Croatia: GDP growth slows, but remains healthy, in the first quarter
GDP growth slowed to 7.0% year on year in the first quarter, from 9.7% in the fourth quarter of last year. Q1’s reading marked the worst result since Q1 2021.
Private consumption growth fell to 6.3% in Q1, marking the weakest expansion since Q1 2021 (Q4 2021: +7.7% yoy). Government consumption growth moderated to 5.9% in Q1 (Q4 2021: +14.4% yoy). Meanwhile, fixed investment growth improved to 7.9% in Q1, from the 0.8% increase recorded in the prior quarter.
On the external front, exports of goods and services increased 29.4% on an annual basis in the first quarter, which was below the fourth quarter’s 31.7% expansion. Conversely, imports of goods and services growth picked up to 25.0% in Q1 (Q4 2021: +16.4% yoy), marking the best reading since Q2 2021.