Croatia Among EU Countries with Notable GDP Growth at the End of 2022.

Croatia has ranked among EU countries with notable economic activity growth in the fourth quarter of 2022, while the economy stagnated at the Union and eurozone level, new estimates from Eurostat showed on Wednesday.

Seasonally adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) of the EU was 0.1 percent lower in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the previous three months, calculated Eurostat. The previous estimate indicated stagnation.

In the eurozone, GDP stagnated, statisticians determined. The previous estimate showed slight growth on a quarterly basis, of 0.1 percent.

In the summer quarter, activity in both areas increased by 0.4 percent.

On an annual basis, the EU economy grew by 1.7 percent in the last three months of 2022, 0.1 percentage points weaker than previously indicated by Eurostat estimates. The estimate for growth in activity in the eurozone was also lowered by 0.1 percentage points, now showing a 1.8 percent growth compared to the same period in 2021.

In the third quarter of last year, the EU economy grew by 2.6 percent, and the eurozone economy by 2.4 percent.

Croatia Alongside Denmark

Leading European economies faltered at the end of 2022, with the German GDP reduced by 0.4 percent compared to the previous three months when it grew by 0.5 percent.

Activity in the Italian economy also decreased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous quarter when it grew by 0.4 percent.

The largest decline among the ‘big’ group was recorded by Polish GDP, which fell by 2.4 percent compared to the summer quarter when it grew by 1.0 percent.

The French economy grew by 0.1 percent, half as weak as in the period from July to September.

The strongest growth in the last quarter of last year, among member countries for which the European statistical office had data, was recorded by Greek GDP, which increased by 1.4 percent compared to the previous three months.

Malta and Cyprus followed with GDP growth of 1.2 and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Croatia is close behind with a growth in economic activity in the last quarter of last year, according to seasonally adjusted data, of 0.9 percent compared to the previous three months when it decreased by 0.5 percent. Denmark recorded the same percentage growth, and Romania and Slovenia are also in the group where activity increased by one and 0.8 percent, respectively.

The most pronounced decline in activity was recorded by Estonia, alongside Poland, at 1.6 percent.

Surge in Ireland

The majority of EU countries recorded annual growth in activity in the fourth quarter of last year, with the exception of Estonia, Lithuania, and Sweden, where it decreased by 4.4 percent, 0.4, and 0.1 percent, respectively. The strongest growth was in Ireland, at 13.1 percent.

Greece followed with a growth of 5.2 percent, and Romania and Malta, whose GDP increased by 4.9 and 4.7 percent compared to the last three months of 2021.

Croatian GDP grew by 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the same period in 2021, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data. In the third quarter, it increased by 5.4 percent.

Cyprus is close behind with a growth rate of 4.5 percent.

Among leading European economies, the strongest growth was recorded by Spain, at 2.7 percent. Italy followed with a growth rate of 1.4 percent. The weakest growth was recorded in France and Poland, at 0.5 and 0.4 percent compared to the same period in 2021, the data shows.

Stable Employment

The number of employed persons in the EU and in the area of application of the common European currency increased by 0.3 percent from October to December compared to the previous three months, statisticians calculated, lowering the previous estimate by 0.1 percentage points.

The growth rate in the eurozone is the same as in the summer quarter, while in the EU it is lower by 0.1 percentage points.

Eurostat confirmed annual growth rates of the number of employed persons in the last three months of last year, of 1.3 percent in the EU and 1.5 percent in the eurozone.

The data shows a slight slowdown in the growth of the number of employed persons compared to the period from July to September when it grew by 1.5 percent in the EU and by 1.8 percent in the area of application of the common European currency.