Population
Susak’s inhabitants reside in a single settlement of the same name. The settlement has two parts: atop a small hill, Gornje Selo is the older part of the village where the island's church is located; and Donje Selo is the lower part of the village adjacent to the seashore and small harbor.
Between 1948 and the early 1960s, the island’s population plummeted. As of 2001, Susak had only 188 residents with between 2,500 and 5,000 emigrants or descendants of emigrants living in United States. While the greatest concentration of emigrants and descendants currently live in the New York City metropolitan area (particularly in northern New Jersey), most went to Hoboken, New Jersey, people from Susak can be found living throughout the United States.
There are only a few surnames from Susak. The engravings on the island's white tombstones boast these names (or some form of them): Busanić, Hrončić, Lister, Matešić, Mirković, Morin, Picinić, Sutora, Skrivanić, and Tarabokija.
Before World War II, most if not all of the inhabitants labored as vintners, farmers, fisherman, or some combination of all three occupations. Today, the island's emigrants and descendants hold a wide variety of professions from longshoremen to conductors and from engineers to lawyers.
Perhaps the most famous person from Susak thus far is Albin Starc, a World War II pilot who was born on Susak in 1916.
| Year | 1857 | 1910 | 1921 | 1931 | 1948 | 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1089 | 1412 | 1564 | 1541 | 1629 | 188 |
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