The report says that 1,722 work permits were issued to workers from Bosnia-Herzegovina, 512 to citizens of Turkey and 468 to Chinese nationals.
Work permits were also issued to Macedonians (356), Germans (248), Italians (230), Serbians and Montenegrins (229), Slovaks (212), Slovenes (176), US citizens (122) and Hungarians (119), as well as to citizens of distant countries such as Jordan (4), the Philippines (4), Thailand (3), Uzbekistan (2) and Vietnam (1).
In 87 per cent of the cases work permits were issued to men.
According to their educational background, 50 per cent of foreign workers had secondary-school qualifications, about 20 per cent had a university degree, 12 per cent were of a lower educational background, while 9.5 per cent were skilled workers. Four persons had a doctoral or master's degree, while nine had no vocational skills.
Viewed by age, 27.44 per cent of foreign workers were aged between 46 and 60, 17 per cent were between the ages of 36 and 40, and 15 per cent were between the ages of 41 and 45.
The government has set a quota of 2,428 work permits for the employment of foreign citizens in Croatia in 2005, of which 1,400 work permits for newly-employed foreigners.
Up to 610 work permits will be issued for jobs in the construction sector, 370 in tourism and 270 in the shipbuilding industry; 68 permits will be available for jobs in the culture sector, 60 in science and education, and 22 in the health system.
The annual quota for seasonal work permits is 400, mainly for jobs in the construction sector. Seasonal work permits are issued for a period of 90 days per year.