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Croatia has more judges per capita than any other EU country

ZAGREB, 19 July 2026 (Croatia Week) – Croatia has the highest number of professional judges per capita among European Union member states, according to the latest data from Eurostat released this week.

In 2024, Croatia recorded 43.3 professional judges per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest ratio in the EU and almost three times the EU average of 15.7 judges per 100,000 people.

Slovenia ranked second with 40.2 judges per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Luxembourg with 36.0, Bulgaria with 35.4 and Romania with 35.3.

At the other end of the scale, Ireland recorded the lowest ratio, with 3.6 professional judges per 100,000 people. Austria followed with 4.3, Spain with 6.2, Czechia with 6.7 and Italy with 7.9.

Across the EU as a whole, the number of professional judges per capita fell from 17.7 per 100,000 people in 2014 to 15.7 in 2024.

Croatia had 1,660 judges in 2024

The Eurostat figures are based on the number of professional judges in relation to the size of each country’s population.

In Croatia, official data show that 1,660 judges were serving at the end of 2024. The Croatian court system consisted of 67 courts, including municipal, county, commercial, administrative, specialised and higher courts.

Eurostat defines a professional judge as a full-time or part-time official legal professional authorised to hear civil, criminal or other cases, including at appeal level, and who is recruited and paid to serve as a judge. The definition excludes lay judges and lay magistrates.

Why does Croatia have so many judges per capita?

The figures do not point to a single explanation. Croatia’s position reflects a combination of the structure of its judicial system, the number and distribution of courts, the country’s relatively small population and the volume of cases handled by the courts.

Croatia has a comparatively decentralised court network, with courts and permanent court services distributed across the country. This structure has historically ensured that judicial services are available across a large number of cities and local communities.

At the end of 2024, Croatia had 67 courts, alongside a wider network of permanent court services. This means that the number of judges is spread across a relatively small population, increasing the per-capita ratio.

The workload of the judiciary is also an important part of the picture. Croatian courts received more than 1.28 million cases in 2024, while resolving more than 1.31 million cases.

The number of unresolved cases fell from 475,839 to 445,978 during the year, according to figures presented to the Croatian Parliament.

The Croatian Government has also described the country as having dealt with between 1.25 million and 1.3 million new court cases annually for decades, highlighting the scale of the caseload in relation to the country’s population.

This helps explain why the high number of judges per capita should not be interpreted simply as a measure of judicial efficiency or inefficiency.

Croatia’s judicial structure is also shaped by its geography and administrative organisation.

The country has a population of fewer than four million people, but a large number of settlements and local administrative areas. Maintaining courts and judicial services across the country contributes to a relatively high number of judges when measured against the total population.

The same pattern can also be seen in several other European countries with high ratios. Slovenia, which has a population of around two million, recorded the second-highest number of professional judges per capita in the EU.

Women make up more than 70% of Croatia’s judges

The Eurostat data also show a strong female majority among professional judges in Croatia.

Women accounted for 72.3% of professional judges in Croatia in 2024.

Slovenia recorded the highest female share in the EU, at 81.4%, followed by Latvia at 79.7% and Greece at 75.5%.

Official Croatian figures show that 570 judges were aged between 60 and 70 in 2024, while only 105 were between 30 and 40. No judge serving during the year was under the age of 30.

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