- by croatiaweek
- March 8, 2026
-
in
News
ZAGREB, 8 March (Hina) – The Croatian Medical Chamber (HLK) said the exodus of doctors from Croatia has effectively halted, with departures and returns almost balanced in 2025, 70 leaving and 67 returning, thanks to pay rises and improved working conditions.
Data from the HLK Atlas of Croatian Physicians show the trend continuing in 2026, with three doctors leaving and six returning so far.
Since Croatia joined the EU in mid-2013, 1,577 doctors have moved abroad and 449 have returned, suggesting a gradual stabilisation after years when emigration was a major issue for the health system.
The HLK links the change partly to higher salaries after a February 2024 government decree on public sector pay scales, applied from March that year.
Specialist doctors’ pay rose by up to about 40%, depending on position and allowances, while doctors without specialisation and those in training saw increases of around 23%.
The HLK also cites the abolition of controversial contracts tying specialist trainees to employers.
Rijeka-based haematologist Aron Grubešić, who worked in the UK for three years from 2016 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, said doctors’ salaries in England were roughly double those in Croatia but working conditions were demanding.
He returned in 2019 to KBC Rijeka to help develop a stem cell transplantation programme.
He said long working hours and high living costs were common in the UK, where a 40-square-metre flat rented for about £900 (€1,035) a month at the time.
Croatia offers a better work-life balance, he said, adding that experience abroad is valuable but young doctors should eventually return and apply what they have learned.
The largest wave of departures occurred in 2014, when 169 doctors left. Germany has been the main destination with 358 doctors, followed by the UK (240), Austria (154), Sweden (106) and Ireland (102).
Most doctors who leave are early in their careers: 513 were under 30 and 243 aged 30-34. The average age of those leaving is 36 and 56% are women.
Migration has affected all parts of the health system but has been strongest in emergency medical services, where about 21% of doctors have left since EU accession.
Returns have gradually increased since 2017. A total of 69 doctors returned in 2024 and 67 in 2025.
Returnees are typically older and more experienced, with an average age of 41. Of the 449 who have come back, 237 are specialists with about 12 years of experience on average.
Most returned from the UK (88), Germany (70) and Ireland (49), and they mainly take hospital posts. The largest numbers have settled in Zagreb and in Split-Dalmatia, Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Osijek-Baranja counties.
