Lika-Senj County (, ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

that includes most of the

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...

region and some northern coastline of the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

near the town of

Senj Senj 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 () which was completed in 1558. For a time this was the seat of the Uskoks, who were ...

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

Gospić Gospić () is a town in Lika, Croatia. It is the seat of the Lika-Senj County. Geography Gospić is located in the mountainous and sparsely populated region of Lika. It is the administrative center of Lika-Senj County. Gospić is located n ...

. The county is the least populated (42.469 in 2022) 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 Plitvice Lakes National Park (, colloquially ''Plitvice'', ) is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was inscrib ...

National Park and Sjeverni (North)

Velebit Velebit (; ; ) 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 northwest near ...

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 Novalja () is a town on the north of the island of Pag in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. In recent times, Novalja has become famous because of the Zrće Beach. History The earliest settlers on the island were an Illyrian tribe that ca ...

* 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 Brinje is a settlement and a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. It is located about east of Senj and north of Gospić. Geography The town is formed around a castle called ''Sokolac'', which contains one of the most well preserved G ...

* 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 (Sava), Una that flows near the town in the val ...

* Municipality of

Karlobag Karlobag is a naselje, village and a seaside municipalities of Croatia, municipality on the Adriatic coast in Croatia, located at the foot of the Velebit mountain, overlooking the island of Pag (island), Pag, west of Gospić and south of Senj. The ...

* Municipality of

Lovinac Lovinac is a village and 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 route ...

* Municipality of

Perušić Perušić is a naselje, settlement and a municipalities of Croatia, municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. In 2011, the municipality had 2,638 inhabitants, while the central settlement had 852. The municipality is within the mountainous Lika re ...

* Municipality of

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

(''Plitvice Lakes'') * Municipality of

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

* Municipality of

Vrhovine Vrhovine ( sr-Cyrl, Врховине) is a settlement and a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. The municipality is located in Lika. Demographics In the 2001 census, Vrhovine had 905 inhabitants of which 55.03% were Serbs and 38.45% were Cr ...

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: Standing 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 geog ...

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 The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

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

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

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 The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

and the

Breakup of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

, 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 Lika-Krbava County (; ; ) was a historic administrative subdivision of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, the Hungarian part of the dual Austro-Hungarian ...

, 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 Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

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

Minority councils and representatives

Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs. At the

2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections The 2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections () were held on 7 May in certain regional (counties) and local administrative units (municipalities and towns & cities). Background Elections were announced in Nar ...

Serbs of Croatia The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Хрватски Срби, Hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in C ...

fulfilled legal requirements to elect 25 members minority council of the Lika-Senj County while

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

and

Bosniaks of Croatia The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who share a common ancestry, culture, history and the ...

fulfilled requirements to elect individual representative but with both representatives remaining unelected due to the absence of candidatures. Some municipalities and towns in the county elected their own local minority councils as well.

References

External links

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

Geography

Administrative division

Demographics

Ethnic composition

County government

Minority councils and representatives

See also

References

External links