Good to know
Good to Know
- Zagreb is Croatia's immigration hub: 21.7% of all 2024 immigration to Croatia settled in the city, making it the strongest migration draw in the country.
- Digital nomad presence is growing since Croatia formalized its digital nomad permit in January 2021, but no official count exists for this population within Zagreb.
- Recent foreign worker influx is primarily from Nepal, Philippines, India, and Bangladesh in construction, tourism, and services—different from historical Balkan migration.
- The city is becoming a tech hub with 163+ ranked startups, a unicorn (Infobip), and strong government support via ZICER and acceleration tracks.
- Ethnic minorities represent 6.5% of official residents (2021 census); however, registered foreign-born population exceeds 13%, suggesting significant post-census immigration.
- Unlike coastal cities, Zagreb's immigrant population is more stable and career-focused rather than seasonal or retirement-oriented.
Ethnic Composition
- Croats Percentage
- 93.53
- Source
- 2021 Census; Council of Europe Intercultural Cities data
Minorities
Serbs
- Percentage
- 1.57
- Estimated Count
- 12034
Bosniaks
- Percentage
- 0.86
Albanians
- Percentage
- 0.45
Romani
- Percentage
- 0.28
Slovenes
- Percentage
- 0.17
Macedonians
- Percentage
- 0.15
Montenegrins
- Percentage
- 0.11
Other communities
- Note
- Multiple smaller groups including Germans, Czechs, Hungarians, Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, Italians, Turks, Jews
Notable Nationalities Recent Immigration
Ukraine
- Note
- Strongest increase in flows 2023-2024; majority of asylum applicants also Ukrainian
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Note
- Historical regional migration; many have obtained Croatian citizenship
Nepal
- Note
- Primary labour migrant source in construction, tourism, services; first immigrant-led association (Nepali origin) established Zagreb 2022
Labour migration (tourism, services)
- Origin
- Philippines
Labour migration
- Origin
- India
Labour migration
- Origin
- Bangladesh
Official Population
- Year
- 2021
- Figure
- 767131
- Source
- Croatian Census 2021
- Note
- City proper (Grad Zagreb), excluding metropolitan area
Metropolitan Population
- Year
- 2021
- Figure
- 1086528
- Note
- Includes surrounding towns and Zagreb County
Business And Tech Presence
- Unicorn Company
- Infobip (raised >USD 1B)
- Startup Ecosystem Rank
- #225 globally; #1 in Croatia
Notable Companies
- Infobip (omnichannel engagement platform)
- Microblink (digital identity/document processing)
- Treblle (API management)
- Minka (open banking/fintech)
- Revuto (subscription management fintech)
Support Infrastructure
- Talent Pool
- University of Zagreb (largest in Southeast Europe, 75,000+ students); young working-age demographic attracted by internal migration
- Innovation Hub
- ZICER (Zagreb Innovation Centre) – houses ~80 companies, offers incubation, acceleration, and coworking
- Coworking Availability
- Growing number of spaces (Impact Hub, Zagreb Technology Park, etc.) with monthly desks €150–€300
Fastest Growing Sectors
- Artificial Intelligence
- SaaS (Software as a Service)
- FinTech
- HealthTech
- Business Process Automation
- RegTech
- Digital Identity Verification
Foreign Born And Broader Estimate
- Registered Foreign Born Percentage
- 13
- Unregistered Nomad Digital Nomad Estimate
- No precise citywide estimate available. However, Zagreb records the largest share of Croatia's immigration (21.7% of 2024 immigration flows) with net migration of 7,010 persons in 2024 alone. Growing digital nomad community since Croatia's 2021 digital nomad permit launch, plus unregistered long-stayers in tourist-visa status likely exist but are not quantified in official sources.
- Note
- 13% of population (2021 census) = ~99,700 people. Estimate based on census data refers to foreign-born residents with official residence registration.
- Recent Migration Context
- Significant migration inflows from Nepal, Philippines, India, Bangladesh (labour sector) and Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina (recent newcomers as of 2023). Younger demographic influx from rural-to-urban internal migration.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this local demographics research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Zagreb
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.