Few Croatians happy with way things are two decades after independence

Six out of ten Croatians are dissatisfied with their country’s progress since their independence in 1991, new investigations show.

Market research agency GfK finds that 58 per cent of Croatian citizens are unhappy with the way things are 20 years since the country’s parting from former Yugoslavia. A survey of 1,000 people older than 15 shows that only eight per cent are happy with their state's accomplishments so far.

A third, or 33 per cent of the surveyed said that they are "equally satisfied and dissatisfied."

The majority of the discontented or 67 per cent come from the country’s richest area, the north west.  On the other hand, the poorest region of eastern Slavonia seems to be the happiest with Croatia’s progress (44 per cent). Slavonia was once the richest region, but was later devastated by the war of independence from former Yugoslavia (1991-1995).

Sociologist Ivan Buric is not surprised about the fact that the poorest - Slavonia -  seems to be the happiest.

"Slavonians feel that it is an accomplishment to have survived the war and that their houses have been renovated. On the other hand, residents of the richer, north-western parts of Croatia and Istria and Primorje did not have to think as much about what they will eat and whether they will have a roof over their heads, but they were thinking about what we could have accomplished if there was no war and stealing during privatization," says Buric.

Some 64 per cent of Istria, Primorje and Gorski Kotar are dissatisfied with how things turned out in these last 20 years, with 57 per cent of Dalmatians seconding their opinion. Zagreb follows with 56 per cent of the discontented.

Men are slightly more unhappy than the women – 62 to 58 per cent. Those between the ages 30 and 39 as well as older than 65 lead the dissatisfied list when looking at age groups.

Dissatisfaction seems to be correlated to monthly income or living standards of the surveyed: for example, 72 per cent of those earning up to 1,800 kunas per month (244 Euros) tend not to be happy with they way things are.

Some 67 per cent of earning between 244 and 474 Euros per month are dissatisfied, while 57 per cent of those with earning between 474 and 1,111 Euros would claim the same. Out of the households receiving between 1,111 Euro and 1,490 Euros, 54 per cent say they are dissatisfied.

Only in those households earning more than 1,490 Euros is the share of unhappy people down to below half, or 31 per cent.

Buric says that pessimism does not necessarily translate into Yugonostalgia, or longing for the old state.

"Sentiments toward former times exist, which is normal in all transitional states…That is a consequence of a sudden jump from relative secure into uncertain, competitive society, where everything is marketing," says Buric.

"The average fail…In short time big changes happened: farmers and workers in manufacturing occupations fell out of the competition, while other layers of society do not feel secure," he added.