Zagreb - The Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS), together with other official statistics providers, plans to conduct a total of 315 statistical activities in 2026, with a total budget of €45.6 million, officials said on Wednesday during a parliamentary debate on the statistical plan for next year.
Of the 315 activities, the DZS will carry out 261 (83%), while the remaining 17% will be conducted by other official statistics providers, said Stipe Župan, State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, presenting the Annual Implementation Plan for 2026.
The plan includes 14 new activities, 12 conducted by the DZS and two by the Croatian National Bank (HNB) and the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ).
The new activities include quarterly migration statistics, mortality statistics with toxicological analysis, poverty indicator assessment at lower territorial levels, and pesticide usage research.
The total funding of €45.6 million is provided from the state budget, budgets of other official statistics providers, the HNB, and other sources.
MPs unanimously supported the proposed plan, raising questions about tracking data on specific topics.
Marijana Puljak (Centre) noted gaps in statistics on platform work, housing availability, and youth mental health.
Jelena Miloš (We Can!) asked why the DZS does not publish data on the top 1% of wages in Croatia, while Ivana Marković (SDP) inquired about the lack of systematic monitoring of demographic policy impacts.
Župan replied that DZS publications comply with Eurostat requirements, reporting on the top 10% of wages but not the top 1%, and that demographic data over the past three years show a positive population balance.
He also confirmed that the number of people at risk of poverty has decreased and that official statistics reflect this trend, with methodology changes at the EU level contributing to further reductions expected this year.
All data on wage and pension growth are transparent and publicly available online, Župan said in response to Miro Totgergeli (HDZ), who said that MPs often do not trust the statistics and speak about inflation eroding wage and pension increases.
Regarding progress on the Central Population Register, which will replace the traditional census, Župan reported that work on it is proceeding according to plan and that it should be operational by mid-2026.