Zagreb, 4 November 2025 (Hina/MIA) — Croatia's Ministry of Demography and Immigration is cooperating with the European Commission and the OECD on a project aimed at helping Croatia address two decades of demographic challenges and population aging, it was said at the project's opening conference Tuesday.

The project, titled "Establishing a Strategic, Legislative and Institutional Framework for Croatia's Demographic Revitalisation", is financed by the European Commission. It will support Croatia in setting up a multi-level governance framework for demographic revitalization and will provide policymakers with skills and evidence-based tools for effective decision-making.

"The goal is for this project to produce something crucial for Croatia's future demographic policies — a legislative framework we are tentatively calling the Demographic Renewal Act," said Željka Josić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Demography and Immigration.

Josić noted that Croatia has lost almost 10% of its population over the past twenty years, with some counties losing as much as one in five residents, while the country's population continues to age — more than 22% of Croatians are now over 65 years old.

"Demographic policies must take into account both younger and older generations, which is why intergenerational policies are vital for Croatia's development," she added.

Beyond legislation, the project will also develop an institutional and strategic framework linking national, regional and local levels into a coordinated planning system, ensuring that each county, city and municipality can design demographic measures tailored to their residents' needs.

A third component of the partnership focuses on improving data, analytics and knowledge to ensure that all decisions are based on evidence rather than assumptions, Josić said.

Dorothée Allain-Dupré, Head of the Division for Regional Development and Multi-level Governance at the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, said the two-year project would help Croatia take effective measures to address demographic change, supporting regional development, territorial attractiveness and quality of life.

"We will assess the legal, institutional and strategic frameworks and the coordination mechanisms for demographic policy, and identify where improvements or reforms are needed," she said, adding that many EU and OECD countries faced similar population decline trends and needed to act urgently to secure their future.

Judit Rozsa, Director of the European Commission's Technical Support Instrument, emphasized that demographic change was a key EU priority, considering its effects on labor markets, on public budgets — particularly the sustainability of pension and healthcare systems — and on social cohesion.