[3] Pag belongs to the north Dalmatian archipelago and it extends northwest–southeast along the coast, forming the Velebit Channel.

A 300 m (980 ft)-long arch Pag Bridge connects the southern part of the island to the mainland.

[5] The earliest settlers on the island were an Illyrian tribe that came to the region in the Bronze Age; traces of their settlement can still be seen around Pag.

From the 12th to 14th centuries, Pag, along with other Dalmatian islands and towns, was fiercely contested between the Republic of Venice and the Croatian-Hungarian rulers.

The island passed from Austria-Hungary to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia after World War I, and then to the Independent State of Croatia (1941–45) when the Ustashe set up concentration camps at Slana and Metajna, where they killed thousands of Serbs, Jews, and Croatian anti-fascists.

[6] Throughout its history, Pag has been connected with salt production, a traditional activity that has been practiced for more than a thousand years.

[7] The origin of the town of Pag is connected with the exploitation of natural suitably shallow coves within the closed bay (the so-called Valle di Pago) for salt manufacturing.