had a population of 15,388, while Knin (town, proper) had a population of 10,493. In the 2001 census, the population of Knin was 15,190 (whole municipality) with 11,128 in town proper. Ethnically, Croats formed the majority with 76.45% while the population share of Serbs stood at 20.8%. Knin has recently seen a steep population decline, not least due to high emigration rates, especially since Croatia joined the EU in 2013 and its citizens consequently face few to no work and immigration restrictions. Elementary school student population in Knin (ages 6 to 14) has sharply declined by 29% between 2013 and 2019. Knin's population is also in more flux than that of other Croatian cities given that it has a major refugee problem: both with a large number of Croats from neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina who immigrated there post-1995 and Serbs from Knin who are still refugees in Bosnia-Herzegovina or Serbia. Immigrant Croats form the majority in the city with only a scattered Serb presence in the surrounding villages. Demographic history Before the Croatian War of Independence 87% of the population of the municipality and 79% of the city were Serbs. During the war, most of the non-Serb population was displaced from Knin, while in the last days of the war most of the Serbs left Knin, fearing incoming Croatian forces. In February 2015, during the Croatia–Serbia genocide case, the judgment of the International Court of Justice stated that it is not disputed that a substantial part of the Serb population fled that region as a direct consequence of the military actions. The Croatian authorities were aware that the operation would provoke a mass exodus; they even to some extent predicated their military planning on such an exodus, which they considered not only probable, but desirable. As a consequence of the war and population displacement, Knin municipality population has nearly halved between 1991 and 2001 (from 23 to 15 thousand). Knin (municipality) Besides the town of Knin itself, Knin municipality today consists of following settlements: Golubić, Kninsko Polje, Kovačić, Ljubač, Oćestovo, Plavno, Polača, Potkonje, Radljevac, Strmica, Vrpolje and Žagrović. The data below and in the population graph is based on current municipality, since in the past Knin municipality often changed its borders. Knin (town) Town of Knin had a small population compared to its surroundings until the aftermath of World War II. Just 15% of population of municipality lived in Knin proper; neighbouring