Which 10 Croatian islands have the most inhabitants?

Croatia has 1244 islands, islets, and rocks, or if I want to be precise, 78 islands, 524 islets, and 642 rocks. The Croatian archipelago is the second largest in the Mediterranean, right after the Greek archipelago.

It is a huge natural wealth that everyone likes to visit in the summer, but in the winter it’s a different story.

Statistics show that the islands, together with the Pelješac peninsula, are home to just over 127,000 inhabitants. Some islands are inhabited, and some are not. Here are the ten islands with the most inhabitants, according to the 2021 census.

• Island of Krk

It has 19,916 inhabitants and is the second largest with an area of 405.78 km2. It is known that it is connected to the mainland by a bridge, so it is really easy and simple to get to. It is located in the area of the northern Adriatic or Kvarner.

Krk, Photo: Dieter Ludwig Scharnagl Pixabay

• Island of Korčula

The island of Korčula belongs to the Dubrovnik-Neretva County, has an area of 279.03 km2, and has a population of 14,594. It is the sixth largest. The island is connected by ferries to Orebić on the Pelješac peninsula, Split, and Ubli on the island of Lastovo.

Grad Korčula, Photo Invisiblepower, Pixabay

• The island of Brač

Brač is the largest Central Dalmatian island. It is about 40 km long and 12 km wide on average. With a total area of 395 km², it is the third largest island in the Adriatic, with a population of 13,825. It is relatively close to the city of Split, with which it has good ferry and boat connections.

Island of Brač, Zlatni rat, Photo: Igor Levitskiy, Pixabay

• The island of Hvar

And Hvar belongs to the group of central Dalmatian islands. Looking at the immediate neighborhood, to the north of it is the island of Brač, to the south of it are Šćedro and Vis to the southwest. Its surface area is 299.7 km2, which makes it the fourth Croatian island by area, and it has 10,678 inhabitants.

Hvar, Photo: Walter Bichler, Pixabay

• Island of Pag

The island of Pag is the fifth largest island in the Adriatic Sea by area, but with a coastline of 302.47 km, it is the most indented island in the Adriatic. A total of 8,339 inhabitants live there, and it is connected to the mainland by a bridge and a ferry.

Pag, Photo: Pixabay

• Island of Rab

Rab is located on the northern Adriatic between the islands of Krk, Cres, and Pag. Although there are only eight inhabited places, 8,268 inhabitants live in them. Rab is located close to the mainland and has a good ferry connection.

Island of Rab, Photo: Simon Rathgeb, Unsplash

• Island of Lošinj

Lošinj is located in Kvarner, and in the past it was connected to Cres and was a unique island, but probably in Roman times a canal was dug near the town of Osor. A total of 7,087 inhabitants live on Lošinj, and it is connected to Cres via a bridge in Osor, which is then connected to the island of Krk by ferry.

Lošinj, Photo: Arno Senoner, Unsplash

• Island of Ugljan

It is located in the Zadar archipelago, northwest of the island of Pašman and southeast of the islands of Rivanj and Sestrunj. It has 5,666 inhabitants. It is connected to the mainland by a ferry from Zadar.

Ugljan, Preko, Photo: Ventura69, Dreamstime

• Island of Čiovo

Čiovo is an island in central Dalmatia, with an area of 28.8 km². It has 5,257 inhabitants. Like Krk and Pag and Čiovo, it is connected to the mainland by a bridge (even two), so the proximity of Trogir and Split resulted in a relatively large number of inhabitants compared to the size of the island.

Seget Donji, island of Čiovo, Photo: Mazzzur, Depositphotos

• Island of Murter

Murter is located in Šibenik-Knin County and is connected to the mainland by a bridge. It has 4,268 inhabitants. The settlements on the island are Betina, Tisno, Jezera, and Murter, which is the largest and oldest place on the island and is connected to the mainland by a short bridge in Tisno.

Otok Murter,Photo: Dbajurin, Depositphotos

The beauty of the Croatian islands is immense, and we recommend that you visit all or at least most of them. 🙂