摘要：In this paper the author has comprehensively elaborated demographic problems of Croatian Adriatic islands, and this with a panicular scientific refinement and human sensibility: the author is the only living Croatian demographer who has visited each populated Croatian island in the Adriatic sea. The Croatian islands in the Adriatic have been the emigration area from the end of the 19th century to our days. When establishing this fact we must emphasize the small islands being the scene of strongest emigration. In order to compare: from 1850 to 1990 the world population increased by four and a half times; the population of Europe more than doubled; the population of Croatia doubled, while the Croatian Islands population decreased by about ten percent. From 1880 to 1990 these Islands population decreased thirty per cent (big and small islands differed and differ greatly among themselves concerning the population growth). The respective differences were even greater in more recent period (namely between 1961 and 1991) and the features concerned have been continued up to present time, being negative in total population, in natural movement of population and in migration balance. Analysing 44 populated islands in the period 1961-1991, we established the fact that 84% of them are exodus islands (a part of population emigrated) and on even 75% of islands, population is dying out (the total number of population decreased, more deaths than births, more emigrated than immigrated). As the consequence, the population has grown vety aged (ratio between the people aged 0-19 and the people aged 60 and more is 1:1). Such a ratio is extremely bad and it makes impossible a regeneration "in situ", without some demographic and economic "injections" from outside. The reflection of the mentioned long-lasting demographic process is evident in deserted agrarian landscapes and in semi-empty settlements in a majority of islands.
