Changes in the Ethnic Composition of Croatia (1991 – 2021) in the Context of the Aging Population Process

This paper investigates current changes in the ethnic composition of the Croatian population by age. The statistical basis of the analysis consists of the population censuses of 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021. The subject of the analysis is the population that declared itself in terms of ethnicity in the analyzed censuses, which means that the paper does not investigate the ethnically unspecified population. The purpose of the research is to use a comparative and descriptive method to determine the extent of the population aging process, with the aim of assessing the polarization between ethnically declared population categories and the impact of aging on future changes in the ethnic composition of the Croatian population. Considering the current demographic trends in the natural and migratory population change and bearing in mind the established indicators of population aging, the majority of the ethnically declared population of Croatia is far advanced in the aging process and is characterized by high old age, which represents an extremely negative determinant of its future demographic development

Demographic analysis · Ethnic composition · Ethnic group · Ethnically diverse · Population · Population ageing · Balkan and Eastern European Studies · Environmental Science and Water Management · Regional Development and Management Studies