In the new Leadfeeder ranking of business environments in 29 European countries for 2026, Croatia is positioned 18th, with a total score of 40.7 points. According to this study, the highest-ranked country in terms of business environment is Sweden (74.8 points), followed by Denmark and the Netherlands, while the largest economy on the continent, Germany, is only in fifth place.
In terms of investments, measured as the share of gross fixed capital investment in GDP, Croatia ranks fourth in Europe, with a rate of 25.7 percent of GDP. Only Turkey (30.6 percent), the Czech Republic (26.4 percent), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (25.8 percent) are ahead, while Romania follows with 25.6 percent. In terms of innovation and competitiveness of the economy, a category that combines the number of patent and trademark applications per capita and the share of employees in knowledge-intensive activities, Croatia is only 26th out of 29 countries, as noted in the study.
The rest of the profile aligns with this contrasting picture. In the category of business activity and expansion, which measures labor productivity and employment rates, Croatia is 22nd, while in terms of business digitalization, which encompasses the use of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce among businesses, it ranks 16th.
High Investments Do Not Mean High Overall Ranking
The authors of the study warn that no other category disrupts the overall ranking as much as investments. While the ranking of countries by business digitalization almost entirely matches the overall ranking, a high investment rate says almost nothing about where a country will end up on the overall list. A country can lead Europe in the share of investment in GDP and simultaneously finish far outside its top, the authors state.
The group of countries with the highest investment rates confirms this. Along with leading Turkey, at 30.6 percent of GDP, there are the Czech Republic (26.4 percent), Bosnia and Herzegovina (25.8 percent), Croatia (25.7 percent), and Romania (25.6 percent). Of all five, only the Czech Republic, ranked 11th, has entered the upper half of the overall ranking of 29 countries. Croatia, with an overall 18th place, shares the fate of Turkey (19th), Bosnia and Herzegovina (28th), and Romania (26th): high investments alone were not enough to lift the country out of the lower half of the ranking.
The study explains this phenomenon by the difference in the stage of economic development. A high investment rate often means that roads, factories, or networks are just being built, indicating that the country is in the midst of building capacity and infrastructure. A low rate, on the other hand, may mean that this construction has largely already been completed, so money today is spent on maintaining the existing rather than on new construction. Investment thus reveals in which developmental phase an economy is, rather than how strong or competitive it is today, the study emphasizes.
