[3] Some sources indicate that Croatia has 67 inhabited islands,[4] counting those that have a settlement,[1] but 20 of those have lost all of their permanent population as a result of the population decline occurring throughout the Croatian islands due to insufficient economic activity.
[7] The combined island population reached its peak in 1921, at 173,503 inhabitants, and went into steady decline in the following decades, dropping to pre-1850s level by 1981.
[1] The main industries on the islands are agriculture, fishing and tourism.
The islands' agriculture is primarily devoted to viticulture and olive growing.
The local economy is relatively underdeveloped while the cost of living is 10 to 30% higher than on the mainland,[4] so the Croatian government provides various kinds of support and protection through its Islands Act (Croatian: Zakon o otocima) to stimulate the economy of the islands, including charging no tolls on bridges, and providing discounted or free ferry tickets for islanders.