Croatian Economy Grew by 2.8% Last Year, with 4.3% Growth in the Last Quarter

Thanks to the growth of consumption and investments, the Croatian economy also grew in the fourth quarter of last year, marking the 12th consecutive quarter of growth, by 4.3% year-on-year, while it strengthened by 2.8% for the entire last year.

The Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) published on Tuesday the first estimate indicating that the gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of last year increased by 4.3% in real terms compared to the same period of the previous year. This is a faster growth than in the third quarter of last year, when GDP grew by 2.8%.

The growth in the last quarter of last year is the fastest growth since the third quarter of 2022, when the growth was 5.5%, and it marks the 12th consecutive quarter of economic growth.

Growth of Consumption and Investments

According to DZS data, household consumption, which is the largest component of GDP, increased in the fourth quarter of last year by 5.3% compared to the same period a year earlier, faster than the 3% growth in the previous quarter.

Gross investments in fixed capital increased by 6.0% year-on-year, approximately the same as in the previous quarter.

Government consumption also rose by 0.2%, after strengthening by 2.1% in the previous quarter.

On the other hand, exports of goods and services fell in the fourth quarter of last year by 4.4% year-on-year, less than the 8.5% decline in the previous quarter. Exports of goods fell by 8.7%, while exports of services increased by 0.9%.

Imports of goods and services decreased by 7.1%, significantly less than in the previous quarter, when it plummeted by 12.1%. Imports of goods decreased by 9.0%, while imports of services increased by 5.2%.

Growth Faster than the EU Average

According to seasonally adjusted data from DZS, the economy grew by 4.3% year-on-year in the last quarter of last year, and by 1.3% on a quarterly basis. Thus, the growth of the domestic economy is significantly faster than the EU average.

Eurostat recently reported that in the previous quarter, the EU economy, according to seasonally adjusted data, grew by 0.1% compared to the previous quarter, while it grew by 0.3% year-on-year.

The eurozone economy, on the other hand, stagnated on a quarterly basis in the fourth quarter of last year, while it grew by 0.1% year-on-year.