Lika-Senj County (, hr, Ličko-senjska županija) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

that includes most of the Lika region and some northern coastline of the Adriatic near the town of

Senj Senj (; it, Segna, la, Senia, Hungarian and german: Zengg) is a town on the upper Adriatic coast in Croatia, in the foothills of the Mala Kapela and Velebit mountains. The symbol of the town is the Nehaj Fortress ( hr, Tvrđava Nehaj) whic ...

, including the northern part of the Pag island. Its center is

Gospić Gospić () is a town in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika, Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located near the Lika River in the middle of a karst field ( Ličko Polje). Gospić is the ...

. The county is the least populated (44.625 in mid-2019) and among the least prosperous ones, though it is the largest county in the country by area and includes the

Plitvice Lakes Plitvice or Plitvička jezera can refer to: * Plitvice Lakes National Park, the largest and oldest national park in Croatia * Plitvička Jezera, a municipality of Lika-Senj County, Croatia See also * Plitvica (disambiguation) {{geodis ...

National Park and Sjeverni (North)

Velebit Velebit (; it, Alpi Bebie) is the largest, though not the highest, mountain range in Croatia. The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior. Velebit begins in the nor ...

National Park, some of Croatia's major tourist attractions.

Geography

The county has a total area of 5353 km².

Administrative division

Lika-Senj County is administratively subdivided into 12 units of local government: * Town of

(county seat) * Town of Novalja * Town of

Otočac Otočac () is a town in Croatia, former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. It lies in the northwestern part of Lika region, in the Gacka river valley. The population of the administrative area of the Town of Otočac was 9,778 in ...

* Town of

* Municipality of Brinje * Municipality of

Donji Lapac Donji Lapac ( sr-Cyrl, Доњи Лапац) is a settlement and a municipality in Lika, Croatia. Geography Donji Lapac is located a region of eastern Lika called ''Ličko Pounje'', by the river Una that flows near the town in the valley betwe ...

* Municipality of

Karlobag Karlobag ( it, Carlopago, links=no) is a seaside municipality on the Adriatic coast in Croatia, located underneath the Velebit mountains overlooking the island of Pag, west of Gospić and south of Senj. The Gacka river also runs through the are ...

* Municipality of

Lovinac Lovinac is a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. Geography The village of Lovinac is located 35 kilometers from Gospić to the southeast of the greatest Croatian karst field, Licko polje. At one time, the shortest trade routes from Lik ...

* Municipality of Perušić * Municipality of

Plitvička Jezera Plitvička Jezera ( or just ''Plitvice'' ; ''Plitvice Lakes'', in English) is a municipality (''općina'') in central Croatia, in the eastern part of the Lika-Senj county, that lies in and near the eponymous Plitvice Lakes National Park, bisected ...

(''Plitvice Lakes'') * Municipality of

Udbina Udbina is a village and a municipality in historical Krbava, in the Lika region of Croatia. It is administratively a part of the Lika-Senj County. Geography Udbina is located in the large karst field called Krbava. It is approximately 45 kilomet ...

* Municipality of

Vrhovine Vrhovine ( sr-Cyrl, Врховине) is a town and a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. The municipality is part of Lika. Languages and names On the territory of Vrhovine municipality, in addition to Croatian which is official in ...

Demographics

Lika-Senj County Population Pyramid Census 2011 ENG

Since the early 20th century the county's population has been shrinking. As of the 2021 census, the county had 42.893 residents. As of 2011 census, the county had 50,927 residents. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is 9.5/km². Croatian State Bureau of Statistics estimated population of the county to stand at 45,493 in 2017, 45,184 in 2018, and 44,625 in 2019.

Ethnic composition

Ethnic Croats form the majority with 84.15% of the population, followed by

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

at 13.65%. Serbs form majority in municipalities of

, and

. In 1991, before the

outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

of the Croatian War of Independence and the Breakup of Yugoslavia, Croats comprised 59.7% of the population, while

comprised 37%. The area of the county used to have a significant Serb population, mostly located in the eastern part of the county, where they formed a majority. The entire former Lika-Krbava County, loosely overlapping with the area of the modern Lika-Senj county, in censuses of 1900 and 1910 even registered Serb majority (51.2% and 50.8%, respectively).

County government

The current Prefect of Lika-Senj County is Ernest Petry ( HDZ). The county assembly is composed of 27 representatives from the following political parties:

References

External links

* {{Coord, 44.707, N, 15.174, E, display=title, source:dewiki Counties of Croatia