Croatia’s gross domestic product grew 3.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, unrevised from a preliminary estimate and following a 2.3 percent expansion in the previous period, final figures showed. It was the strongest growth rate since the last quarter of 2016, driven by private consumption (4.3 percent vs 3.9 percent in Q4) and government spending (3.1 percent vs 2.3 percent). Also, gross fixed capital formation jumped (11.5 percent vs 6.1 percent). The contribution of net foreign demand was negative, as exports went up 4.6 percent (vs 1.3 percent in Q4) while imports rose at a faster 7.7 percent (vs 6.6 percent in Q4). On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the GDP expanded 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2019, after an upwardly revised 0.2 percent growth in the prior period. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Croatia averaged 1.91 percent from 1998 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 6.60 percent in the second quarter of 2003 and a record low of -8.60 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
GDP Annual Growth Rate in Croatia is expected to be 4.50 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate GDP Annual Growth Rate in Croatia to stand at 2.70 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Croatia GDP Annual Growth Rate is projected to trend around 2.40 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.