Lika-Senj County


Lika-Senj County is a county in Croatia that includes most of the Lika region and some northern coastline of the Adriatic near the town of Senj, including the northern part of the Pag island. Its center is Gospić.
The county is the least populated and among the least prosperous ones, though it is the largest county in the country by area and includes the Plitvice Lakes National Park and Sjeverni Velebit National Park, some of Croatia's major tourist attractions.

Geography

The county has a total area of 5353 km2.

Administrative division

Lika-Senj County is administratively subdivided into 12 units of local government:
Since the early 20th century the county's population has been shrinking. As of the 2011 census, the county had 50,927 residents. The population density is 9.5/km2.
Croatian State Bureau of Statistics estimated population of the county to stand at 45,493 in 2017, and 45,184 in 2018.

Ethnic composition

Ethnic Croats form the majority with 84.15% of the population, followed by Serbs at 13.65%. Serbs form majority in municipalities of Vrhovine, Donji Lapac, and Udbina.
In 1991, before the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence and the Breakup of Yugoslavia, Croats comprised 59.7% of the population, while Serbs comprised 37%. The area of the county used to have a significant Serb population, mostly located in the eastern part of the county, where they formed a majority. The entire former Lika-Krbava County, loosely overlapping with the area of the modern Lika-Senj county, in censuses of 1900 and 1910 even registered Serb majority.