Government and power in Croatia
Who leads Croatia, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary republic.
Who leads Croatia?
- Head of state: Zoran Milanović (President of the Republic of Croatia)
- Head of government: Andrej Plenković (Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia)
- Foreign minister: Gordan Grlić-Radman (Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia)
Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.
Governance scores
The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.
- Voice and accountability
- Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.
- Political stability and absence of violence
- Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.
- Government effectiveness
- Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.
- Regulatory quality
- Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.
- Rule of law
- Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.
- Control of corruption
- Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.
How does Croatia score on voice and accountability?
Voice and accountability: 71.3 out of 100 in 2025, 49th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 74.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 68.8.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Croatia score on political stability?
Political stability and absence of violence: 77.6 out of 100 in 2025, 58th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 73.5). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 76.2.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Croatia score on government effectiveness?
Government effectiveness: 68.1 out of 100 in 2025, 44th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 69.4). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 59.6.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Croatia score on regulatory quality?
Regulatory quality: 63 out of 100 in 2025, 52nd highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 66.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 57.4.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Croatia score on the rule of law?
Rule of law: 65.6 out of 100 in 2025, 65th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 70.8). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 64.7.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Croatia score on control of corruption?
Control of corruption: 50.6 out of 100 in 2025, 76th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 60.7). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 51.3.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many women are in Croatia's parliament?
Women held 33.1% of seats in the national parliament (single or lower chamber) in 2025, 57th highest of 184 countries with data. Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union, via the World Bank.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many of Croatia's ministers are women?
Women held 22.2% of ministerial posts in 2025, 86th highest of 190.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much does the government of Croatia spend?
Central government spending (expense) was 38.1% of GDP in 2023.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much tax does the government of Croatia collect?
Central government tax revenue was 21.2% of GDP in 2023, 32nd highest of 110.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much does Croatia spend on the military?
Military spending was 2.0% of GDP in 2025, 59th highest of 149 (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, via the World Bank).
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow big are the armed forces of Croatia?
Armed forces personnel numbered 20,000 in 2020.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow good are Croatia's official statistics?
The World Bank's Statistical Performance Indicator, which scores how well a country's official statistics system works, was 85.1 out of 100 in 2024, 41st highest of 187.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many births are registered in Croatia?
100.0% of births of children under 5 were registered with a civil authority (2017).
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many people in Croatia use the internet?
83.6% of people used the internet in 2024.
Source: World Bank · saved copyOfficial bodies that hold power in Croatia
Government
- Government of the Republic of CroatiaGovernment session materials, decisions and official announcements.
Parliament
- Croatian ParliamentBills, adopted laws, session records and information on members of the Sabor.
Elections
- State Electoral CommissionElection and referendum results, candidate lists and campaign finance reports.
Courts
- Supreme Court of the Republic of CroatiaDecisions and case law of Croatia's highest court.
- Constitutional CourtDecisions on the constitutionality of laws and constitutional complaints.
Public audit
- State Audit OfficeAudit reports on state budget execution, local government, political parties and public companies.
Ombudsman
- Ombudsperson of the Republic of CroatiaAnnual reports and recommendations on human rights and administrative complaints.
Access to information
- Information CommissionerSecond-instance decisions on access-to-information requests, oversight reports, a list of public authorities and opinions.
Asset declarations
- Commission for Deciding on Conflicts of InterestOfficials' asset declarations and decisions on conflicts of interest.
Public contracts
- Electronic Public Procurement ClassifiedsPublic tender notices, contract awards and procurement documents.
Laws and the official gazette
- Official GazetteThe official gazette publishing Croatian laws, regulations and official notices.
Government below the national level
- Counties – županije (20) and the City of Zagreb: County assembly and county prefect (župan) directly elected
- Towns – gradovi (about 127) and municipalities – općine (428): Council and mayor (gradonačelnik / općinski načelnik) directly elected
- Local committees – mjesni odbori; city districts – gradske četvrti: Councils elected by residents
How local power works in Croatia
Places in Croatia
Sources
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.