The 2011 Census in Croatia – A (partial) role model for the Western Balkans?

Within the framework of EU enlargement, the population and housing census is a pre-condition for EU membership. The 2011 census in Croatia was conducted according to EU regulations and considering this, it should present a good example for the region. However, there are some aspects which are not addressed by EU regulations, but are of importance when looking at censuses in the Western Balkans: the so-called sensitive issues such as ethnicity, language and religion. Answers to these questions are not required by the EU; nonetheless all Western Balkan countries have included these questions in their censuses. In Croatia, the census results are used to determine political participation by proportional representation of ethnic minorities, and this has led to ethnic tensions . This article looks into the historical perspective of censuses in Croatia, as well as the EU conditionality of census-taking in the Croatian census of 2011. In addition, the practice of linking political participation to census results will be taken into account, before finally posing the question of whether the 2011 census in Croatia can really be taken as a role model for census-taking in the Western Balkans.

Anna-Lena Hoh

Anna-Lena Hoh


After her Research Master in Social and Cultural Sciences and a Master in Human Geography, focussing on Europe’s Borders, Governance and Identities, together with her current PhD supervisors (Prof. dr. Hans Schmeets, Dr. Gergana Noutcheva, Dr. Petar Petrov), Anna-Lena applied successfully for a Dutch research talent grant for the project “Europeanization of census taking in the Western Balkan”. She started working at the project as a PhD Candidate in Political Science at Maastricht University, as of June 2013.



1. Why are the Croatian census results from 2001 and 2011 not comparable?
2. Which of the aspects of the 2011 census in Croatia was not in line with the UNECE census recommendations?
3. What do the census results in Croatia show, and why is this of importance?
4. What makes censuses in the Western Balkans more difficult than in the other European countries?

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