While Croatians rate some aspects of their quality of life highly – such as interpersonal relationships, personal health, the environment and national security – other aspects pose considerable challenges for policymakers. The biggest challenge is how to boost living standards: average household incomes are around €300 per month. In 2005, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was less than half of the then EU25 average (as expressed in purchasing power parity, or PPP). Moreover, the average level of education is low, with over 40% of the population not having progressed beyond primary level.
Overall, levels of trust and social cohesion are low: one third of citizens feel that caution is necessary when dealing with other people, 35% feel that tensions exist among ethnic groups, and 62% are concerned about tensions between rich and poor. Meanwhile, only one in four citizens feels optimistic about the future.
The report recommends that raising living standards and promoting social inclusion should become a priority across all areas of policymaking. It suggests concrete measures to improve quality of life, including expanding the provision of affordable housing, giving incentives to encourage children and young people to stay in school longer, and making childcare more affordable to help women enter the workforce.
The report draws its data from a range of findings, in particular the Quality of Life Survey conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Croatia in 2006. This survey used a questionnaire that Eurofound had developed for its own European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS), conducted in 2003. (Croatia was not included at that time). The survey provides, for the first time, data and internationally comparable indicators that paint a comprehensive picture of life in Croatia in a European context.
