Associate Professor Jurić at the Panel Discussion “Demographic Changes: Challenges and Impacts of Importing Foreign Labour – Economic and Social Aspects”

On Thursday, 27 November 2025, Associate Professor Tado Jurić, Ph.D., from the University Department of History at the Catholic University of Croatia, participated in the panel discussion entitled “Demographic Changes: Challenges and Impacts of Importing Foreign Labour – Economic and Social Aspects.”

Prof. Jurić emphasized that the main consequences of Croatia’s demographic “collapse” must be analysed through five key points:

“The first is the natural population decline and low birth rates. In order to maintain population sustainability, by 2050 every woman of fertile age would need to give birth to 4.2 children, while the current rate is 1.5. Our birth rate has remained unchanged for the last twenty years, and none of the demographic measures introduced have altered this trend.

The second point is emigration – those leaving Croatia are predominantly people who represent the country’s reproductive potential, while those remaining contribute to the overall ageing of the population. The prevailing narrative is that emigrants should return, but this will not happen as long as emigration continues.

The third point concerns the spatial dispersion of the population, particularly depopulation outside major urban areas.

The fourth point is the return of the diaspora, which he described as a politically attractive narrative that has not delivered results in practice. The figures show that only about 300 people returned from Latin America last year, while Croatia would need approximately 800,000.

Finally, he referred to foreign workers, whose number is estimated between 250,000 and 300,000, although the exact figure is unknown. Since many come from other continents, their long-term integration into Croatian society remains uncertain. Prof. Jurić stressed that this is a crucial issue and one on which effective action is still possible.”