October the 21st, 2024 – Third country nationals from the likes of Egypt, Nepal and so on are arriving in the demographically struggling Vrgorac area, as locals leave in hordes.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the “Vrgorac” Elementary School in Vrgorska Krajina is currently facing very serious demographic challenges. According to the director of the school, Professor Krešimir Kurana, in the last decade, the number of students attending the school has decreased by as much as 40 percent. That shocking decline resulted in the closing of six regional schools across the wider Vrgorac area. During the last school year, the number of students was reduced by two entire classes.
The population of Vrgorska Krajina is mostly made up of elderly and infirm people, while young people, in search of better living conditions, head off to Western European countries or to the nearby Makarska Riviera. According to the population census, the town of Vrgorac has 27 local committees and 5,911 inhabitants, but the actual number of inhabitants on the ground is estimated to stand between 3,500 and 4,000.
One of the main reasons for the emigration of the local Vrgorac population is the limited choice of jobs and low wages, while the area’s companies and institutions are often connected to political cadres. Vrgorac actually has a developed construction industry, as well as a good agriculture and meat-processing sector, but it seems that this is simply not enough to retain young families, according to Slobodna Dalmacija.
At the same time, the number of third country nationals moving into the demographically struggling Vrgorac is increasing. The Split-Dalmatia Police Department reported that since 2020, 345 work and residence permits have been issued to foreign citizens in the Vrgorac area. 27 permits were issued in 2020, mostly for citizens of neighbouring countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Kosovo. In 2021, the first arrival of workers from Nepal was recorded, while in 2023, the first arrivals of workers from India and the Philippines in Vrgorac were recorded.
By mid-October 2024, the number of work permits issued to third country nationals in the demographically struggling Vrgorac area had almost doubled compared to the previous year, with 150 permits having been issued. Newly arrived workers include Colombians, Egyptians, Argentinians, while Nepalese and Filipino citizens make up a significant part of the workforce. According to the Ministry of the Interior (MUP), since the beginning of the year, 65 permits have been issued for workers from Nepal, while 42 have been issued for Filipino citizens.
