The Podravska statistical region had 16% of Slovenia’s population in 2019. With 150 inhabitants per square kilometre, this was one of the most densely populated regions. As in the majority of other regions, this region also recorded a natural decrease in 2019 (–1.9 per 1,000 population). However, due to the positive net migration between statistical regions and from abroad (this was more significant), the population in 2019 slightly increased over the previous year. The share of people aged 0–14 was the second lowest (13.9%); it was lower only in the Pomurska statistical region. 66% of children were born to unmarried mothers. Only two regions had higher shares: Pomurska and Koroška. The average age of first-time mothers in 2019 was 29.9; it was the fourth highest at the regional level. The mean age at death, which was the highest in the Primorsko-notranjska region (79.4 years), was the lowest in this region (77.0 years).
In 2019, the employment rate was among the lowest in Slovenia (61.2%). 16.2% of persons in employment worked outside the region of residence, which is not much since only two regions (Osrednjeslovenska and Goriška) had a lower value. It was 15.7% in Goriška and 9.8% in Osrednjeslovenska. The region generated 12.7% of the national GDP; GDP per capita was the fifth lowest in the country. The region had just over 27,100 enterprises with on average 4.8 persons employed. The at-risk-of-poverty rate was among the highest; 16.2% of people lived below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold. Only one region, Zasavska, had a higher at-risk-poverty rate (by 0.6 of a percentage point). In the region, 502 kg of municipal waste per capita was generated and 75% of it was collected separately. This ranked Podravska third in the country. The region was also third in terms of the number of convicted persons per 1,000 population (3.0).