June the 30th, 2022 - For many foreigners coming to spend time on the glorious Adriatic coast, it's difficult to understand what there isn't to love about the Croatian lifestyle. While spending hours over a coffee in the sun in an ancient city next to the crystal clear sea before heading home for some fresh fish and homegrown salad might seem like the lifestyle jackpot, Croatia doesn't have a raging demographic crisis without a reason.

The disparity between the Adriatic coast and Eastern Croatian regions such as Slavonia and Baranja is only increasing, and while jobs might be plentiful during the summer months, seasonal work doesn't put food on the table throughout the year and it certainly doesn't provide much in the way of economic stability. Eastern Croatia, the country's former breadbasket, has been gradually emptying out for years now, with Croatia's accession to the European Union back in July 2013 only speeding it up even more. 

While this country of paradoxes sees the gap between middle class and poor steadily grow, just which of its inhabitants are the most satisfied of all with the Croatian lifestyle? It seems that the family-oriented Dalmatians are the happiest of all.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, almost 70 percent of this country's residents are fairly or even extremely satisfied with their personal lives and the Croatian lifestyle, while dissatisfaction prevails among less than 12 percent of respondents, according to a poll the Promocija plus agency conducted for RTL. There is no significant difference between men and women, but the difference in life satisfaction is noticeable in regard to education, and satisfaction seems to decrease with age. Satisfaction is the highest among Croats aged 18 to 30 (81 percent), least among those older than 70 (59 percent).

Dalmatians are the most satisfied with the Croatian lifestyle, with almost 75 percent of them saying so, Zagreb and its surroundings are also on average, it's similar in other parts of the country, and the inhabitants of Slavonia are rather unsurprisingly the least satisfied of all with life, but 62 percent are more or less satisfied there as well.

When it comes to life priorities, family reigns strong for almost 70 percent of residents.

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ZAGREB, 13 June, 2021 - A total of 19,167 new passenger cars were sold in Croatia in January-May 2021, a 44.3% increase from the same period last year, and 4,483 new vehicles were sold in May 2021 alone, over twice as many as in May 2020, show the data released by the Promocija Plus market research agency last Monday.

In the first five months of 2020, which were significantly affected by the negative economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, which began to produce a more significant effect in March, 13,286 new vehicles were sold, of which 2,173 were sold in May 2020, which is 2,310 fewer than in May 2021.

In the first five months of this year, Volkswagen sold the most new vehicles, 2,928, accounting for a 15.3% share in total sales. It was followed by Škoda with 2,420 new vehicles sold and a market share of 12.6%, Suzuki (1,202 vehicles, 6.3% share), Renault (1,198 vehicles), Kia (1,108 vehicles), Dacia (1,052), Opel (1,010) and Hyundai (984 vehicles, 5.13% share).

The best selling models in May were the Dacia Duster and the Škoda Octavia, with 164 units sold each, ahead of the Suzuki Vitara (160), the Volkswagen T-Roc (135), the Renault Clio (133), the Renault Megane (121), the Volkswagen T-Cross (103)) and the Opel Corsa (101).

In the first five months of 2021, the best selling model was the Škoda Octavia (977), and it was followed by the VW T-Cross (690), the Dacia Duster (679) and the VW T-Roc (642).

In January-May 2021, 10,354 petrol vehicles were sold, accounting for 54% of all sales, followed by 5,254 (27.4%) diesel-fuelled vehicles, 210 (1.1%) electric cars, 620 (3.2%) vehicles powered by natural gas and 2,729 (14.2%) hybrids.

So far this year, the largest number of cars were sold in the Zagreb region (8,184), followed by Šibenik-Knin County (1,799), Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (1,309), Split-Dalmatia County (1,240) and Osijek-Baranja County (1,113), while Lika-Senj County ranked last, with 69 new cars sold.

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ZAGREB, Aug 7, 2020 - According to a poll by the Promocija Plus agency, there are changes in the balance of power among political parties a month after a parliamentary election but not at the top, Jutarnji List daily said on Friday.

The election winner, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), is the most popular party (32.9%).

The Social Democratic Party is second (18.1%) and the We Can! platform third (11%), replacing the Homeland Movement, which now ranks fourth (8.6%). Bridge is next (8.3%), followed by the Party with a First and Last Name (2.6%).

Pametno, the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), and the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) have a little over 1% in approval ratings.

The most popular politician is Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenkovic for 24.5% of respondents, up from 19.4% in June, followed by President Zoran Milanovic with 11.3% (15.3% in June), Finance Minister Zdravko Maric with 4.5% (2.2% in June) and Health Minister Vili Beros with 4.3%(8.1% in June).

The poll shows that 15.3% of respondents have no favourite politician.

The most negative politician is President Milanovic, followed by Prime Minister Plenkovic and Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic.

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ZAGREB, June 5, 2020 - A total of 2,173 new cars were sold in Croatia in May 2020, which is 76% fewer than in May 2019 when 9,149 vehicles were sold, according to data from the Promocija Plus market research agency.

In the first five months of this year, 13,286 new vehicles were sold, a decrease of 55.6% compared with the same period of last year.

In the first five months of 2020, the best-selling car brand was Volkswagen, with 2,191 vehicles sold and a 16.5% share in total sales.

It was followed by Skoda with 1,959 vehicles sold and a share of 14.7%, Renault with 912 vehicles sold and a share of 6.8%, Dacia with 792 vehicles sold, and a share of 5.9%, and Kia with 701 vehicles sold and a share of 5.2%.

Also sold during this period were 402 BMWs, 388 Audis, 324 Mercedeses, 59 Porsches, 48 Land Rovers, 29 Jaguars, and 12 Teslas.

The best-selling car model in May this year was the Skoda Octavia, which was selected by 121 buyers. It was followed by the Kia Stonic (97 units sold) and the Dacia Sandero (70).

The Skoda Octavia was also the most popular model in the first five months of the year, with 982 units sold, ahead of the VW Golf and the VW T-Cross which were each chosen by 415 buyers.

The data also shows that Croatians prefer petrol-fuelled cars to those using diesel. In the period between January and May, 7,768 buyers picked petrol-driven cars, which is a share of 58% in total sales, while 4,545 opted for those fuelled by diesel (34.2%). 85% chose an electric vehicle (0.6%) and 791 a hybrid (6%).