In Croatia, the Most Indebted Are the Residents of Zagreb, While the Wealthiest Are from Istria

Households in Croatia at the end of September 2025 had 26.6 billion euros in loans. However, behind this total amount lies a very uneven financial map of the country, with a clear division between the financially richest and the poorest regions when observing the relationship between savings and indebtedness.

The most indebted are the residents of Zagreb, where the amount of loans per capita reaches 9,166.3 euros. Following are Zagreb County with 7,947 euros and Zadar County with 7,903 euros per capita. These are also areas with a developed real estate market and strong growth in housing loans.

On the other hand, the lowest level of indebtedness is recorded in Vukovar-Srijem County, where the amount of loans per capita is 4,603.4 euros. This is followed by Požega-Slavonia County with 4,652 euros per capita and Virovitica-Podravina County, where this amount is 4,734.6 euros. However, lower indebtedness there is not a sign of greater financial strength, but rather weaker credit activity and lower incomes.

When observing the total amount of loans to households as of September 30, 2025, after the City of Zagreb, where citizens had loans worth 7.03 billion euros, the second place is held by Split-Dalmatia County with a total of 2.73 billion euros in loans.

When it comes to savings, along with Zagreb, the coastal counties stand out, as expected. Although Zagreb holds the highest deposits in absolute terms (8.34 billion euros), per capita, Istria leads. The people of Istria have a total of 2.26 billion euros in deposits in banks, which amounts to as much as 11,564.2 euros per person, while in Zagreb this amount reaches 10,865.5 euros.

The third county by the amount of deposits is Dubrovnik-Neretva County, where a total of 1.25 billion euros is held in banks, or 10,804.4 euros per capita. On the list of the wealthiest per capita, when looking at the amount of deposits, follow Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Zadar, Split-Dalmatia, and Šibenik-Knin County.

By this criterion, the poorest is Vukovar-Srijem County with 3,991.3 euros per capita, followed by Požega-Slavonia with 4,020.3 euros and Virovitica-Podravina County with 4,026.7 euros.

When comparing loans and deposits per capita, a clearer picture of the actual financial position in each county emerges.

The financially most stable, and realistically the wealthiest in relation to obligations, is Istria County, where deposits exceed loans by about 4,167 euros per capita. Following are Dubrovnik-Neretva (difference of about 3,596 euros) and Primorje-Gorski Kotar (about 2,315 euros).

In contrast, Zagreb County is among the financially most burdened – loans there exceed deposits by more than 1,000 euros per capita. A similar situation exists in Osijek-Baranja, Koprivnica-Križevci County, and Bjelovar-Bilogora County.

Zagreb is a specific case: although it is the most indebted per capita, it is simultaneously among the financially wealthiest in terms of savings, so its net position remains positive.