If you lived in Croatia instead of Belgium, you would:

Health

be 14.6% less likely to die by suicide

Belgium has a suicide rate of 18.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Croatia, it is 15.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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live 3.4 years less

In Belgium, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Croatia, that number is 79 years (76 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 47.6% more likely to be obese

In Belgium, 20.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Croatia, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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see 56.9% less spent on your healthcare

Belgium spends $7,489 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Croatia spends $3,229 as of 2023.

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Economy

be 15.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Belgium, 5.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Croatia, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.

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be 65.0% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Belgium, 12.3% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Croatia, however, that number is 20.3% as of 2024.

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make 55.4% less money

Belgium has a GDP per capita of $60,750 as of 2025, while in Croatia, the GDP per capita is $27,104 as of 2025.

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Life

be 25.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Belgium, approximately 4.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Croatia, 3.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 32.3% more likely to die during infancy

In Belgium, approximately 3.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Croatia, on the other hand, 4.1 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 12.7% less likely to have internet access

In Belgium, approximately 95.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Croatia, about 83.6% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 34.9% less on education

Belgium spends 6.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Croatia spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

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spend 33.8% less on healthcare

Belgium spends 10.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Croatia, that number is 7.2% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 87.7 times more coastline

Belgium has a total of 66 km of coastline. In Croatia, that number is 5,835 km.

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Safety

be 38.0% less likely to be murdered

Belgium has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Croatia, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 76.1% more likely to die in a road accident

In Belgium, road accidents kill 4.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Croatia, they kill 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 97.1% less strain on fresh water

Belgium withdraws 53% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Croatia withdraws 2% as of 2022.

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find 33.1% less home broadband

Belgium has 44.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Croatia has 29.6 as of 2024.

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use 36.8% less electricity

Belgium uses 7,099 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Croatia uses 4,484 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 33.9% less CO2

Belgium emits 7.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Croatia emits 4.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 2.1 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Belgium, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Croatia, it causes 31.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Croatia: At a glance

Croatia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 55,974 sq km. The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands, along with a majority of Croatia's ethnic Serb population. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. The country joined NATO in April 2009 and the EU in July 2013.
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How big is Croatia compared to Belgium? See an in-depth size comparison.

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