Croatia: Female share of employment in senior and middle management (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Croatia's female share of employment in senior and middle management (%) rose 4.27 percentage points on 2023 (from 21.26% to 25.53%).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2023), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.31 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 10.7 percentage points in 2005 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.75 percentage points in 2004. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 23% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Croatia had the 30th highest value of the 33 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Croatia in the 2024 ranking

• Czechia — 27th of 33: 26.88%
• Kosovo — 28th of 33: 26.68%
• Viet Nam — 29th of 33: 26.07%
• Italy — 31st of 33: 25.25%
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 32nd of 33: 22.31%
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 33rd of 33: 21.36%

What this measures

The female share of employment in senior and middle management conveys the number of women in management as a percentage of employment in management. Employment in management is defined based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations. This series refers to senior and middle management only, thus excluding junior management (category 1 in both ISCO-08 and ISCO-88 minus category 14 in ISCO-08 and minus category 13 in ISCO-88).

Limitations: The main limitation of this indicator is that it fails to capture the differences in the levels of responsibility of women in their respective managerial position, or the importance of the enterprises and organizations in which they are employed. Its quality is also significantly impacted by the reliability of the employment statistics by occupation at the two-digit level of the ISCO. Whenever data at the two-digit level of the ISCO are not available, data at the one-digit level could be used as a proxy, referring only to major group 1 of ISCO-08 or ISCO-88, rather than to also refer to major group 1 minus category 14 of ISCO-08 or major group 1 minus category 13 of ISCO-88.

All 23 values

Female share of employment in senior and middle management (%) in nearby economies

• Albania — 33.41% (2024)
• Austria — 36.35% (2025)
• Belarus — 46.97% (2025)
• Belgium — 33.09% (2024)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 27.86% (2025)
• Bulgaria — 39.13% (2024)
• Cyprus — 27.5% (2024)
• Czechia — 26.88% (2024)
• Denmark — 26.94% (2024)

More social protection & labor data for Croatia

• Net migration — -3,481 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 25.22% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 36.1% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 30.8% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 67.38% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 73.43% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 70.42% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Croatia's female share of employment in senior and middle management (%)?

25.53% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2002?

It is down 1.23 percentage points from 26.75% in 2002. The highest value was 37.2% in 2009 and the lowest 17.51% in 2004.

How does Croatia rank?

30th highest of 33 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in female share of employment in senior and middle management (%) unusual for Croatia?

In 2024, Croatia's female share of employment in senior and middle management (%) rose 4.27 percentage points on 2023 (from 21.26% to 25.53%). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2023), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 5.31 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.EMP.SMGT.FE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Market-related SDG Indicators database (ILOSDG), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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