COMPLETED BUILDINGS AND DWELLINGS, 2025

In 2025, there were 7 484 buildings completed, of which 85.3% were residential and 14.7% non-residential ones.

The floor area of completed buildings was 3 293 970 m², which was 3.2% less than in 2024.

There were 18 338 new dwellings completed, with an average useful floor area of 90.4 m².

By type of works, most dwellings (95.2%) were built as new constructions, 4.1% as additions/extensions on existing buildings and 0.7% as conversions of non-residential spaces into residential ones.

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

Sources and methods of data collection

Data presented in this First Release are collected using the Annual Report on Completed Buildings and Dwellings (GRAĐ-10 form). This report is filled in by enumerators on the basis of their visits to counties. In the course of these visits, they define which buildings and dwellings were completed in the reporting year. The census is conducted through administration bodies of major cities, the City of Zagreb and counties that are competent for the issuing of documents necessary for realising the construction works. The source of information for the inspection of the territory is an address book made up from the data on building permits.

Coverage and comparability

Until 2002, data on the total number of completed buildings and dwellings were collected from two sources: data on construction in private ownership based on records kept by bodies competent for construction in counties and records kept by contractors (legal entities) employing five or more persons. Due to the decreasing compatibility and difficulties in the control of coverage from different sources, a new report was introduced in 2002, which enables the monitoring of all data on completed buildings and dwellings from one source and using the same methodology.

Data on types of constructions and works are classified according to the National Classification of Types of Constructions – NKVG (Methodological Guidelines, No. 41, ISBN 953-6667-33-9, Croatian Bureau of Statistics, 2002).

Data on dwellings were collected according to the methodology applied in the censuses of population, households and dwellings, which are harmonised with the Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for the 2020 Censuses of Population and Housing, UN, New York and Geneva, 2015.

Definitions

Buildings are permanent constructions covered with a roof and closed with outer walls. They are built as separate useful units that protect from weather and other conditions, intended for dwelling, performing a certain activity, for accommodation and protection of animals, goods, equipment used in various industrial activities and for services etc.

In this survey, buildings are also constructions covered with a roof but without (some of) the walls (e.g. porches for vehicles, storage places), as well as partly or completely underground constructions (e.g. underground shelters, garages, shopping centres and other business spaces in subways).

Residential buildings are constructions in which 50% or more of the total useful floor area is used for dwelling purposes.

Non-residential buildings are constructions without dwelling areas, or those in which less than 50% of the overall useful floor area is used for dwelling purposes.

Floor area of a building is the sum total of the area of all floors in the building placed inside the outer walls.

Volume of a building is the sum total of the volumes of all roofed-over parts of the building, including outer walls.

New constructions are newly built structures built on a location where no structure existed or on a location previously cleared by demolition.

Construction of new buildings also means building from the foundations of buildings that were completely demolished in war or were so dilapidated that they had to be demolished.

Additions and extensions are construction works that result in new usable units in addition to the existing constructions or on them, for example, a completely new dwelling or business premise.

Extensions of existing constructions or usable utilities, such as an additional construction of rooms in an existing dwelling or in a business premise are not included.

Conversions of non-residential areas into new dwellings are construction works by which an existing area in a building (e.g. attic or cellar area that has not been appropriated for residence, garage, area where production or service activity was performed) is converted into one or more dwellings.

Dwelling is a residential construction unit consisting of one or more rooms with accessory spaces (kitchen, pantry, bathroom, toilet) or without them and with a direct access from a passage, staircase, yard or street.

Useful floor area of a dwelling is the floor area of a dwelling, measured inside the walls of the dwelling.

A dwelling has installations for water supply or central heating when at least one room in the dwelling has those installations, irrespective of whether they are connected to the public utility network or some other facilities or not.

A dwelling has a bathroom when there is a separate room with a bath or shower, including all the installations needed for water supply and sewage system, irrespective of whether they are connected to a public or a house network or not.

A dwelling has a toilet when it is inside of a dwelling, in a separate room or in a bathroom.

Dwellings for permanent residence are dwellings designed for permanent residence of one or more households and/or other persons who temporarily occupy them for work, schooling and other purposes.

Dwellings for vacation can be defined as conventional dwellings temporarily used only for vacation and recreation of their owners.

In this survey, the manner of usage of a dwelling is determined on the basis of available data in documents needed for building permits, that is, according to data that were able to be determined on the occasion of enumerating a completed dwelling. The manner of usage of a dwelling may be changed several times during the life of the dwelling, depending on the investor’s needs, i.e. the (new) owners. Detailed data on the manner of the housing fund usage may be collected only in censuses of population and dwellings.

Abbreviations

Published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Zagreb, Ilica 3, P. O. B. 80
Phone: (+385 1) 48 06 111
Press corner: press@dzs.hr

Persons responsible:
Milenka Primorac Čačić, Director of Business Statistics Directorate
Lidija Brković, Director General

Prepared by:
Srećko Palej, Marijana Marić, Jelena Kristović-Bukovac and Paula Margarita Petroci

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