A Croatian county is paying people to have babies. Officials in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia, are offering a one-thousand-euro cash gift for each child born starting on the first day of 2026. Prefect Blaž Pezo stated the policy aims to support young families and improve the area's declining birth rates. They have allocated a million euros for the initiative, enough for roughly a thousand newborns if fully claimed.
The money is not automatic. Parents need to apply within three months after their baby is born. To qualify, one parent must be a Croatian citizen with at least two years of continuous legal residency in that specific county. The other parent must also have their official residence registered there when the child arrives.
The baby must have its residence registered in Dubrovnik-Neretva County at the time of application. Neither parent can have a record of temporarily emigrating from Croatia when they file the paperwork. The program is designed to incentivize long-term local families to stay and grow. It directly ties financial support to established residency, trying to curb population decline from people moving away.
The county leadership framed this as an investment in their community's future. They called every newborn incredibly valuable and hope the cash sends a clear signal of support. Whether a grand will actually move the needle on demographics remains to be seen, but they are putting budget money behind the attempt.
The money is not automatic. Parents need to apply within three months after their baby is born. To qualify, one parent must be a Croatian citizen with at least two years of continuous legal residency in that specific county. The other parent must also have their official residence registered there when the child arrives.
The baby must have its residence registered in Dubrovnik-Neretva County at the time of application. Neither parent can have a record of temporarily emigrating from Croatia when they file the paperwork. The program is designed to incentivize long-term local families to stay and grow. It directly ties financial support to established residency, trying to curb population decline from people moving away.
The county leadership framed this as an investment in their community's future. They called every newborn incredibly valuable and hope the cash sends a clear signal of support. Whether a grand will actually move the needle on demographics remains to be seen, but they are putting budget money behind the attempt.
