Croatia: GDP growth slows in Q4
March 4, 2016
GDP expanded 1.9% in Q4 over the same quarter of last year, according to preliminary figures released by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics on 4 March. The reading was down from the 2.8% growth tallied in Q3, yet it represented the fifth consecutive expansion in annual terms.
The slowdown in Q4 reflected a deterioration in the contribution from the external sector, while the domestic sector improved compared to the previous quarter. Private consumption increased 2.4% over the same quarter of the previous year (Q3: +1.4% year-on-year) and government spending grew 0.8% (Q3: +0.6% yoy). Fixed investment rose 3.7%, which was above Q3’s 2.2% annual increase.
On the external side of the economy, exports of goods and services grew 11.6% in Q4, which was above the 8.0% growth recorded in Q3, while imports grew 13.6% (Q3: +8.1% yoy). As imports grew at a faster pace than exports, the external sector’s net contribution to overall economic growth swung from plus 1.6 percentage points in Q3 to minus 1.0 percentage points in Q4.
