The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Croatia is 72% bigger than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 51,210 km² (2023) · Croatia: 88,070 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Croatia’s coastline is 292 times as long as Bosnia and Herzegovina’s.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 20 km (2026 edition) · Croatia: 5,835 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s highest peak towers 555 m above Croatia’s.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2,386 m (2026 edition) · Croatia: 1,831 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Croatia has 23% more people than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 3.14 million (2025) · Croatia: 3.88 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Croatia is 13% more densely populated than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 61 per km² (2025) · Croatia: 69 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Bosnia and Herzegovina are 1.7 cm taller than in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 182.5 cm (2019) · Croatia: 180.8 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are practically level.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 167.5 cm (2019) · Croatia: 166.8 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are practically level.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 44.9 years (2023) · Croatia: 44.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina have 0.0 more children on average than in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1.49 children per woman (2024) · Croatia: 1.46 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
24% of people in Croatia are 65 or older, versus 23% in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 22.9% (2025) · Croatia: 23.6% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Bosnia and Herzegovina has produced 6.4 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Croatia 2.6.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.4 (2025) · Croatia: 2.6 (2025)
How many official languages?
Bosnia and Herzegovina has 3 official languages, Croatia 1.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 3 (2026) · Croatia: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Croatia’s economy is 3.2 times the size of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: $32.6 billion (2025) · Croatia: $105 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Croatia produces 2 times as much per person as Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Int$25,814 (2025) · Croatia: Int$50,946 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Bosnia and Herzegovina than in Croatia (Gini 0.2 points higher).
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 30.3 (2021) · Croatia: 30.1 (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 11% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, versus 5.0% in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 11% (2025) · Croatia: 5% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Croatia spends 1.8% of its GDP on the military, Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.7%.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 0.7% (2024) · Croatia: 1.8% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Croatia’s price level (US = 100) is 1.3× Bosnia and Herzegovina’s.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 40% (2025) · Croatia: 53% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Croatia spends 2 times as much on health per person as Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: $773 (2023) · Croatia: $1,548 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Croatia live 0.89 years longer than in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 78 years (2024) · Croatia: 78.9 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 34% more likely to die before turning one than in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 5.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Croatia: 4.1 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Croatia has 51% more doctors per person than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2.6 per 1,000 (2019) · Croatia: 3.9 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
36% of adults in Croatia are obese, versus 26% in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 26.1% (2024) · Croatia: 36.5% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
37% of adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina smoke, versus 34% in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 37.1% (2024) · Croatia: 34.4% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Bosnia and Herzegovina rate their lives 0.37 points higher than in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.38 (2025) · Croatia: 6.01 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Croatia drink 67% more alcohol than in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.6 litres (2023) · Croatia: 10.9 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Croatia has 92% more meat per person than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 51.9 kg (2023) · Croatia: 99.7 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are practically level.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 3,458 kcal (2023) · Croatia: 3,448 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina put in 148 more hours a year than in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2,122 hours (2023) · Croatia: 1,974 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Croatia went to school 1.1 years longer than in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 11 years (2023) · Croatia: 12.1 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Croatia welcomed 9.1 times as many tourists per resident as Bosnia and Herzegovina (2019).
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 0.44 (2024) · Croatia: 3.97 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
86% of people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are online, versus 84% in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 86% (2024) · Croatia: 84% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are practically level.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 100% (2024) · Croatia: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
58% of people in Croatia live in cities, versus 53% in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 53% (2025) · Croatia: 58% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are practically level.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 121 (2024) · Croatia: 122 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Croatia’s railway network is 2.6 times as long as Bosnia and Herzegovina’s.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1,018 km (2019) · Croatia: 2,617 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Croatia fly 849 times as many passengers per resident as those from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 0 (2020) · Croatia: 0.43 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 43% of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but only 35% of Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 42.7% (2023) · Croatia: 34.8% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Bosnia and Herzegovina emits 29% more CO₂ than someone in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 6.1 t (2024) · Croatia: 4.8 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
76% of Croatia’s electricity is renewable, versus 44% in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 43.6% (2025) · Croatia: 76.3% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Bosnia and Herzegovina carries 73% more fine dust than in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 25.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Croatia: 14.6 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 83% more likely to be murdered in Bosnia and Herzegovina than in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1.2 per 100k (2023) · Croatia: 0.7 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Bosnia and Herzegovina are 69% deadlier than in Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 13.7 per 100k (2021) · Croatia: 8.1 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Croatia is on average 1.7 °C warmer than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 11.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · Croatia: 13.1°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Bosnia and Herzegovina gets 11% more rain than Croatia.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1,204 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Croatia: 1,086 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Bosnia and Herzegovina bigger than Croatia?
Croatia is larger. Croatia is 72% bigger than Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Which has more people, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia?
Croatia has 23% more people than Bosnia and Herzegovina (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia?
People in Croatia live 0.89 years longer than in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Life expectancy at birth is 78.0 years in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 78.9 in Croatia.
Are people taller in Bosnia and Herzegovina or Croatia?
Men in Bosnia and Herzegovina are 1.7 cm taller than in Croatia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).