Croatia: GDP growth speeds up slightly in Q3
November 30, 2016
GDP in Croatia expanded 2.9% in Q3 over the same quarter last year, according to preliminary figures released by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics on 30 November. The reading was slightly up from the 2.8% growth in Q2 and represented the highest reading in more than eight years.
The acceleration in Q3 came on the back of faster growth in private consumption and a positive contribution from the external sector. Private consumption increased 3.4% from the same quarter last year, marking the best result since Q1 2008 and accelerating from Q2’s 3.1% growth. Government consumption grew 2.1% annually, which represented a slight slowdown compared to Q2’s 2.5% growth. Fixed investment lost strength, growing by 2.9% and thereby decelerating from Q2’s 6.5% annual increase. The reading represented the worst result in one year.
On the external side of the economy, exports of goods and services grew 6.3% in Q3, which was an acceleration from the 4.0% expansion recorded in Q2, while imports rose 6.0% (Q2: +7.3% year-on-year). As exports grew more than imports, the external sector’s net contribution to overall economic growth improved in Q3, swinging from minus 1.7 percentage points in Q2 to plus 1.4 percentage points in Q3, marking the best result in one year.
