The growth of the Croatian economy by 2.9% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same quarter last year demonstrates the strength of the Croatian economy and the continuation of growth in line with government expectations, said Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Thursday during a government session.
According to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS), in the first quarter of 2025, Croatia recorded a GDP growth of 2.9% year-on-year. This marked the 17th consecutive quarter of economic growth, though at a slower pace than the previous quarter, when growth stood at 3.9%.
Plenković stated that the GDP figures for Q1 reflect the strength of the Croatian economy and a continuation of growth in accordance with government projections.
He emphasized that this represents a growth rate twice as fast as the EU average.
Croatia ranked among the top seven fastest-growing economies in the first quarter of 2025, he added.
He also recalled the European Commission’s forecast that Croatia will be among the top two fastest-growing economies in the EU between 2023 and 2025.
At the same time, he noted that the government is monitoring inflation trends, which, according to him, “slightly increased in May, but has remained below 4% year-on-year for several months.”
Despite the uptick, the government maintains its inflation projection for 2025 at around 2.7%, down from 2.97% in 2024. In 2026, inflation is expected to slow further to around 2.3%.
Inflation, measured by consumer prices in Croatia, accelerated to 3.5% in May 2025, up from 3.2% in April, according to DZS. However, according to Eurostat data, Croatia remains among the top eurozone countries for price growth, with a rate of 4.3%.