2025 country profile

How democratic is
Croatia?

Croatia scores 72.6 out of 100 and ranks 44 of 179 in our independent 2025 democracy measure. Its lowest-scoring test is public participation. Explore the evidence and history below.

Democracys.org beta estimate, derived from V-Dem v16. A measure of political institutions and conditions—not a percentage of democracy or a judgment of people.

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DEMOCRACYS SCORE

72.6out of 100Substantial but incomplete

2025 rank44 of 179

10-year change−5.4

25-year change−0.9

Source-bound range66.6–80.1

Weakest areaParticipation

The source-bound range is an uncertainty guide, not a confidence interval for this combined score. How to read the range →

SCORE HISTORY

Croatia, 1991–2025

The shaded area is a plain-language uncertainty guide. Treat small score differences cautiously.

About uncertainty

BEYOND THE NUMBERS

What changed on the ground?

A documented development to help interpret the institutions behind the score.

2024 context · Freedom House assessment

Legal pressure increased risks for journalism

Freedom House describes pressure through lawsuits against public participation and a law criminalizing leaks about police investigations. The democratic concern is whether reporting that scrutinizes officials becomes prohibitively risky. The presence of independent media does not by itself show that journalists can work without intimidation.

Read the country report · Freedom in the World 2025

AI-assisted source summary · not independently expert-reviewed

What this context does—and does not—explain

This is a selected development, not a complete political history. Its date may differ from the selected comparison period. It is not evidence that one event caused a particular number of points, and it may describe progress even when this index declines.

The scores use V-Dem. The narrative summarizes a separate assessment by Freedom House, whose definitions and coverage differ. Neither organization endorses this website. The summary is AI-assisted, source-linked, and has not received independent country-expert review. Source checked October 5, 2026.

Why democracy measures can disagree →

UNDERSTAND THE CHANGE

What drove the score?

2015–2025 · the measured story

The score for Croatia fell 5.4 points, from 78.0 to 72.6 between 2015 and 2025. 1 of the five areas improved while 4 worsened, so the headline combines competing movements. Elections contributed the largest downward push in the score calculation.

Read the political context ↓

Largest influence on the calculation

Elections

The evidence rates electoral choice, voting rights, political organization, and the space for open debate less favorably.

Area score: 81.6 → 68.6
Approx. contribution to overall change: −2.6 points

Moving in the other direction

Rights and checks

The evidence points toward stronger civil liberties, equality before the law, or constraints on executive power.

Area score: 85.8 → 87.1
Approx. contribution to overall change: +0.2 points

These contributions explain the calculation—not the causes. The five area scores combine several indicators; they do not identify which individual law, election, or event changed.

When did the biggest shifts appear?

The largest year-to-year movements within this period. These are changes in annual estimates, not precise dates of political events.

2015–2016−3.8 points
The overall score fell from 78.0 to 74.2. Public reasoning supplied the largest downward contribution to that year’s calculated change.
2020–2021−1.4 points
The overall score fell from 75.1 to 73.7. Public reasoning supplied the largest downward contribution to that year’s calculated change.
2022–2023−1.1 points
The overall score fell from 74.1 to 73.0. Public reasoning supplied the largest downward contribution to that year’s calculated change.

Highest published score in this window: 78.0 in 2015. Small differences may fall within the source’s uncertainty.

See all five areas and how contributions are calculated

Changes in inputs versus contributions to the overall score
Area	2015	2025	Input change	Approx. contribution
Elections	81.6	68.6	−13.0	−2.6
Participation	68.3	61.6	−6.7	−1.4
Public reasoning	76.8	69.7	−7.1	−1.4
Rights and checks	85.8	87.1	+1.3	+0.2
Political equality	78.3	77.5	−0.8	−0.2

We change the five inputs from their starting to ending values in every possible order, then average each area’s effect on the formula. This distributes the formula’s interactions (a Shapley allocation). It is a mathematical attribution, not a causal estimate.

Inputs and published scores are rounded, so contributions are approximate and may not add exactly to the displayed total. No significance test is implied. Read the full scoring method →

BENEATH THE SCORE

Five dimensions of democracy

The headline score cannot show where a political system is strong or constrained. These five tests can. Each has equal weight in the beta standard.

Free and fair elections

Can people choose their leaders through broad voting rights, honest elections, free political groups, and open public debate?

68.6

Rights and checks on power

Are basic freedoms protected, laws applied fairly, courts independent, and leaders prevented from abusing power?

87.1

Public participation

Can people shape public life through civic groups, direct voting, and meaningful local and regional government?

61.6

Public reasoning

Do leaders explain decisions, consult the public, answer opposing arguments, and consider the common good?

69.7

Political equality

Do different social groups have equal rights, access, resources, and a real chance to influence political power?

77.5

HOW TO READ THIS PROFILE

Two kinds of evidence.
One clearer picture.

The score breakdown identifies which parts of the measure changed most. The country report adds documented political context. Together they help explain the institutions at stake—but they do not prove that a specific event produced a specific number of points.

Why this score differs from other democracy indices →

What a declining score can—and cannot—tell us about democratic backsliding

A recent improvement can coexist with a long-term decline. Always compare the dates, check the linked source, and consider developments the selected narrative does not cover.

ANNUAL DATA

Croatia score table

Download Croatia CSV

Year	Score	Source-bound range	Elections	Rights & checks	Participation	Reasoning	Equality
2025	72.6	66.6–80.1	68.6	87.1	61.6	69.7	77.5
2024	72.5	66.3–80.2	71.0	85.9	62.2	67.9	76.6
2023	73.0	66.7–80.5	72.5	87.4	62.5	67.9	75.9
2022	74.1	67.8–81.4	72.4	88.9	63.0	73.4	73.7
2021	73.7	67.3–81.0	74.7	85.8	62.8	68.8	77.5
2020	75.1	69.6–82.2	75.6	85.6	64.5	72.9	77.8
2019	74.4	68.7–81.9	73.4	83.9	65.4	72.0	77.9
2018	75.1	69.3–82.3	72.9	84.3	66.3	72.6	79.8
2017	75.2	69.2–82.4	73.9	84.6	65.7	75.6	76.6
2016	74.2	68.1–81.6	76.5	85.2	65.6	66.5	78.1
2015	78.0	72.6–84.8	81.6	85.8	68.3	76.8	78.3
2014	78.3	73.0–84.9	82.3	84.8	69.4	76.6	79.0
2013	78.5	73.2–85.1	82.8	85.0	69.4	76.6	79.0
2012	78.5	73.4–84.8	85.1	87.0	63.9	75.8	82.0
2011	77.8	72.5–84.0	85.3	86.8	61.1	75.3	81.8
2010	76.9	71.7–83.7	84.4	85.9	59.8	74.2	81.8
2009	73.4	67.2–80.5	78.4	82.6	58.9	66.1	82.5
2008	72.2	65.8–79.4	77.9	80.4	54.5	68.1	82.2
2007	72.5	66.4–79.9	78.4	80.1	54.9	69.1	82.0
2006	72.1	66.0–79.6	77.2	80.5	54.9	68.9	80.9
2005	72.3	66.3–79.8	77.5	81.3	54.9	68.9	80.9
2004	71.4	65.3–79.1	75.7	78.5	54.9	68.9	80.9
2003	74.8	69.4–81.8	76.9	80.1	54.9	82.1	81.9
2002	74.3	68.6–81.3	76.6	79.9	54.9	80.9	81.1
2001	74.6	69.0–81.7	76.7	79.9	54.9	82.2	81.1
2000	73.5	67.2–80.4	76.0	79.0	52.7	80.8	81.1
1999	47.7	39.5–55.5	43.1	53.4	48.2	26.3	73.8
1998	47.2	38.7–54.6	42.8	51.0	48.2	26.3	73.8
1997	47.0	38.8–54.8	42.2	51.6	48.2	26.3	72.7
1996	45.3	37.3–53.1	40.6	48.5	46.5	26.3	69.8
1995	42.6	34.5–50.1	38.6	44.8	46.5	22.1	67.8
1994	42.5	34.6–50.1	38.4	44.4	46.5	22.1	67.9
1993	42.5	34.7–50.2	37.7	44.8	46.5	22.1	67.9
1992	41.0	33.3–48.1	29.9	43.7	46.6	23.5	67.9
1991	39.2	31.9–45.6	24.2	43.9	45.1	22.4	69.2
1944	3.7	1.3–5.1	0.9	1.9	3.0	1.5	16.5
1943	3.7	1.3–5.1	0.9	1.9	3.0	1.5	16.5
1942	4.0	1.4–5.6	0.9	3.6	3.0	1.5	16.5
1941	3.8	1.4–5.2	0.9	2.3	3.0	1.5	16.5

CITE THIS PROFILE

Source and attribution

Democracys.org (2026), “Croatia Democracy Score, 1941–2025,” Democracys Standard v1.0 beta; derived from Coppedge et al. (2026), V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v16.

Open source DOI

NEARBY IN THE 2025 RANKING

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How democratic isCroatia?