Regional economic and development problems and perspectives: Case study of Slavonia and Baranja (Croatia)

Abstract

Slavonia and Baranja or Eastern Croatia is a physical-geo?graphical part of the Pannonian Basin and it is divided administratively into 5 counties: Virovitica-Podravina, Pozega-Slavonia, Slavonski Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja and Vukovar-Sirmium (which make nearly 20% of the state). Regarding functional organization, Slavonia and Baranja is a part of Osijek nodal region but with interrelated influences of other regional centres like Slavonski Brod, Vinkovci, Vukovar, Djakovo and Pozega. Analysis of this region consisting of 22 cities and 104 municipalities with 805,998 people (according to Census 2011) will be conducted according to several economic-geographic indicators: foreign trade exchange, number of employed people per 100 inhabitants, number of unemployed people per 100 inhabitants, economic structure of population as well as the share of people employed in agriculture and industry as the most important sectors in the regional economy. Demographic problems will also be analysed, because the population is one of the most important factors of economic and social development. The main problems of the analysed region are depopulation, aging and rural exodus as well as the fact that every city or municipality, except one, had the decline of population comparing to previous Census of 2001. These processes are accompanied by spatial population polarization which has also resulted in economic decline.