što se događa ili kreće prekine i više ne ide dalje ↩︎
5. stanovnik  (m.)
   osoba koja živi na nekom području ili u nekom mjestu ↩︎
6. županija  (f.)
   područje ili dio države s vlastitom lokalnom upravom; administrativna regija u Hrvatskoj ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What kinds of things will the Croatian government give more money for to help families?

Question 2: Which type of areas in Croatia will get special attention in this plan?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
premijer  (m.)	prime minister
najavljivati	to announce
stanovanje  (n.)	housing; living (in a flat/house)
zaustaviti	to stop
stanovnik  (m.)	inhabitant
županija  (f.)	county (administrative region in Croatia)

Read the full story

Croatia’s prime minister Andrej Plenković has announced a record package of measures aimed at demographic revitalisation, as the country confronts a long‑term fall in population and low birth rates.

Speaking at an event marking the 36th anniversary of the HDZ party in the mountainous Lika‑Senj County, Plenković said the government has set aside €840 million in 2024 to support families and encourage more children. According to him, this is the largest amount ever allocated in Croatia for family‑oriented policies.

The plan is presented as a cross‑ministerial policy. It includes tax relief for families, measures in housing policy, support in education and other benefits designed to improve conditions for young couples. The government’s stated goal is to slow negative demographic trends, stabilise the situation and eventually reverse population decline.

Plenković argued that Croatia is facing a demographic trend lasting around 75 years and that it cannot be solved within a single government term. He called for contributions from all levels of society – from local authorities to national institutions – and linked Croatia’s challenges to wider European developments. Citing recent Eurostat data, he said that Europe as a whole is experiencing a sharp demographic fall, and that this could translate into an even stronger decline in Croatia than in the past few decades.

As an illustration, the prime minister pointed to Lika‑Senj County, a sparsely populated region in central Croatia, which now has around 42,000 inhabitants – roughly the population of several city districts of Zagreb, the capital. He announced special efforts and targeted measures for this county as part of the demographic strategy.

Alongside demographic policy, Plenković highlighted a planned Law on Balanced Regional Development, due to be debated in the Croatian Parliament (Sabor). He said the law is intended to strengthen existing mechanisms for supporting less developed areas and argued that the government assists all regions equally, including municipalities and counties where the ruling HDZ is not in power. According to his statement, this is meant to counter domestic criticism that political affiliation influences access to state support.

The prime minister also linked demographic policy to economic performance. He reported that Croatia has reached about 78% of the average development level of European Union member states, compared with around 62% a decade ago. Official figures cited in his speech included approximately 1.723 million people in employment and around 69,000 unemployed, described as the lowest unemployment level so far.

At the same time, Plenković stated that to meet the needs of the economy, Croatia will continue to rely on foreign workers, who are expected to help fulfil labour demand in key sectors. This reflects a broader regional trend, where Central and Eastern European EU members with ageing populations have increasingly turned to migrant labour.

In his address, the prime minister connected these policies with the political position of the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), which has led the government for much of the last decade. Marking two years since the last parliamentary elections, he noted that HDZ and its coalition partners have held continuous governing mandates for about ten years and that opinion polls currently place the party at around 30% support. He presented this as evidence of voter confidence in the government’s approach to economic and social issues.

Plenković framed the government’s actions during recent crises – including economic turbulence and cost‑of‑living pressures – as an effort to maintain social cohesion. He said the aim is for citizens to “get through crises together”, with a focus on ensuring that vulnerable groups are not left without support. Demographic measures, in this view, form part of a wider strategy to stabilise society and the economy.

Croatian media reports on the speech generally agree on the scale of the planned funding and the central role of demographic issues in government policy. They also note the government’s emphasis on long‑term planning rather than quick solutions. At the same time, public debate in Croatia continues over whether financial incentives and regional laws will be sufficient to address deep‑rooted causes of population decline, such as emigration, employment opportunities, housing costs and quality of public services, especially in rural regions like Lika‑Senj.

For observers outside Croatia, the announcement illustrates how a relatively small EU member state is attempting to respond to population ageing and depopulation, challenges that are increasingly common across Europe. The effectiveness of Croatia’s new measures is likely to be assessed over the coming years, as demographic data and migration patterns show whether the trend can be slowed or reversed.

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