National Development Strategy Croatia 2030: Roadmap for a Better Future

Strong outmigration and aging of the Croatian population already have a profound effect on 
Croatia’s labor market
. With an employment rate of 65.2 percent in 2018, Croatia is among the worst 
performing EU countries; only Italy and Greece have lower rates. The high number of citizens leaving 
Croatia indicates that the country is struggling to create sufficient numbers of attractive jobs, especially for 
young people, but also point to broader social issues in the country. 
85.
The low employment rate is strongly correlated with persistently low activity rates. 
The activity 
rate settled at 66.3 percent in 2018, a slight improvement compared to 2013 (63.7 percent), but still well 
below the EU-28 average of 73.7 percent. Low activity rates are particularly pronounced for low skilled 
workers, youth, women and older citizens. The main reason for the low activity rate of older people (55-
21
In Croatia, basic education lasts for eight years (grades 1-8) and is compulsory as a rule for all children between the age of six 
and fifteen. Somewhat confusingly for an international audience, basic education is often translated as “primary education” alt-
hough from the perspective of the International Standard Classification of Education, the first eight grades clearly cover both 
“primary” and “lower secondary education.”. 

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Croatia 2030: Roadmap for a Better Future
34 
64 years) is early retirement. For older women, personal, family or care responsibilities also played an 
important role. The third main reason has been disability or illness. 
86.
Despite significant improvements in the last five years, youth unemployment still represents a 
major challenge.
According to Eurostat data, the youth unemployment rate decreased from 50 percent in 
2013 to 23.7 percent in 2018, but it is still much higher than the EU average of 15.2 percent. Only Italy, 
Spain and Greece have higher youth unemployment rates. Youth female unemployment is particularly 
pronounced. In 2018 it stood at 28.8 percent, a much higher rate than the EU-28 average (at 14.5 percent). 
87.