Vrhovine

Vrhovine is a settlement and a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. The municipality is located in Lika.

Demographics

In the 2001 census, Vrhovine had 905 inhabitants of which 55.03% were Serbs and 38.45% were Croats. In the 2011 census, there were 1,381 inhabitants of which 80.23% were Serbs and 12.74% were Croats.
In 2021, the municipality had 653 residents in the following 7 settlements:

Donji Babin Potok, population 72
Gornje Vrhovine, population 150
Gornji Babin Potok, population 54
Rudopolje, population 32
Turjanski, population 26
Vrhovine, population 218
Zalužnica, population 101

The majority of the population of the municipality is elderly. Because of this, the Croatian Ministry of [Family Affairs, War Veterans and Intergenerational Solidarity] and the United Nations Development Programme secured funding for a centre for the elderly. The centre was opened by Minister Jadranka Kosor in June, 2008.

Politics

Languages and names

On the territory of Vrhovine municipality, in addition to Croatian which is official in the whole country, Serbian language and Serbian Cyrillic alphabet have been introduced as a second official language. As of 2023, most of the legal requirements for the fulfillment of bilingual standards have not been carried out. Official buildings do have Cyrillic signage, but not street signs, traffic signs or seals. Cyrillic is not used on any official documents, nor are there public legal and administrative employees proficient in the script.

Minority councils and representatives

Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs. At the 2023 Croatian [national minorities councils and representatives elections] Serbs of Croatia fulfilled legal requirements to elect 10 members minority council of the Municipality of Vrhovine.