Croatia’s Natural Growth Rate at All Time Low, but Which Towns are Growing?

Last year just 39,595 babies were born in Croatia, the fewest number of babies born in a calendar year in the nation’s history. 468 towns in the country recorded negative natural growth with more deaths than births, whilst 77 saw positive growth…

The towns that recorded the largest natural growth rate with more births than deaths last year were Zadar (+158%), Kaštela (+154%), Solin (+138%), Velika Gorica (+108%), Dugo Selo (+77%), Metković (+68%), Imotski (+55%), Vinkovci (+53%), Čakovec (+40%) and Markarska (+39%). Most suburbs in the capital Zagreb also recorded a positive natural growth rate.

Whilst those towns grew in 2014, there is a concerning statistic for the survival of a number of Croatia’s islands, with only 22,232 people under the age of 19 living on 47 inhabited islands. On 13 islands there have not been a single birth in the last 10 years, writes Vecernji list.