Croatians stay at home longer than anywhere else in the EU

ZAGREB, 12 August 2026 — Young people in Croatia are staying in the parental home longer than their peers anywhere else in the European Union, while their share of the country’s population has declined significantly over the past two decades, new statistical data show.

The Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) has marked International Youth Day, marked annually on 12 August, by examining data on the position of young people in Croatia and across the EU.

According to the 2021 Population Census, people aged 15 to 29 accounted for 15.8% of Croatia’s population, down from 20.3% two decades earlier.

Croatia also records the highest average age in the EU for leaving the parental home. In 2025, young people left home at an average age of 31.5 years.

Greece and Slovakia followed at 30.9 years, while Spain and Italy recorded an average of 30.2 years.

The figures also show that 89.1% of people aged 16 to 29 in Croatia live with their parents, the highest proportion recorded in the EU.

Youth migration remains another important factor. Of the 37,485 people who emigrated from Croatia in 2025, 11,232 were aged between 15 and 29, accounting for 30% of all emigrants.

A decade earlier, young people represented 27.4% of those leaving the country.

The figures highlight some of the demographic and social challenges facing Croatia as the country, like many other EU member states, continues to deal with an ageing population and a declining share of young people.