Croatia Falls on the IMD Competitiveness Ranking – Takes 50th Place

Croatia is ranked 50th on the global competitiveness ranking of the Institute for Management Development (IMD) from Lausanne in 2023, out of a total of 64 countries covered by the research. This result comes from this year’s IMD survey conducted among senior executives in the economy (an average of 100 executives are surveyed per economy), according to the statement.

Although there has been a decline in the competitiveness ranking compared to last year, Croatia is still ranked ten places better than it was in 2020. Last year, Croatia advanced by 13 places, so this year only a minor correction in the competitiveness rating was recorded, which has shown significant improvement over the past few years.

This year, Denmark takes the first place, followed by Ireland and Switzerland.

Croatia is rated best in three areas: competitiveness in foreign trade, social protection, and prices.

The greatest improvements were recorded in public finances, with an emphasis on the general government budget surplus and the country’s credit rating increase, growth in service exports, and the increase in the share of women in management, while we regressed due to high inflation rates, slowing GDP growth, and declining efficiency in water management.

Respondents highlighted the most important characteristics of the Croatian economy as the high qualification of the workforce, good education, quality infrastructure, and economic dynamism.

Interestingly, Croatia is among the top three most competitive countries in the world in certain areas. We are the best in tourist spending and employment growth, and among the top three countries in GDP growth rates, workforce growth, and minimum wage.

On the other hand, Croatia is among the three worst-rated countries due to the decline in the total population, the outflow of highly qualified workers from the economy, financial literacy, and the frequency of internships in the labor market.

In terms of tax burden, we are ranked 61st among 64 countries that participated in the research, in the category that assessed the real tax burden on citizens. This data aligns with the demands of HUP for significant tax relief.

– Croatia has a highly qualified workforce and good infrastructure, which gives it enormous potential to increase competitiveness, but reforms of the system are necessary for more efficient use of public money and resources that Croatia has. HUP constantly calls for reforms that would facilitate doing business in Croatia, thereby accelerating GDP growth, employee wages, and the standard of living for every citizen – commented Ivan Mišetić, acting president of the National Competitiveness Council.