OECD Reviews of Labour Market and Social Policies: Croatia 2025

Croatia's economy and society have been marked by two major trends over the last decade: an impressive labour market recovery, and a mounting demographic challenge. After a long recession following the global financial crisis, unemployment has fallen to historic lows. At the same time, Croatia's population has been rapidly shrinking and ageing, trends that increasingly contribute to labour market tightening. High emigration, particularly of young and highly skilled people, has been a major driver of population decline. Given these demographic trends, Croatia's low employment rate is a major concern, and productivity and wage growth have been sluggish. While Croatia has made substantial progress in reducing material deprivation, poverty remains widespread among seniors, people in rural areas, and Roma people. Croatia has been taking steps to address these challenges, improving job quality, lifting minimum wages, and modernising its vocational education system and migration policy. Efforts are also underway to improve the accessibility and adequacy of social services and income support for vulnerable groups. This report provides an overview of the main labour market, social and migration challenges facing Croatia, as well as a comprehensive analysis of Croatia's policies and practices compared with good practices in OECD countries.