ZAGREB, 26 March 2022 - The State Intellectual Property Office received 88 patent applications in 2021, which is  41 fewer than in 2020, while 58 patents were granted nationally, or nine fewer than in the previous year, according to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS).

Local applicants lodged 77 patent applications, down by 40, and 11 patent applications were submitted by foreigners, as against 10 in 2020.

Broken down by the fields covered by applications, 35.8% related to machine engineering, while 17.5% related to metrology and chemistry each.

One in four granted patents in Human Necessities

According to International Patent Classification (IPC), the highest share of granted patents was in Human Necessities (25.9%), and the lowest percent, 3.4% was in the Chemistry, Metallurgy category.

The category "Textiles, Paper" had no granted patent last year.

The number of valid patents in 2021, including European patents granted in Croatia, was 12,183 or 848 more than in 2020.

ZAGREB, 12 March 2022 - Nearly 13 million tourists stayed in commercial accommodation in Croatia in 2021 and generated 70 million bed nights, which are increases of 82.5% and 72.1% compared with 2020, while compared with record 2019 the number of tourist arrivals was down by 35% and that of bed nights by 23%, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The number of domestic tourists in commercial accommodation increased by 47% from 2020 to 2.1 million and the number of bed nights rose by 36% to 7.4 million. Compared with 2019, the number of tourists fell by 3.5% while the number of bed nights increased by 3.6%.

The number of foreign tourists grew by 92% from 2020 to 10.6 million and they generated nearly 63 million bed nights, up by 77.6%. Compared with 2019, the number of foreign tourists was down by 38.7% and that of bed nights by 25.3%.

Among the foreign visitors, Germans were the most numerous (2.7 million, +85%). They generated nearly 20 million bed nights (+70%), or nearly 32% of all foreign bed nights in commercial accommodation. They were followed by Poles, Slovenians, Austrians and Czechs, who all generated more bed nights than in 2020.

By region, Istria County recorded the largest number of tourists and bed nights - 3.4 million and 21.7 million respectively, which are increases of 94.2% and 90% compared with 2020. It was followed by Split-Dalmatia County (2.3 million tourists, 13.5 million bed nights) and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (2.2 million tourists, 12.4 million bed nights), which were increases for both counties.

By type of commercial accommodation, the largest number of nights were spent in holiday and short-stay accommodation (including private households) - 37 million, which is an increase of 50.1% compared with 2020.

Camping grounds followed with 17.5 million nights (+91.5%), while 15.7 million nights were spent in hotels, twice as many as in 2020.

ZAGREB, 12 March 2022 - Croatian airports served 170,000 passengers in January 2022, which is an increase of 246% compared with January 2021, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

However, the number of passengers recorded in January 2022 was only 66% of the number for pre-pandemic January 2020.

Zagreb Airport served the largest number of passengers (139,200, +272%), followed by the airports at Split (19,600, +164%) and Dubrovnik (9,200, +150%).

The airports at Pula, Osijek, Zadar, Rijeka, Brač and Lošinj recorded considerably fewer passengers, below 1,000 each, but the Pula, Osijek and Zadar airports reported large increases in passenger numbers, of 258%, 200% and as much as 742% respectively.

The airports at Rijeka, Brač and Lošinj, which are largely seasonal airports, recorded fewer passengers than in January 2021.

The largest number of passengers came from Germany (35,300, +242.3%), the Netherlands (13,300, +163.7%) and the Russian Federation (10,700, no comparison with January 2021 was given).

The airports had nearly 4,000 flight operations (+82%) and handled 679 tonnes of cargo (+22%).

Make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

ZAGREB, 9 March 2022 - The Croatia's industrial inventories at the end of January 2022 rose by 2.9% from the previous month and fell by 6.4% compared with January 2021, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) shows.

Broken down by main industrial groupings, inventories of capital goods increased the most month on month, by 12.4%. Stocks of of intermediate goods grew by 7.7%, and of non-durable consumer goods by 1.2%, while inventories of durable consumer goods by 0.7%.

On the other hand, inventories of energy dropped by 19.4% month on month.

Year-on-year, inventories of capital goods were cut by 40.6%, and of energy by 9.2%.

Inventories of durable consumer goods fell by 5.2% and of intermediate goods by 4.3%, the inventories of non-durable consumer goods dropped by 3.8%.

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ZAGREB, 3 March 2022 - The value of construction work done in Croatia in 2021 by companies with more than 20 employees increased by 13.8% from 2020, while the value of new orders was 21.1% higher, the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) said on Thursday.

The value of construction work was HRK 30.3 billion, of which 21.7 billion accounted for work done by own workers and 8.5 billion for work carried out by subcontractors. The value of new orders was HRK 25.9 billion.

By type of construction performed by own workers, 28.6% of work-related to non-residential buildings, 34.6% to transport infrastructures, such as roads and bridges, 17.8% to pipelines and 16.1% to residential buildings.

In the last quarter of 2021, the value of construction work totaled HRK 8 billion, increasing by 8.2% from the same period of 2020, while the value of new orders rose by 23.9% to HRK 6.6 billion.

For more, check out our business section.

ZAGREB, 25 Feb 2022 - Croatia's economy grew by 10.4% in 2021, according to first estimates given by the national statistical office (DZS) on Friday.

According to the DZS, Croatia's Gross Domestic Product increased 9.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the corresponding period in 2020.

In 2020, the corona crisis affected the national economy which contracted about 8% that year, while in 2021 it recovered at a rate of 10.4%.

The Croatian economy saw the expansion in the last three quarters in a row.

In 2021 Q4, the growth was on the back of the rise in all the components of the GDP, including household consumption, state spending, exports and investments.

ZAGREB, 20 Feb 2022 - There were 307,413 business entities registered in Croatia at the end of December 2021, and 54.7% of them, or 168,242, were active, according to data from the national statistical office (DZS).

The majority of the registered entities were trade companies (230,741), of which 133,928 of 58% were active.

There were 73,113 institutions, bodies and organisations, of which 34,844 were active, while the number of cooperatives stood at 3,539, including 800 active ones.

At the end of December 2021, there were also 88,205 crafts and freelancers in Croatia.

Broken down by activity, the majority of business entities were in wholesale and retail trade, and the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, accounting for 17.8% of registered and 16.1% of active entities.

Manufacturing accounted for 7.8% of registered and 9% of active entities, while 10.2% of registered and 12.7% of active entities were in professional, scientific and technical activities.16.3% of registered and 13.2% of active entities were in other service activities.

Most active entities privately owned

Most legal entities were privately owned, a total of 132,582 or 78.8%. The state owned 0.8% of the entities, 0.4% had mixed ownership, 0.5% were owned by cooperatives, and 19.5% of the entities had no information about ownership type available.

Most of the active legal entities, 88,220 or 52.4% had between one and nine employees, while 62,278 or 37% of the entities had no employees. Furthermore, 13,683 entities had between 10 and 49 employees, 3,470 between 50 and 249, 319 between 250 and 499, and 272 entities had 500 or more employees.

Limited liability companies accounted for the largest share of business entities, with 166,209 registered and 98,630 active entities. They are followed by simple limited liability companies, with 61,614 registered and 33,791 active ones.

The largest number of registered business entities were based in the City of Zagreb (32.3%).

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ZAGREB, 28 Jan 2022 - Last year, 63,611 people died in Croatia, which is 10,866 or 20.6% more than the average number of deaths in the 2015-2019 period, the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) said on Friday.

During the time of the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia, from March 2020 to December 2021, the death rate increased by 16.9% compared with the 2015-2019 average.

According to provisional data, 7,313 people died in Croatia in December 2021, which is an increase of 57.6% on the five-year average for the same month. The largest number of deaths in a single month (7,608) was recorded in December 2020, up by 63.9% compared with the five-year average for the same month.

A DZS chart showed that the number of deaths in several months of 2020 and 2021 was above the average for the 2015-2019 period.

During the five-year period, people mostly died in January (5,485 on average), March (4,797), December (4,641) and February (4,615). On the other hand, during the two pandemic years, the number of deaths started to rise considerably in October (4,826 in 2020 and 4,764 in 2021), culminated in December and then started to decline in February.

The DZS also released provisional data on marriages, showing that there were 19,946 marriages in 2021, down by 0.6% from the average for the 2015-2019 period.

During the pandemic, the number of marriages between March 2020 and December 2021 fell by 12.9% compared with the five-year average for the same period.  

The sharpest deviation from the average was recorded during the first lockdown in spring 2020, when wedding parties were subject to strict epidemiological restrictions. The five-year average for April was 1,695 marriages, compared to a mere 288 in April 2020.

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ZAGREB, 21 Nov, 2021 - The average net wage earned in Croatia in September amounted to HRK 7,108 (€948), and over the period of one year, the average take-home pay has risen by 361 kuna (€48), however, the latest monthly average pay decreased by 10 kuna (€1.3) on the month, the Večernji List daily reported on Sunday.

According to DZS data, the median net pay in September was HRK 6,017, which means that half of the people employed earned wages below that amount and half earned wages above that amount.

Also, an estimated 136,000 workers, that is 10% of all employees in the legal entities, earned less than 3,854 kuna (€514), reported the daily newspaper.

Rise in wages in the IT and hospitality sectors

Broken down by the sectors, the biggest rise (+9%) in the average monthly salaries over the last year was seen in the IT sector and the tourism and hospitality industry.

In the public sector, salaries in the healthcare sector increased 6.5%. The daily reports that the average monthly wage in Croatian hospitals is HRK 9,600 (€1,280).

In the social welfare sector, the average monthly wage is HRK 6,100, and in primary schools, HRK 7,800, while the average monthly wage for employees in secondary schools is HRK 7,900, and the average salary paid by universities is HRK 11,000.

The average net salary in the state administration is below HRK 8,200.

The average wage in the manufacturing sector has risen by about hundred kuna to HRK 6,572.

Low tax ethics

A survey conducted by researchers Josip Franić and Stanislaw Cichocki show that every one in four employees in Croatia (27%) actually receive  higher amounts of monthly wage than the salary reported to the relevant institutions.

The survey conducted in September 2019 shows that every one in seven employees in the European Union has nothing against the cheating in the reporting a lower tax base so that they can get actually a higher monthly pay off-the-books.

"One in seven fully declared EU workers would have nothing against receiving one part of their wages off-the-books," according to the research.

For instance, in Croatia 17.6% of the respondents said they had nothing against receiving one part of their wages off-the-books, and in the Netherlands, this percentage stood at 25%, whereas Portugal had the lowest number of workers who are willing to opt for wage under-reporting.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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ZAGREB, 21 Oct 2021 - Croatia ran a consolidated general government deficit of HRK 27.85 billion in 2020, which was 7.4% of GDP, while the public debt to GDP ratio increased to 87.3%, the National Bureau of Statistics (DZS) reported on Thursday. 

By comparison, the general government budget ran a surplus of HRK 1.2 billion or 0.3% of GDP in 2019, of HRK 864 million or 0.2% of GDP in 2018, and of HRK 2.8 billion or 0.8% of GDP in 2017.

Last year's deficit was mainly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic activity and because of state aid to the economy.

The consolidated general government debt reached HRK 330.23 billion in 2020, or 87.3% of GDP, ending the multi-year trend of decline.

By comparison, the consolidated public debt was HRK 293.2 billion or 71.1% of GDP in 2019, HRK 286.6 billion or 73.3% of GDP in 2018, and HRK 285.4 billion or 76.7% of GDP in 2017. 

Deficit growth is driven by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic

The 2020 deficit was largely influenced by the budget balance deficit, which amounted to HRK 21.98 billion or 5.8% of GDP, increasing by HRK 22 billion from the previous year.

The DZS said that the high deficit was the result of a decline in economic activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a considerable impact on the fall in tax revenues and social contributions. On the other hand, the government took long-term measures on the expenditure side of the budget to protect jobs and finance the costs of healthcare.

In 2020, taxes on production and imports totaled HRK 70.7 billion, down by 13% compared with 2019, while current taxes on income and wealth amounted to HRK 24.7 billion, a decrease of 7.4% compared with the previous year. Revenues from net social contributions fell by 4.8% to HRK 45.07 billion.

The 2020 deficit was also generated by the poor financial result of extrabudgetary beneficiaries and public companies as well as by the increase in subsidies and welfare and employment allowances.

Last year, interest expenses totaled HRK 7.4 billion, down by 17.5% compared with 2019, when they amounted to HRK 8.97 billion.

On the other hand, investment increased by 19.3% to HRK 21.3 billion. However, capital transfer expenses reached HRK 942 million, which contributed to the deficit growth.

The primary general government deficit, which shows the difference between revenues and expenditures without interest expenses, was HRK 20.45 billion or 5.4% of GDP, compared with the primary general government surplus of HRK 10.17 billion in 2019.

The government debt to GDP ratio up by 16.2 pp

In 2020, the general government debt increased by HRK 37 billion or 12.6% from 2019, of which HRK 33 billion was generated by net borrowing and the rest by the depreciation of the kuna-euro exchange rate.

The trend of the decreasing Maastricht debt to GDP ratio, which began in 2013, was suddenly reversed by the COVID-19 crisis. In 2020, the general government debt to GDP ratio rose by 16.2 percentage points from 2019 to 87.3%, as a result of the government's increased need for borrowing and the GDP decline caused by the drop in economic activity.

The DZS submits a report on the budget deficit and general government debt to the European Commission twice a year, in April and October. Based on such reports, the Commission decides whether EU member states meet the Maastricht criteria, namely that their general government deficit to GDP ratio is below 3% and that general government consolidated debt is below 60% of GDP.

The Croatian parliament amended the 2021 budget in June, projecting growth of 5.2%, a consolidated general government deficit of 3.8% of GDP (HRK 15.3 billion), and a public debt to GDP ratio of 86.6%.

(€1 = HRK 7.504808)

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