Who runs local government in Croatia?

Croatia has two elected tiers: 20 counties (županije) plus the City of Zagreb, and about 555 towns (gradovi) and municipalities (općine). County prefects, mayors and councils are all directly elected every four years (last in May 2025). Below them, towns and municipalities can create local committees (mjesni odbori) with elected councils.

Republic of Croatia · Unitary republic · South-eastern Europe

The levels of government below the nation

Level	How it is chosen	What it does
Counties – županije (20) and the City of Zagreb	County assembly and county prefect (župan) directly elected	Secondary schools, hospitals, county roads, regional planning; since 2020 also many former state administration tasks.
Towns – gradovi (about 127) and municipalities – općine (428)	Council and mayor (gradonačelnik / općinski načelnik) directly elected	Local services, primary school buildings, kindergartens, utilities, planning. Large towns (over 35,000 people) have extra powers.
Local committees – mjesni odbori; city districts – gradske četvrti	Councils elected by residents	Raise local needs, small works, community life. Zagreb has 17 city districts and 218 local committees.

Three questions about local power in Croatia

Are local leaders elected?

County prefects, mayors, county and municipal councils, local committee councils and minority councils are directly elected. Deputy mayors from the Serb or other minorities are elected where the law guarantees them.

Which laws set up local government?

The Constitution (Articles 133–138), the Local and Regional Self-Government Act and the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities. Volunteer associations are informal.

Who are local leaders accountable to?

Voters can recall a mayor or prefect by referendum; the ministry responsible for local government supervises legality; the State Audit Office checks spending.

Traditional and customary authority

There is no customary authority. The Catholic Church is socially influential but has no formal local government role.

Community and neighbourhood power

Local committees and city-district councils are formal and elected but have limited money. Councils for national minorities and minority representatives are elected in towns and counties with Serb, Italian, Hungarian and other minorities and advise local authorities. Volunteer fire brigades are important in villages.

Points to know

Town status normally needs more than 10,000 residents.
The number of local units has grown since 1990, and a 2015 law on voluntary mergers led to no mergers by 2017.
Zagreb is both a city and a county, with its own act of parliament.

Local terms

Županija: County, with an elected prefect and assembly.
Općina: Municipality, usually rural.
Mjesni odbor: Local committee: an elected neighbourhood or village council.

Sources

Constitution of Croatia (1991, rev. 2013), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
Croatia: country profile (territorial organisation, responsibilities, finance), OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
State Electoral Commission of the Republic of Croatia, Državno izborno povjerenstvo, checked 14 October 2026
Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, Government of Croatia, checked 14 October 2026