Why it is here
Why Zagreb is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
- Zagreb is Croatia's capital and by far its largest city: 767,131 residents in the City of Zagreb at the 2021 census, nearly five times Split (160,577), the second-largest town. [N1]
- The 2021 census counted 6,559 residents with foreign citizenship only in the City of Zagreb, 23% of the 28,784 in all of Croatia, though Zagreb holds 20% of its population. The census is dated: it predates the 2022 to 2025 growth in foreign workers and digital nomad permits. [N2]
- InterNations lists 8,238 members in Zagreb, 3 monthly events and 7 interest groups; its Zagreb community group has 9,863 members from 149 nationalities (self-reported counts from a private network). [I1]
- The British International School Zagreb teaches in English, from the English National Curriculum to Cambridge IGCSE and A Level, and says its pupils come from over 50 nationalities. [B1]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
63 of 100MixedCountry figure
Price level 0.532 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
33 of 100WeakOwn figure
Zagreb-Maksimir's own normals (DHMZ, 1971-2000, the latest published with daily highs): 5 comfortable months a year (May, June, July, August and September); April (16.3 °C) and October (15.8 °C) are under the 18 °C line and November to March are far below it.
Source: Climate normals 1971-2000, Zagreb-Maksimir. Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
68 of 100StrongCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 23rd of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
55 of 100MixedCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 76 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
50 of 100MixedCountry figure
Mixed: one test holds. A residence route for remote workers exists (temporary stay of digital nomads, Aliens Act, up to 18 months), but fixed broadband is 29.60 per 100 people (2024), just under the 30 line.
Source: Temporary stay of digital nomads; Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Articles 3, 57 and 61: digital nomads; Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
15 of 100WeakCountry figure
Weak: the Aliens Act and the foreign ministry's pages name no residence route for people living on a pension or passive income. Temporary stay for 'other purposes' lasts at most one year with a six-month wait before reapplying; the only retirement mention is an extension exception for retired people over 60 who own real estate in Croatia. The conditions for that exception were not found, so this is a judgement.
Source: Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Article 57 paragraphs 4 and 6: temporary stay for other purposes; Temporary residence for third-country nationals. Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
66 of 100MixedCountry figure
29.60 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024), just under the 30 line.
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
100 of 100StrongCountry figure
EF EPI 2025 score 617 (rank 2), in EF's Very high band; the 2026 edition was not found on 15 October 2026.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Canadian passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for Australian passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for New Zealand passports is being checked
The country
More on Croatia.
Cities
Other cities in Croatia.
Questions about Zagreb.
How big is Zagreb?
The City of Zagreb had 767,131 residents at the 2021 census, nearly five times Split (160,577), the second-largest town. That figure is the city, a county-level unit; Zagreb County around it is counted separately.
How much is rent in Zagreb?
Three adverts asked €850 for a furnished 45 m² one-bedroom flat in Knez Mislav, €800 for a furnished 43 m² one in Sveta Klara (plus an €800 deposit) and €800 for a 52 m² flat in Knezija. Three asking rents are not an average, and other districts are unknown here.
What is the weather like in Zagreb?
On DHMZ 1971-2000 normals, daily highs run from 3.7 °C in January to 26.7 °C in July. Fernshore counts 5 comfortable months (May to September, highs of 18 to 30 °C); April (16.3) and October (15.8) fall short. Newer normals are likely warmer.
How much does public transport cost in Zagreb?
ZET's price page, which carries no date, shows a 90-minute ticket at €1.33 (€1.99 from the driver), a day ticket at €3.98 and a general monthly pass at €47.78 for ZET alone (€53.09 with the HZ railway). Check the current tariff.
Is there an expat community and an English-language school in Zagreb?
InterNations lists 8,238 members in Zagreb (self-reported, private network). The British International School Zagreb teaches in English and says its pupils come from over 50 nationalities. The 2021 census counted 6,559 foreign citizens in the city, 0.86% of residents.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [N1] 2021 Census, population by ethnicity by towns and municipalities (sheet 1), Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS). Checked 15 October 2026. Final results of the 2021 census (published 22 September 2022), column 'Total'. City of Zagreb 767,131; Split 160,577 (second-largest town; Rijeka 107,964 is third and Osijek 96,313 fourth); Dubrovnik 41,562.
- [W1] Climate normals 1971-2000, Zagreb-Maksimir, Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DHMZ), Climate Atlas of Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026. DHMZ (Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service) publishes station normal tables as PDFs from the Climate Atlas of Croatia: 1961-1990 and 1971-2000 side by side. 1971-2000 is the latest period with monthly mean daily highs (tmax) and rain totals that DHMZ publishes; the 1991-2020 tables with daily highs were not found on meteo.hr or klima.hr on 15 October 2026 (DHMZ says it has used 1991-2020 as its standard normal for climate monitoring since January 2023, but publishes only mean temperatures for that period). Station Zagreb-Maksimir, 1971-2000 block of the table (right-hand block): mean daily highs (tmax) 3.7 (January), 6.8, 11.9, 16.3, 21.5, 24.5, 26.7 (July), 26.3, 22.1, 15.8, 8.9, 4.6 (December); mean monthly temperature 0.3 (January) to 20.6 (July); monthly rain 38.9 mm (February) to 95.3 mm (June), all under 150 mm.
- [N2] 2021 Census, population by citizenship by towns and municipalities (sheet 3), Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS). Checked 15 October 2026. Same workbook, citizenship sheet, column 'Foreign' (foreign citizens only, no Croatian citizenship): Croatia 28,784; City of Zagreb 6,559 (0.86% of residents); Split 962 (0.60%).
- [I1] Expats in Zagreb, InterNations (expat network, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Page read 15 October 2026: '8,238 members in Zagreb', 3 monthly events, 7 interest-based groups, Zagreb community group of 9,863 members from 149 nationalities (self-reported membership counts, not residents).
- [B1] British International School Zagreb, British International School Zagreb. Checked 15 October 2026. School website, read 15 October 2026: English National Curriculum and the International Primary Curriculum, then Cambridge IGCSE and International AS and A Level; classes in English; 'over 50 nationalities' (about page) or 'more than 80 countries' (director's interview).
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Croatia, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 53.20 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026 (series last updated 8 October 2026).
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Croatia ranks 23rd of 163 countries, score 1.619 (ranking table, report PDF opened 15 October 2026).
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Croatia: 76 out of 100 (2023; also 76 in 2021 and 2022), read from the WHO Global Health Observatory data service (indicator UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 15 October 2026.
- [K1] Temporary stay of digital nomads, Ministry of the Interior (MUP), Republic of Croatia. Checked 15 October 2026. English-language official page, opened 15 October 2026. Third-country nationals who work through communication technology for a foreign employer or their own company not registered in Croatia; temporary stay up to 18 months (extendable once, if granted for less); means of at least 2.5 average monthly net salaries paid for the previous year, currently EUR 3,622.50 a month or EUR 43,470 in the bank for 12 months or EUR 65,205 for 18 months, plus 10% of the average net salary for each family member; health insurance; a criminal-record certificate; reapplication six months after the stay ends. Cites the Regulation on means of subsistence (Official Gazette 14/21 and 3/26).
- [K3] Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Articles 3, 57 and 61: digital nomads, Republic of Croatia, Official Gazette 133/20 as amended (consolidated text on zakon.hr, a private legal portal updated to NN 55/26; the official gazette index page opened but not the full consolidated text). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 3 defines the digital nomad (third-country national working through communication technology for a company, or own company, not registered in Croatia, and not serving Croatian employers); Article 57(1) lists temporary stay for digital nomads (point 11) and 'other purposes' (point 10); Article 61 sets validity up to 18 months, extendable once. Croatian text.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Croatia, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 29.60 per 100 people (2023: 28.47), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [R1] Aliens Act (Zakon o strancima), Article 57 paragraphs 4 and 6: temporary stay for other purposes, Republic of Croatia, Official Gazette 133/20 as amended (consolidated text on zakon.hr, a private legal portal updated to NN 55/26). Checked 15 October 2026. A new application for 'other purposes' may be filed six months after the previous one ended; by exception, the stay can be extended for a retired third-country national older than 60 who owns real estate in Croatia (with a spouse or partner), for a minor athlete, and for continuing medical treatment. The Act names no pension or passive-income permit and sets no income test for retirees; the Ordinance on the stay of third-country nationals (which sets the documents) was not opened. Croatian text.
- [R2] Temporary residence for third-country nationals, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP). Checked 15 October 2026. Official English page, opened 15 October 2026: temporary residence for 'other purposes' may be granted for a maximum of one year, and a new application may be submitted after six months from expiry. The page names no retirement or pension purpose.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Croatia, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 617, global rank 2; the page lists Zagreb 616; the page is the 2025 edition and the 2026 edition was not found on 15 October 2026.