Is Germany losing its allure? More Croats return home than arrive
Germany is no longer the "promised land." For the first time since Croatia joined the European Union, fewer Croatians moved to Germany than returned home, as the portal "Danas" reported on Tuesday.
The portal cited the words of Milan, who decided to return to Croatia with his family after 11 years. "It's not that Croatia has improved significantly, but Germany is becoming less attractive. Wages are growing slightly, and the cost of living is exploding," confessed the Croatian.
According to data from the German Federal Statistical Office, in 2023, just over 20,000 Croatians emigrated to Germany, while more than 24,000 returned. At the end of 2023, 434,035 Croatian citizens lived in Germany. The number of people from Croatia to Germany has steadily decreased since 2019, when 48,379 Croatians emigrated.
The same trend can be observed for other new European Union countries, such as Romania and Bulgaria, where the number of migrants to Germany has been systematically declining for five years. At the same time, the number of immigrants from Kosovo and North Macedonia is slightly increasing.
Croatian Minister of Demography Ivan Szipić admitted that "true success" will come when young families start returning to the country. The politician also announced special tax breaks for returnees. According to Eurostat data, inflation in Croatia is currently almost 5% per year and is among the highest in the eurozone.
