Zagreb is the capital and largest city of Croatia. Zagreb has special status as a city-county (separate from Zagreb County) administratively subdivided into 17 city districts. Since the unification of old towns Gradec and Kaptol in the 19th century, Zagreb has been at the forefront of modern developments in Croatia and beyond. Situated along the valley of the river Sava and across the foothills of the Medvednica mountain, Zagreb is at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Mediterranean and Southeast Europe. Zagreb is the seat of the national government, administrative bodies, and most government ministries. Almost all of the largest Croatian companies, media, and scientific institutions have their headquarters in the city.

Zagreb is by far the largest city in Croatia in terms of population, which was (without the metropolitan area) 767 131 in 2021. The majority of its residents are Croats, making up 93.53% of the population. The other 6.47% of the population are residents belonging to ethnic minorities such as Serbs (1.57%), Bosniaks (0.86%),  Albanians (0.45%), Romani (0.28%), Slovenes (0.17%), Macedonians (0.15%), Montenegrins (0.11%), and a number of other smaller communities.

Since the last census there has been a significant migration of foreign workers into the City. These workers primarily come from Nepal, the Philippines, India and Bangladesh. Along with traditional migration from the broader region (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia),Zagreb's role as the capital city of a EU and Schengen (border) member state during ongoing conflicts and crises in Ukraine and the West Asia-North Africa region, has made Zagreb's integration policies particularly relevant.

Since 2022, Zagreb has been implementing its action plans for integration which are based on the Integrating Cities Charter. The city's flagship integration project is the One Stop Shop – Welcome Center in the the city center. OSS provides relevant information to individuals granted or in the process of seeking international or temporary protection; as well as foreign workers with residence and work permits.

Zagreb supports a range of integration activities. Intercultural programmes are developed across the city. Notable examples include the youth center Park Ribnjak, citywide SviMi project by Zagreb City Libraries and upcoming establishment of an intercultural center by the city institution New Spaces of Culture.

In addition, Zagreb is developing its health and education services to make them approachable to foreigners. Projects dedicated to cultural mediation, translation, language learning and capacity building are consistently supported and expanded. These and other integration activities are modelled and evaluated in collaboration with the target group – foreigners themselves – as well as with key actors in the broader integration process (national bodies, NGOs, religious groups, academic public, employers, unions).


Tomislav Tomašević