Croatia census shows nearly 10% population drop in 10 years

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian authorities say last year’s population census in the European Union country has shown an almost 10% drop over the past decade. Officials said Friday that the census listed 3.8 million citizens compared to close to 4.2 in the previous census in 2011. The decrease reflects the depopulation problem in Croatia and elsewhere in the Balkans that is a combination of low birth rates and exodus toward more prosperous countries in Western Europe and the United States. Croatia joined the EU in 2013 and the country has been struggling to revive the economy that was devastated during the war in 1992-95.