section_path: Demographics/Education
section_name: Education
paragraph_text: Education
  
  As of 2021, the literacy rate in Croatia was 99.45%. Primary education in Croatia starts at the age of six or seven and consists of eight grades. In 2007 a law was passed to increase free, noncompulsory education until 18 years of age. Compulsory education consists of eight grades of elementary school.
  
  Secondary education is provided by gymnasiums and vocational schools. As of the 2022/2023 school year, there were 2,073 elementary schools and 738 upper secondary schools in Croatia. Primary and secondary education are also available in languages of recognised minorities in Croatia, where classes are held in Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Serbian, German and Slovak languages.
  
  There are 133 elementary and secondary level music and art schools, as well as 83 elementary and 44 secondary schools for disabled children and youth and 11 elementary and 52 secondary schools for adults. Nationwide leaving exams (Croatian: državna matura) were introduced for secondary education students in the school year 2009–2010. It comprises three compulsory subjects (Croatian language, mathematics, and a foreign language) and optional subjects and is a prerequisite for university education. Croatia has eight public universities and two private universities. The University of Zadar, the first university in Croatia, was founded in 1396 and remained active until 1807, when other institutions of higher education took over until the foundation of the renewed University of Zadar in 2002. The University of Zagreb, founded in 1669, is the oldest continuously operating university in Southeast Europe. There are also 15 polytechnics, of which two are private, and 30 higher education institutions, of which 27 are private. In total, there are 131 institutions of higher education in Croatia, attended by more than 160 thousand students.
  
  In 2022, Croatia's research and development (R&D) expenditure was approximately 1.43% of GDP, reflecting a commitment to fostering innovation and technological advancement. Among the scientific institutes operating in Croatia, the largest is the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb is a learned society promoting language, culture, arts and science from its inception in 1866. Croatia was ranked 43rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.
  
  The European Investment Bank provided digital infrastructure and equipment to around 150 primary and secondary schools in Croatia. Twenty of these schools got specialised assistance in the form of gear, software, and services to help them integrate the teaching and administrative operations. In 2024, the EIB extended a €207 million loan to the City of Zagreb for infrastructure upgrades, including investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency projects, social and affordable housing, schools, and kindergartens. Additionally, the EIB signed a €49 million loan with the City of Split to co-finance its 2023–2027 multi-sector investment programme, which includes refurbishing public buildings, increasing energy efficiency, and improving technical equipment for public information and communication.