Islands on the Verge of Extinction – the Example of Zadar Islands, Croatia

Abstract

This paper analyzes demographic trends on Zadar islands in 20th century, with particular interest in the period after the Second World War. The Croatian islands have been emigrational areas for over a century, but the emigration intensified considerably after the war, and later on coupled with constant natural decrease the islands started experiencing depopulation that has continued until today. The aim of this paper is to establish the intensity of depopulation on Zadar islands and determine which settlements and islands are the most threatened by extinction. The analysis was made by comparing several selected indicators and it included 16 islands and 57 settlements. The results showed that the most threatened were the remoter islands, regardless of their size, with poor traffic connections to the mainland.