Petar Juršić: ideas and stories

Croatia: 62% at home, 21% for Europe

6 min read

Croatia votes at about 62 percent in national elections and about 21 percent in European ones

Hook

In 2024 about 62 of 100 Croatian voters turned out for parliament. Two months later only 21 did for the European Parliament, the lowest in the EU.

Claim

People vote when they can see a link between their vote and who rules them, and more often stay home when they cannot. That is an interpretation; low European turnout is common across the EU and the numbers alone do not prove it.

Turnout numbers (checked 2026-11-04):

  • Sabor, 17 April 2024: DIP president Radovan Dobronic put turnout at 62.31%, 2,216,742 of 3,557,875 registered voters (dnevnik.hr report of the DIP press conference; that page returned an error when reopened on 2026-11-04, so the figure is checked against the DIP PDF instead). Adding all twelve units in DIP’s final-results PDF gives 2,216,763 of 3,558,089, or 62.30% (own sum, matches within rounding). The ten domestic districts alone give 2,140,824 of 3,482,150, or 61.48%. The diaspora district (XI) and the six minority-seat units (XII) are listed by DIP with 100% turnout (41,120 and 34,819 voters), so they lift the headline slightly; the PDF does not explain why. Both numbers are correct, they count different things. District turnouts range from 54.53% to 69.16% (own reading of the PDF).
  • 2020 baseline: 46.44% (Wikipedia, citing izbori.hr); the election-night DIP figure reported by Index was 46.85%. It was the lowest since multiparty elections began in 1990; Wikipedia ties this to the pandemic (DIP’s own statement on COVID was not reopened).
  • “Highest in twenty years” is not safe: only the Electoral Bulletins of the EU say it. Older figures disagree by source: Index (2020 article) lists 2015 at 60.82%, 2007 at 63.41%, 2003 at 66.83%; Wikipedia lists 2015 at 63.06% and 2003 at 61.65%. Under either list 2024 is not clearly the highest in twenty years. Say instead: up about 16 points from the 2020 low, to around 62%.
  • European Parliament, 9 June 2024: 21.35% (European Parliament results site; 2019 was 29.85%, 2014 25.24%). EU average 50.74%. Euronews lists Croatia lowest at 21%, then Lithuania 28% and Bulgaria 31%.
  • Local elections, 18 May 2025 (first round): DIP open-data files give 43.58% for the county assembly vote (1,531,245 of 3,513,828 registered; own sum of the 21 county files) and 43.60% for the county prefect vote. Zagreb 42.65%. The interim figure was 33.06% at 16:30 against 35.54% at the same point in 2021 (Transparency International Croatia). The second round is lower: Zadar County prefect 42.71% in round one, 27.14% in round two (DIP files). No national final for 2021 was found; Wikipedia gives Zagreb council 47.09% in 2021 (round not stated), so Zagreb was lower in 2025. 2013: 47% first round, 43% second (Wikipedia, secondary).
  • Not comparable: the 7.5% turnout in October 2025 belongs to additional elections of national-minority representatives, not to a general vote. Do not use it as a local turnout figure.
  • Youth turnout: no official age breakdown was found. DIP does not publish turnout by age in the documents opened. Surveys exist but measure intention or are small: a 515-person survey of 18 to 24-year-olds (IMC) had almost 85% saying they intended to vote in 2024, and a 50-person Dubrovnik poll had 56% voting in the parliamentary and 28% in the European elections. Neither is a turnout measure (not reopened 2026-11-04).

What cannot be shown: an official final national figure for 2021 local turnout, and any official youth turnout.

Story

In the first round of the 2025 local elections, council turnout in municipalities and cities with at least 500 voters ranged from 22.05% (Brckovljani) to 80.59% (Dulovac) (own calculation from DIP open data, 546 units). Where you live changes whether voting is a habit.

Sources

Check before posting

  • A second, official source for turnout before 2020 (DIP archive) if any pre-2020 comparison is used; sources disagree for 2003 and 2015.
  • Whether DIP or GONG publishes a turnout-by-age study; none was found.
  • Final national 2021 local turnout, if a year-on-year comparison is wanted.
  • Resolved 2026-11-04: final 2025 local turnout (43.58% first round, own sum of DIP open data); 62.31% reconciled with district sums; EP 21.35% and EU average confirmed on the European Parliament site; “highest in twenty years” not supported, dropped; Kolan and Posedarje story removed (Kolan had no second round) and replaced.

Counterargument

Turnout is lower in elections where people think the outcome matters less (European, local runoffs). Low turnout is not by itself evidence of apathy; it can mean voters see no difference or no link to results. High 2024 turnout may also reflect a polarised fight between the president and the prime minister.

Post angles

Facebook (Croatian) Na parlamentarnim izborima 2024. izašlo je oko 62 posto birača. Na europskima dva mjeseca poslije samo 21 posto, najmanje u cijeloj EU. Isti ljudi, ista država. Možda je problem u tome što im se Europa čini predaleko. Na lokalnim izborima 2025. u prvom krugu izašlo je oko 44 posto (zbroj DIP-ovih podataka), a između općina razlika je od 22 do 81 posto. Podatak o izlaznosti po dobi ne postoji, pa ne znamo koliko mladi stvarno izlaze.

LinkedIn (English) Croatia, 2024: about 62% turnout for parliament in April, 21% for the European Parliament in June, the lowest in the EU (average about 51%). In the first round of the 2025 local elections, county-level turnout summed to about 44% (own sum of DIP open data), and it ranged from 22% to 81% across towns and municipalities. There is also no official breakdown by age. A gap that is not measured cannot be fixed.

Fewer people stand in Croatian local elections and the candidates are getting older Croatia publishes a decent budget but gives citizens almost no say in making it People stop taking part when their input visibly changes nothing Putnam found Italian regional governments worked best where citizens already had civic habits Tallinn made public transport free after a referendum that one in five residents voted in

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