October the 6th, 2021 - This year's Best Croatian Cities awards will take place on the 21st of October in the coastal town of Novi Vinodolski. This will be the fourth such contest in which the best Croatian cities in various different segments will be chosen.

As Vedran Marjanovic/Novac writes, this year's selection of the best Croatian cities, organised by Jutarnji list, the Gradonacelnik.hr (Mayor.hr) portal and the Ipsos agency, started out with the determining of the list of cities that were shortlisted for the awards which will be presented later on this month.

Currently, well-known cities are candidates for winners in four of a total of seven categories of selection of the best Croatian cities. These are the categories of education and youth, economy, quality of life and the greatest progress made. Recognition to the city that, according to the criteria of the organisers, has made the greatest progress in ensuring the quality of life of its inhabitants, is being awarded for the first time.

''The award for the greatest progress in the quality of life is calculated by comparing their ranking in the category of quality of life for 2020 in relation to their ranking for the same category as part of the first selection of the best Croatian cities back in 2018,'' they explained from Gradonacelnik.hr.

Six indicators

The first ''Best Croatian Cities'' candidates for the recognition of the best city in their achieved progress in terms of quality of life are Klanjec (Krapina-Zagorje County), Krizevci, Metkovic, Sinj and Sisak. They made the most progress in at least six observed indicators.

While there will be only one winner in the new category of selection of the best Croatian cities, in the other three aforementioned categories, three winners will be announced this year as well. This will be the competition of large cities (more than 35,000 inhabitants), medium-sized cities (10,000 to 35,000 inhabitants) and small cities, ie a city with no more than 10,000 inhabitants.

The shortlist of the best Croatian cities in the category of education and youth includes fifteen cities that have the best indicators, ie the highest shares in the total index of the six observed criteria. The criteria are, among other things, the budget allocation for education, youth and social policy, the number of children per kindergarten teacher and the average budget allocation for scholarships and tuition fees.

''An index was calculated for each indicator according to the methodology explained in detail in formulas in the Government Decree on the Development Index. Prior to their ranking, all variables were standardised. Cities which have an index greater than 100 are above average, and cities that have a value index less than 100 are below average,'' pointed out Gradonacelnik.hr.

When it comes to the list of cities in the shortlist for the best city in terms of education, among the candidates are last year's winners in that category, Sibenik, Labin and Cres, which triumphed in the competition of small towns.

One of the most prestigious categories of choosing the best Croatian cities is certainly economic factors, the winners of which (for 2020) were Samobor, Sveta Nedelja and Hvar, also in 2021's shortlist as it stands. Some of the indicators of cities that are ranked in this category are the number of craft (obrt) owners per 1000 inhabitants, the average original income of cities per capita and the level of indebtedness, and it's also important to know whether a surtax has been introduced in the city.

In support of the assessment that the economic category is one of the categories in this selection with the fiercest competition is the fact that the opponents of Samobor are Pula, Varazdin, Koprivnica and Krapina, which, according to public discussion, are considered the most dynamic environments when it comes to economic development.

Fierce competition

Equally fierce competition in relation to the economic category of this year's selection of the best Croatian cities reigns in the quality of life. Last year's winner was Cakovec, for example, and in the competition of big cities, Zagreb, Samobor, Velika Gorica and Varazdin are the opponents. In the category of quality of life, the cities are ranked, among other things, according to indicators of average income per capita, average number of employees per 1000 inhabitants, budget allocations for culture and the efficiency index of the city administration.

In this year's selection of the best Croatian cities, three special awards will be given - Smart city, Eco city and the best city for withdrawing money from EU funds, and the choice there will be between Beli Manastir, Petrinja, Rijeka, Virovitica and Zagreb.

For more, make sure to check out our lifestyle section.

October 7, 2020 – This year's selection of the best Croatian cities has entered the finals and the announcement of the winners is expected at the end of this month.

We can all agree that each Croatian city has its uniqueness and is beautiful in its way. If there was a competition to pick the most beautiful Croatian city, it would be too hard to choose.

But if you consider competing categories such as quality of life, economy, education, and demographic policy, and withdrawal of money from EU funds, the picture is different.

According to Gradonačelnik.hr, out of 28 selected Croatian cities that are competing, only one big, medium, and small-sized city will be named as the best in each of these four categories, except for the EU funds. In that category, only one prize will be awarded, regardless of the size of the city.

Therefore, the epithets of the best will be taken by a total of 10 Croatian cities.

Istria and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County have the biggest chances

Croatia counts as many as 128 cities, out of which only 28 have entered the final evaluation and selection of the best.

Some of the 28 finalists in four different categories which have more than one nomination are Čakovec, Samobor, Varaždin, Dubrovnik, Rovinj, Sveta Nedjelja, Umag, Poreč, Hvar, Mali Lošinj, Novalja, Novigrad, Krk. A list of all nominated cities by all categories, as well as all other information is available on the organizers' websites.

Interestingly, the best results in this competition were made by Rovinj, Poreč, and Krk, entering the finals in three categories, in terms of quality of life, economic achievements, and the standard they provide to their residents in education and demographic policy.

If we look at the most represented counties in the final of this election, the absolute leader is Istria County with eight cities and 14 ‘nominations’ in the final election.

Only Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, with six cities and nine candidacies, and Zagreb County, from which four candidate cities and six ‘nominations’ for the best come, are keeping pace with Istria.

Also, Istria and Kvarner were last year's big winners. The best small town in terms of economic status and quality of life was Krk, Pula was the best big city in terms of economy, and Poreč was a medium-sized city with the best quality of life. In the category of education and demography, the cities of Pazin, Labin, and Cres stood out.

Many of them are nominated again this year and are defending last year's title.

Difficult criteria

The competition is organized by Jutarnji List, Gradonačelnik.hr, and the Ipsos agency. Their idea is to present to the general public the best solutions of our cities in ensuring a quality of life worthy of modern European and world standards.

Research and evaluation are very extensive, as evidenced by the fact that in the most prestigious category – that of the best cities in terms of quality of life – as many as 26 different criteria are included in the corresponding calculation.

Some of them are the average per capita income, the share of environmental allocations in the budget, the share of allocations for subsidizing the price of transportation in the budget, and the population aging index.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.