ZAGREB, March 25, 2019 - Finland is the happiest country in the world, shows an annual UN World Happiness Report covering 156 countries. Croatia is ranked 75th.

The report, published on March 19, is based on three years of research by the Gallup analytics and advisory company on how happy citizens of the 156 countries perceive themselves to be.

This is the second time Finland ranks first.

It is followed by its Nordic neighbours Denmark, Norway and Iceland.

The first ten countries also include the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, Canada and Austria.

Croatia is ranked 75th, which is seven places higher than in the previous ranking. Despite this, Croats seem not to perceive themselves particularly happy.

Countries that consider themselves happier, for example, are Kosovo (46th), Serbia (70th), and Montenegro (73rd).

Italy ranks 36th, Slovenia 44th, and Hungary 62nd. Bosnia and Herzegovina ranks three places below Croatia.

Some of the factors going into the assessment include gross domestic product per capita, healthy life expectancy, generosity, social support, freedom to make life choices, and perceptions of corruption.

South Sudan is at the bottom of the ranking, accompanied by Rwanda, Afghanistan and Central African Republic.

The five countries that have seen the biggest decline in the last ten years are Yemen, India, Syria, Botswana and Venezuela.

More Lifestyle news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, March 25, 2019 - Finns and Croats are the most surrounded by diversity in workplace, and Croats most often work with the elderly and mothers of small children, a little less with foreigners and minority and ethnic groups, and the least with disabled persons and LGBT persons, the MojPosao job-seeking website says.

Four in ten employees in Europe do not experience diversity in the workplace, according to an international study on diversity conducted by Paylab in nine European countries in 2018.

The goal of the study was to determine the extent to which employees in work teams come into contact with employees who are often at a disadvantage on the job market, such as foreigners, members of minority and ethnic groups, persons with physical disabilities, mothers of small children, employees over the age of 55, and persons with a different sexual orientation/identity.

The study shows the lowest level of workplace diversity is in Hungary, where up to 49% of employees reported no contact with the groups monitored in the survey, followed by Slovenia (44%), Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria (about 40%) and Finland (35%).

Workers in Croatia have the most experience with diversity as only 29% of respondents have never encountered the groups monitored.

The study shows that more than 50% of respondents in Croatia have worked with people over 55 and 49% with mothers of children under 10. One in four respondents has worked with foreigners and members of minority and ethnic groups, 17% with persons with physical disabilities, and 15% with LGBT persons.

Asked if they are bothered by the presence of the groups monitored in their workplace, a majority of respondents said they were not, with Croats most open to working with disabled persons (29%).

Croats show the highest intolerance towards the LGBT community, with 18% saying they would be glad to interact with them in the workplace, while 2% said they would be very upset. About 1% would be upset at working with the groups monitored. Twenty-nine percent of Croats accept foreign co-workers.

Finns are the most open to working with LGBT persons, with 28% saying they would be glad to work with them, while 31% accept foreigner co-workers.

More business news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, March 1, 2019 - The European Union unemployment rate in January dropped to its lowest level since Eurostat started tracking monthly data, and Croatia's unemployment rate also decreased slightly and was below the eurozone average for the third consecutive month, according to figures released by the EU's statistical office Eurostat on Friday.

The EU28 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.5% in January 2019, down from 6.6% in December 2018 and from 7.2% in January 2018, this being the lowest rate since October 2008, Eurostat said.

Eurostat estimates that 16.222 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 12.848 million in the euro area, were unemployed in January 2019. This is a decrease of 56,000 in the EU and 23,000 in the euro area compared with December 2018.

Compared with January 2018, unemployment fell by 1.536 million in the EU28 and by 1.233 million in the euro area.

The unemployment rate in Croatia in January this year was 7.6% or 0.1 percentage points less on the month.

There were 136,000 people out work in Croatia in January, which is 2,000 fewer than in December and a decrease of 35,000 on the year.

In January 2019, the unemployment rate of young persons (under 25) was 14.9% m-on-m in the EU28, Eurostat reported.

The youth unemployment rate in the euro area remained at 16.5%.

In January 2019, 3.375 million young persons were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.383 million were in the euro area.

Compared with January 2018, youth unemployment decreased by 184,000 in the EU28 and by 141,000 in the euro area.

Croatia doesn't keep monthly data on youth unemployment. The average youth unemployment rate increased in the last quarter of 2018 from 22.7% to 23%, Eurostat said.

More news on the unemployment in Croatia can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, February 1, 2019 - The EU28 unemployment rate in December 2018 remained the lowest rate recorded since the start of the European Union monthly unemployment series in January 2000, while unemployment in Croatia it mildly decreased and was again lower than the euro area average, according to Eurostat.

The EU28 unemployment rate was 6.6% in December 2018, stable compared with November 2018 and down from 7.2% in December 2017.

The euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 7.9% in December 2018, stable compared with November 2018 and down from 8.6% in December 2017. This remains the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since October 2008.

Eurostat estimates that 16.306 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 12.919 million in the euro area, were unemployed in December 2018. Compared with November 2018, the number of persons unemployed decreased by 75,000 in both the EU28 and the euro area. Compared with December 2017, unemployment fell by 1.533 million in the EU28 and by 1.174 million in the euro area.

Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in December 2018 were recorded in Czechia (2.1%), Germany (3.3%), Poland (3.5%) and the Netherlands (3.6%). The highest unemployment rates were observed in Greece (18.6% in October 2018), Spain (14.3%) and Italy (10.3%).

In Croatia, the unemployment rate in December 2018 was 7.7%, down 0.1 percentage points on the month. It was lower than the euro area average for the second month running. Eurostat estimates that 137,000 Croatians were unemployed, 3,000 fewer than in November 2018 and 39,000 fewer than in December 2017.

Croatia was again among the member states with the largest unemployment decreases year on year, by 2 pp. The largest decrease was recorded in Greece, by 2.4 pp.

In December 2018, 3.365 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU28, of whom 2.391 million were in the euro area. Compared with December 2017, youth unemployment decreased by 249,000 in the EU28 and by 141,000 in the euro area. In December 2018, the youth unemployment rate was 14.9% in the EU28 and 16.6% in the euro area, compared with 16.1% and 17.8% respectively in December 2017.

In December 2018, the lowest rates were observed in Czechia (5.8%), Germany (6.0%) and the Netherlands (6.6%), while the highest were recorded in Greece (38.5% in October 2018), Spain (32.7%) and Italy (31.9%).

In Croatia, youth unemployment in the last quarter of 2018 was 22.7%, down 1.2 pp on Q3, with 33,000 young Croats out of work, 3,000 fewer than in Q3.

More news on unemployment in Croatia can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, January 29, 2019 - Industrial production in Croatia in December plummeted by 6.6% compared to December 2017, and this has been sharpest decline in the last two years, whereas industrial production shrank for the whole of 2018, for the first time in four years, according to data provided by the national statistical office (DZS) on Tuesday.

The seasonal adjusted data show that the December industrial output dropped by 2.9% compared to November 2018, whereas it plunged by 6.6% on the year, thus falling for six months in a row year-on-year.

The 6.6% reduction is the highest since a 14% decline in December 2016.

Trends in Croatia's industrial production have been unstable in the recent period, and out of the last 14 months, 12 of them saw a decline.

Thus, the industrial production in the whole of 2018 was down by 1% compared to 2017 when it increased by 1.9%

Throughout 2018, only February and June saw a rise in industrial production, while it declined in the other 10 months, RBA analysts say in their comment on the DZS data.

Broken down by types of goods, in December capital goods' production plunged by 17.6% on the year and the production of energy fell by 8.6% , while the production of durable consumer goods decreased by 7.7% and intermediate goods by 6.5%. Only the production of non-durable consumer goods went up by 1.9% in the last month of 2018.

The RBA analysts expect a moderate recovery rate of industrial production in 2019. They assess that from the point of view of demand, growth will be further generated by branches in connection with wholesale and retail trade, transport and storage, accommodation, hospitality industry, ICT and construction sectors.

More news on the Croatian industry, as well as its economy, can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, January 26, 2019 - The average monthly net pay in legal entities in Croatia in November was 6,267 kuna (approx. 847 euro), rising 1.2% in nominal terms on the year, but dropping by 0.1% in real terms, show the latest figures published by the national statistical office (DZS).

The Croatian Chamber of Commerce notes that this was the first time since the beginning of 2016 that an average monthly salary declined in real terms.

Although the monthly salary in November rose year on year in nominal terms, when the yearly inflation rate of 1.3% is applied, it fell by 0.1% in real terms, the HGK said in its explanation.

These trends were affected by a drop of salaries in some enterprise branches, notably in the shipbuilding sector.

The take-home pay of 6,267 kuna in November compared to October was higher by 0.1% in real terms and lower by 0.2% in nominal terms.

The median monthly income amounted to 6,100 kuna (approximately 824 euro), which means that a half of employees in Croatia earned less than that amount and the other half earned above that amount.

The average hourly pay in November was 35.98 kuna (4.8 euro) in the net amount, rising by 4.1% from October.

More news on salaries in Croatia can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, January 21, 2019 - The government debt to GDP ratio fell in the European Union in the third quarter of 2018, and Croatia was among the countries with the largest decreases both month on month and year on year, according to data from the EU statistical office Eurostat released on Monday.

"At the end of the third quarter of 2018, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 86.1%, compared with 86.3% at the end of the second quarter of 2018. In the EU28, the ratio decreased from 81.0% to 80.8%. Compared with the third quarter of 2017, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 88.2% to 86.1%) and the EU28 (from 82.5% to 80.8%)," Eurostat said.

In Croatia, government debt at the end of the third quarter of 2018 stood at 281.8 billion kuna, or 74.5% of GDP, down by 1.6 percentage points from the previous quarter and 4 percentage points lower than at the same time in 2017.

The highest government debt to GDP ratios at the end of the third quarter of 2018 were recorded in Greece (182.2 %), Italy (133.0%), Portugal (125.0%), Cyprus (110.9%) and Belgium (105.4%), and the lowest in Estonia (8.0%), Luxembourg (21.7%) and Bulgaria (23.1%).

Compared with the second quarter of 2018, six member states registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2018, nineteen a decrease and the ratio remained stable in three member states.

The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Cyprus (+6.9 percentage points – pp) and Greece (+4.8 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Malta (-3.1 pp), Slovenia and Croatia (both -1.6 pp), Hungary and Czechia (both -1.4 pp), the Netherlands (-1.1 pp) and Poland (-1.0 pp).

Compared with the third quarter of 2017, four member states registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2018, and twenty-four a decrease.

An increase in the ratio was recorded in Cyprus (+9.7 pp), Greece (+7.4 pp), the United Kingdom (+0.4 pp) and Slovakia (+0.1 pp), while the largest decreases were recorded in Slovenia (-8.0 pp), Malta (-6.8 pp), Portugal (-4.6 pp), Austria (-4.3 pp), Lithuania (-4.2 pp), the Netherlands (-4.1 pp), Ireland and Croatia (both -4.0 pp), Eurostat said.

More news on the Croatian economy can be found in the Business section.

Last year, property owners demanded eight per cent more money for their apartments, while houses saw a rise of 4.5% in the asking prices compared to 2017. In the last two years, apartment asking prices have risen by as much as 13 per cent, while house prices rose more than 7 per cent, according to an annual analysis by Njuškalo conducted on a sample of more than 150,000 real estate ads from its base, reports Poslovni.hr on January 9, 2018.

The website also recorded significant annual growth in the number of visitors to its Real Estate category. In 2018, there were as much as 11 per cent more visits than in 2017, and more than 20 per cent more than in 2016, with a growing trend in the number of visits from abroad. The share of foreign visitors to the Real Estate category was over 12 per cent, with most visitors clicking from Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Austria.

Apartment prices grew most in coastal towns, and in Zagreb and surrounding towns. The average asking price for an apartment in Zagreb now amounts to 1,961 euros per square metre, 10.4 per cent more than at the end of 2017, while the average price of a house with a yard is 1,296 euros.

The price of a square metre in Split has reached 2,792 euros, an increase of 11 per cent compared to December 2017, while the most substantial rise in the prices was recorded in Dubrovnik, with an average of 3,773 euros per square metre, 16 per cent more than the year before.

In Zadar, the asking price increase was even higher than in Split, almost 13 per cent, and the average asking price for an apartment is 2,116 euros per square metre. Rijeka recorded a jump of 4 per cent, and the current average price is around 1,520 euros.

In Samobor near Zagreb, apartment prices increased by 12 per cent, while in Karlovac the jump was slightly smaller (8 per cent). Although the average prices of apartments in larger towns in eastern Croatia used to stagnate or decline, the end of the last year brought a rise in asking prices there as well, according to Njuškalo.

The average price of an apartment in Osijek is 963 euros per square metre, 4 per cent more than in 2017. Slavonski Brod recorded an increase of 2 per cent, and the average price of an apartment there was 802 euros.

As for houses, owners ask for 4,623 euros on average in Dubrovnik, 3,029 euros in Split, and just 510 euros per square metre in Požega in Slavonia.

More news on the Croatian real estate can be found in our Business section.

Translated from Poslovni.hr (reported by Marija Crnjak).

Last year, 60,041 new cars were sold in Croatia, which is 18.3 percent more than the year earlier, when 50,769 vehicles were sold, according to the Ministry of Interior's data gathered by the Promocija Plus agency. In December, buyers bought 2,412 vehicles, up 12.4 percent from December 2017, reports tportal.hr on January 8, 2019.

Most of the new cars were sold by Volkswagen – 8,932, with the share in total sales of 14.9 percent, followed by Renault with 5.805 vehicles and 9.7 percent, and Škoda with 5.293 units and 8.8 percent. Opel sold 5.212 vehicles and was in the fourth place (8.7 percent share), followed by Suzuki fifth (3.794, 6.3 percent share).

In addition, in 2018, Croatian citizens purchased 1,804 new Audis, 1,487 BMWs, 1,166 Mercedes and 85 Porsches. Among the more expensive brands, Croatians bought three Maseratis, one Ferraris and one Lotus, and even one Rolls-Royce.

However, the most popular models of the last year were somewhat cheaper, so Škoda Octavia was the best-selling car with 2,981 vehicles, followed by the popular Renault Clio (2,599) and the local favourite Volkswagen Golf, which sold 2,193 units to Croatians. The same producer is at the fourth place with Polo (2,162), and the top five list ends with Suzuki Vitara (1,720).

According to the fuel option, gasoline cars had a market share of 54.9 percent (32.940 vehicles), diesel accounted for 42.7 percent (25.618) of vehicles sold, and there were 834 hybrids sold, with a market share of 1.4 percent. Gas vehicles had the share in total sales of 0.8 percent (504), while electric cars came last, with 145 units sold and a market share of 0.2 percent.

Although the diesel engines are slowly losing their battle with gasoline, diesel cars are still more popular in the premium segment. For example, of all the Audis sold last year, 78.7 percent were with diesel engines, with the share rising to 87.2 percent for BMWs and 95.3 percent for Mercedes.

A third of new car sales – 35.9 percent or 21.566 units, was realized in the Zagreb area. The second place belongs to Požega-Slavonia County (4.634 vehicles and the share of 7.7%), followed by Split-Dalmatia County (4.596, 7,6%). The lowest number of cars, just 198 (0.3 percent share) was sold in Lika-Senj County.

More news on Croatia’s car industry can be found in the Business section.

Translated from tportal.hr.

ZAGREB, January 7, 2019 - At the end of September 2018, Croatia's public debt amounted to 281.8 billion kuna, down 0.9% on the year (-2.4 billion kuna), with the public debt-to-GDP ratio decreasing to 74.5%, its lowest level since 2012, when it was 69.4%.

According to Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) analysts, compared with the end of 2017, the public debt was 0.5% lower (-1.5 billion kuna), a result of a 6.6 billion kuna lower external debt. The internal debt went up by 5.1 billion kuna because of an increase in the central government's debt.

RBA analysts recall that on the last day of 2018, state guarantees for the Uljanik shipyard were enforced in the amount of 2.5 billion kuna, saying this will affect the balance of the general budget and public debt trends.

They say that amount refers only to the principal and that interest still has to be serviced, but trends in fiscal statistics will remain relatively favourable. This means a solid primary surplus and a further decrease of the public debt-to-GDP ratio for the fourth year running, they say, adding that the decrease will be helped by the continuation of economic growth and exchange rate trends.

RBA analysts predict the public debt-to-GDP ratio will stay below 75% at the end of 2018, nearly 10 percentage points below its highest level, recorded at the end of 2013, when it stood at 84%.

More news on the Croatian economy can be found in our Business section.