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

Health

live 5.5 years less

In Switzerland, the average life expectancy is 84 years (83 years for men, 86 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 2.7 times more likely to be obese

In Switzerland, 11.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Croatia, that number is 30.8% of people as of 2024.

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see 69.5% less spent on your healthcare

Switzerland spends $10,602 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Croatia spends $3,229 as of 2023.

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have 12.7% fewer doctors per person

Switzerland has 44.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Croatia has 39.1 as of 2022.

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be 11.8% more likely to die by suicide

Switzerland has a suicide rate of 14.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Croatia, it is 15.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 28.5% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Switzerland, 15.8% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Croatia, however, that number is 20.3% as of 2024.

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make 76.4% less money

Switzerland has a GDP per capita of $114,769 as of 2025, while in Croatia, the GDP per capita is $27,104 as of 2025.

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Life

be 40.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Switzerland, approximately 5.0 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 20.6% more likely to die during infancy

In Switzerland, approximately 3.4 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 14.1% less likely to have internet access

In Switzerland, approximately 97.3% of the population has internet access as of 2025. In Croatia, about 83.6% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 15.8% less on education

Switzerland spends 4.9% 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 38.8% less on healthcare

Switzerland spends 11.7% 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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Safety

be 11.7% more likely to be murdered

Switzerland has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Croatia, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 3.4 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Switzerland, road accidents kill 2.4 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 76.8% less strain on fresh water

Switzerland withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Croatia withdraws 2% as of 2022.

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find 37.0% less home broadband

Switzerland has 47.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Croatia has 29.6 as of 2024.

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use 37.0% less electricity

Switzerland uses 7,117 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Croatia uses 4,484 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

be 3.1 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Switzerland, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Croatia, it causes 31.0 as of 2019.

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emit 28.8% more CO2

Switzerland emits 3.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Croatia emits 4.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). 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 Switzerland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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