List of cities and towns in Croatia

An urbanized area in Croatia can gain the status of grad (which can be translated as town or city as there is no distinction between the two terms in Croatian) if it meets one of the following requirements:

  1. is the center of a county (županija), or
  2. has more than 10,000 residents, or
  3. is defined by an exception (where the necessary historical, economic or geographic reasons exist)

A city (town) represents an urban, historical, natural, economic and social whole. The suburbs comprising an economic and social whole with the city, connected with it by daily migration movements and daily needs of the population of local significance, may also be included into the composition of a city as unit of local self-government.

Grad (city/town) is the local administrative equivalent of općina (translated as "municipality"), with the only distinction being that the former usually comprise urban areas whereas the latter commonly consist of a group of villages. Both municipalities and city/towns often comprise more than one settlement, as the administrative territory of a grad may include suburban villages or hamlets near the city/town in question. Settlements (naselja) are the third-level spatial units of Croatia, and the smallest unit for which the decennial census data are published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics but are not administrative entities, i.e. they are governed by the municipal or city/town council of the local administrative unit they belong to.

Croatian cities are administratively subdivided into "city districts" (gradski kotari/gradske četvrti) and/or "local committees" (mjesni odbori) with elected councils. The City of Zagreb, as the capital, not being part of any county, is subdivided into both city districts and local committees.

  • In December 1992 there were 70 cities and towns and 419 municipalities in Croatia organized into 20 counties (plus the city of Zagreb which is both a city and a county).
  • In 2001 there were 122 cities and towns (excluding Zagreb) and 423 municipalities. This was the territorial division used for the 2001 census.
  • In 2006 the latest revision was made, which listed a total of 127 cities and towns and 429 municipalities in Croatia. This division was used for the latest 2011 census.
  • In 2013 the municipality of Popovača was upgraded to town, bringing the total to 128 cities and towns and 428 municipalities.

According to the Constitution, the city of Zagreb, as the capital of Croatia, has a special status. As such, Zagreb performs self-governing public affairs of both city and county.

Tasks and organization

Cities (in English these would be called "towns"), within their self-governing scope of activities, perform the tasks of local significance, which directly fulfil the citizens' needs, and which were not assigned to the state bodies by the Constitution or law, particularly the tasks referring to urban design of settlements and dwelling, zoning and urban planning, communal activities, child care, social welfare, primary health care, personality development and primary education, culture, physical culture and sports, consumers protection, protection and improvement of the natural environment, fire and civil defence, local transport.

"Big cities" ("big city" is a Croatian legal term, in English these would be just "cities"), i.e. cities with more than 35,000 inhabitants that are also economic, financial, cultural, public health, scientific or traffic centres and cities that are county seats, in addition to these tasks, are also responsible for tasks regarding public roads maintenance and issuing of building and location permits.

City government

City council (Gradsko vijeće) is the representative body of citizens and the body of local self-government. The councillors are elected for a four-year term on the basis of universal suffrage in direct elections by secret ballot using proportional system with d'Hondt method. The executive head of the city is the mayor (gradonačelnik), also elected in direct elections by majoritarian vote (two-round system) for a four-year term (together with one or two deputy mayors). The mayor (with the deputy mayor/s) can be recalled by a referendum. City administrative departments and services manage administrative procedures in their areas of jurisdiction. The mayor names heads (principals) of the departments and services, who are chosen on the basis of a public competition.

List of cities and towns

The following is a complete list of all officially designated 128 cities/towns in Croatia, sorted by population according to the 2021 population census. At the time of the 2001 census, there had been 123 cities/towns in the country and four former municipalities were administratively upgraded to towns prior to the 2011 census: Vodnjan (in 2003), Kutjevo, Otok, and Sveta Nedelja (in 2006). In addition, the table includes data for Popovača, also a former municipality which was re-designated as town in the latest administrative revision in April 2013.

The Municipal column in the table lists total population within the geographical boundary of the local administrative subdivision. This means that the figure often includes other smaller settlements such as villages or hamlets located on the outskirts or near the city/town proper. In contrast, the Town/City proper column lists only population of the city/town proper, without the smaller settlements which administratively belong to the city. Both numbers are given as in some cases the figures may vary dramatically (for example Velika Gorica with nearby settlements has a population of around 61,000 but the town proper has only 30,000 residents).

The town of Kaštela is a unique exception in that it only exists as an administrative unit - it is legally treated as an agglomeration of seven separate settlements with populations ranging from 3,000 to 7,000, none of which is actually called "Kaštela". Its town council is located in Kaštel Sućurac.

Another set of exceptions arises from the special status of the City of Zagreb, which is considered both a county and a city, and is further subdivided into city districts, local committees and settlements. Unlike its other districts, the district of Sesvete still has the status of a standalone settlement with a population of about 55,000. This would make it a large city in itself, but it does not have the administrative status of a city.

 ¤ County seat. There is a total of 21 counties of Croatia but only 20 county seats - the capital Zagreb doubles as a county (called City of Zagreb or Grad Zagreb) and the seat of the separate Zagreb County (Zagrebačka županija) which surrounds Zagreb but does not actually include the capital city.
#1 Zagreb
#2 Split
#3 Rijeka
#4 Osijek
#5 Zadar
#6 Velika Gorica
#7 Slavonski Brod
#8 Pula
#9 Karlovac
#10 Sisak
City / town County Municipal Town/City proper
2021 pop. Rank 2021 pop. Rank
Zagreb ¤  Zagreb 769,944
1
665,774
1
Split ¤  Split-Dalmatia 161,312
2
150,410
2
Rijeka ¤  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 108,622
3
108,622
3
Osijek ¤  Osijek-Baranja 96,848
4
75,916
4
Zadar ¤  Zadar County 70,829
5
67,349
5
Velika Gorica  Zagreb County 61,198
6
30,086
11
Pula  Istria County 52,411
7
52,411
6
Slavonski Brod ¤  Brod-Posavina 50,039
8
45,083
7
Karlovac ¤  Karlovac County 49,594
9
41,979
8
Varaždin ¤  Varaždin County 43,999
10
36,384
9
Šibenik ¤  Šibenik-Knin 42,589
11
31,085
10
Dubrovnik ¤  Dubrovnik-Neretva 41,671
12
27,034
14
Sisak ¤  Sisak-Moslavina 40,185
13
27,886
13
Kaštela  Split-Dalmatia 37,951
14
Samobor  Zagreb County 37,481
15
16,914
21
Bjelovar ¤  Bjelovar-Bilogora 36,433
16
24,351
15
Vinkovci  Vukovar-Srijem 31,057
17
28,247
12
Koprivnica ¤  Koprivnica-Križevci 28,666
18
22,304
17
Čakovec ¤  Međimurje 27,266
19
15,160
23
Solin  Split-Dalmatia 24,912
20
21,058
18
Zaprešić  Zagreb County 24,186
21
18,813
19
Đakovo  Osijek-Baranja 23,687
22
16,941
20
Sinj  Split-Dalmatia 23,574
23
10,828
31
Vukovar ¤  Vukovar-Srijem 23,536
24
22,616
16
Požega ¤  Požega-Slavonia 22,364
25
16,894
22
Petrinja  Sisak-Moslavina 20,165
26
13,123
26
Kutina  Sisak-Moslavina 19,681
27
12,053
28
Virovitica ¤  Virovitica-Podravina County 19,366
28
13,531
25
Križevci  Koprivnica-Križevci 19,052
29
10,581
32
Sveta Nedelja  Zagreb County 18,307
30
1,369
116
Dugo Selo  Zagreb County 17,861
31
11,152
30
Poreč  Istria County 16,666
32
8,899
37
Metković  Dubrovnik-Neretva 15,349
33
14,062
24
Sveti Ivan Zelina  Zagreb County 14,703
34
2,598
93
Jastrebarsko  Zagreb County 14,657
35
5,331
60
Našice  Osijek-Baranja 14,336
36
7,339
43
Omiš  Split-Dalmatia 14,125
37
5,976
51
Makarska  Split-Dalmatia 13,344
38
12,800
27
Vrbovec  Zagreb County 13,052
39
4,581
63
Rovinj  Istria County 13,039
40
11,693
29
Ivanić-Grad  Zagreb County 13,028
41
8,477
39
Ivanec  Varaždin County 12,785
42
5,020
61
Umag  Istria County 12,767
43
6,781
44
Trogir  Split-Dalmatia 12,429
44
10,150
34
Ogulin  Karlovac County 12,251
45
7,389
42
Novi Marof  Varaždin County 11,872
46
1,816
111
Knin  Šibenik-Knin 11,755
47
8,317
40
Nova Gradiška  Brod-Posavina 11,719
48
9,850
35
Krapina ¤  Krapina-Zagorje 11,553
49
4,212
64
Slatina  Virovitica-Podravina County 11,524
50
8,717
38
Gospić ¤  Lika-Senj 11,464
51
6,339
48
Novska  Sisak-Moslavina 11,234
52
5,994
50
Opatija  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 10,661
53
5,715
54
Labin  Istria County 10,488
54
5,837
53
Popovača  Sisak-Moslavina 10,306
55
3,641
75
Kastav  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 10,265
56
10,265
33
Duga Resa  Karlovac County 10,207
57
5,389
57
Daruvar  Bjelovar-Bilogora 10,159
58
7,474
41
Crikvenica  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 10,004
59
6,218
49
Valpovo  Osijek-Baranja 9,783
60
6,341
47
Benkovac  Zadar County 9,728
61
2,520
94
Imotski  Split-Dalmatia 9,321
62
4,060
68
Županja  Vukovar-Srijem 9,246
63
9,246
36
Pleternica  Požega-Slavonia 9,243
64
2,957
88
Belišće  Osijek-Baranja 8,884
65
5,358
59
Vodice  Šibenik-Knin 8,704
66
6,629
45
Zabok  Krapina-Zagorje 8,678
67
3,417
80
Garešnica  Bjelovar-Bilogora 8,672
68
3,326
85
Ludbreg  Varaždin County 8,519
69
3,469
78
Otočac  Lika-Senj 8,361
70
3,882
73
Pazin ¤  Istria County 8,306
71
3,989
70
Ploče  Dubrovnik-Neretva 8,252
72
4,748
62
Trilj  Split-Dalmatia 8,228
73
1,901
109
Donji Miholjac  Osijek-Baranja 8,063
74
5,359
58
Beli Manastir  Osijek-Baranja 8,053
75
6,390
46
Bakar  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 7,581
76
1,192
119
Mali Lošinj  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 7,565
77
5,577
56
Đurđevac  Koprivnica-Križevci 7,386
78
5,844
52
Glina  Sisak-Moslavina 7,207
79
4,067
67
Rab  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 7,168
80
365
126
Pakrac  Požega-Slavonia 7,095
81
4,147
65
Prelog  Međimurje 7,041
82
4,041
69
Lepoglava  Varaždin County 6,973
83
3,397
81
Čazma  Bjelovar-Bilogora 6,947
84
2,424
95
Krk  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 6,846
85
3,945
71
Drniš  Šibenik-Knin 6,263
86
2,762
90
Buzet  Istria County 5,997
87
2,324
100
Senj  Lika-Senj 5,978
88
4,145
66
Pregrada  Krapina-Zagorje 5,953
89
1,882
110
Mursko Središće  Međimurje 5,928
90
3,347
84
Vodnjan  Istria County 5,850
91
3,149
87
Oroslavje  Krapina-Zagorje 5,840
92
3,255
86
Ozalj  Karlovac County 5,836
93
1,055
121
Vrgorac  Split-Dalmatia 5,711
94
2,131
103
Zlatar  Krapina-Zagorje 5,603
95
2,838
89
Biograd na Moru  Zadar County 5,598
96
5,598
55
Varaždinske Toplice  Varaždin County 5,551
97
1,596
112
Korčula  Dubrovnik-Neretva 5,419
98
2,661
91
Grubišno Polje  Bjelovar-Bilogora 5,389
99
2,615
92
Donja Stubica  Krapina-Zagorje 5,331
100
2,118
104
Delnice  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 5,158
101
3,879
74
Ilok  Vukovar-Srijem 5,147
102
3,928
72
Lipik  Požega-Slavonia 5,126
103
1,951
106
Otok  Vukovar-Srijem 4,902
104
3,576
76
Kutjevo  Požega-Slavonia 4,886
105
1,947
107
Orahovica  Virovitica-Podravina County 4,552
106
3,395
82
Buje  Istria County 4,451
107
2,108
105
Novi Vinodolski  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 4,345
108
3,349
83
Supetar  Split-Dalmatia 4,341
109
3,423
79
Slunj  Karlovac County 4,192
110
1,559
114
Kraljevica  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 4,073
111
2,424
95
Hvar  Split-Dalmatia 3,998
112
3,527
77
Novigrad  Istria County 3,883
113
2,286
101
Vrbovsko  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 3,872
114
1,260
118
Novalja  Lika-Senj 3,667
115
2,405
97
Obrovac  Zadar County 3,608
116
801
122
Skradin  Šibenik-Knin 3,349
117
504
125
Čabar  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 3,239
118
332
127
Pag  Zadar County 3,187
119
2,343
99
Opuzen  Dubrovnik-Neretva 2,851
120
2,366
98
Stari Grad  Split-Dalmatia 2,790
121
1,924
108
Cres  Primorje-Gorski Kotar 2,738
122
2,205
102
Nin  Zadar County 2,714
123
1,099
120
Klanjec  Krapina-Zagorje 2,543
124
507
124
Hrvatska Kostajnica  Sisak-Moslavina 1,946
125
1,485
115
Vis  Split-Dalmatia 1,927
126
1,587
113
Vrlika  Split-Dalmatia 1,706
127
711
123
Komiža  Split-Dalmatia 1,395
128
1,266
117

See also

Sources


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