This was stated by Sabolic, its mayor. Who contributed in dialogue with BBC Mundo: “Many young people have left and continue to go to work in Germany, Austria and Slovenia. There are not many opportunities, the salaries are low and if this does not change, people will continue to leave”.
The reality indicates that what happens to Legrad is not isolated, since in other Croatian cities, except Zagreb, its capital, a “demographic catastrophe” is evident.
The figures of Croatian citizens
The European country had 4.3 million inhabitants in 2011; whereas today, their number has fallen remarkably, being a population of 3.8 million.
Likewise, it is estimated that by 2050 the population of this small country will be 3.4 million and by 2100 it could drop another million, warns the UN.
Some of the reasons
As they specified, births were falling during the 1980s. This data was combined with a high mortality rate, which caused the natural demographic balance to be negative since 1991: more Croats die than are born.
A house for less than a dollar
Faced with the gradual depopulation of Legrad, Mayor Ivan Saboli launched a plan last year to attract new residents by selling abandoned houses for one kuna (US$0.14 cents), Norberto Paredes stated for La Nación and BBC Mundo.
The requirements to buy these homes are to be financially solvent, to be under 40 years old and to commit to living in them for at least 15 years.
When someone dies without an heir in Croatia, the property passes into the hands of the municipality and this had become “a problem” for Mayor Saboli.
But his office quickly found people seriously interested in the 19 houses he put up for sale, and by the end of May 2022 there was only one left to sell.
US$28,000 for those who return
At the national level, late last year the country’s prime minister, Andrej Plenkovi, announced a new program dubbed “I choose Croatia,” which offers grants of up to 200,000 kuna (US$28,000) to Croats returning from other countries. the EU with plans to start their own business.
But the scheme has not had the expected success, as reported at the end of April by the RTL television network, one of the main television networks in the country.
Source: Ambito
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