Changes in the Demographic Depression Index by Settlements of Croatia in the Inter-Census Period 2011–2021

The long-term decrease in the total number of inhabitants, the ageing of the population and the social marginalisation of rural areas have caused negative demographic trends in almost the entire Croatia. The concepts of extinction, demographic depres- sion, and demographic endangerment are most often associat- ed with the phenomenon of demographic decline and economic decline in settlements. This paper compares the demographic depression index (IDD) by settlements in Croatia for the 2011– 2021 period, based on 11 demographic criteria defined by Mrđen and Marić (2018). The average IDD value of all settlements in Croatia for 2011 was 2.22 (depressed/edge of demographic depression), while for 2021 it was 2.20. The largest share of settlements for both 2011 and 2021 belongs to demographically depressed area. The smallest share of settlements belongs to the category of extremely vital area. If the absolute change in the number of settlements by IDD is ob- served, the largest increase was recorded in the demographical- ly depressed area, and the largest decrease was recorded for the edge of demographic depression. The categories of vital and extremely vital areas did not register an increase. IDD can be applied in the analysis, i.e., recognition of the demographic resources of an area with the aim of reducing inequality in socio-economic development, i.e. spatial imbalance.