ZAGREB, October 30, 2020 - Over the past year, Croatian citizens increased their savings by HRK 11 billion despite the pandemic and a weaker tourism season, with saving deposits across Croatia totalling HRK 52,784 per capita, the Chamber of Commerce (HGK) said on Friday ahead of World Savings Day.

Citing central bank data, the HGK said household deposits reached HRK 214.9 billion in August, up 5.4% on the year.

Across Croatia, deposits per capita amount to HRK 52,874, above last year's average of HRK 48,626, ranging from HRK 23,443 in Vukovar-Srijem County to HRK 78,681 in Istria County.

People on the coast, and partly in Zagreb, save based on tourism, which is why this year's disappointing season has changed some trends. 

Year on year, deposits increased in every county bar Osijek-Baranja, but those in continental Croatia increased by 7.5% and those along the coast by 2.5%. This, the HGK said, shows that the weaker tourist season resulted in weaker deposits in the coastal counties.

Interestingly, deposits along the coast increased less than in 2019, whereas in continental Croatia the growth rate was above the national average, the opposite of last year.

Central bank economist Vedran Sosic said there were no household saving estimates in Croatia, i.e. estimates of the part of one's income that is not spent, so they are based on trends in the value of financial assets and bank deposits as their biggest component.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)