Croatian coat of arms
(red and white checkered)

@Croatia:Economy

Overview: Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the republic of
Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized
area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav
average. At present, Croatian Serb Separatists control approximately
one-third of the Croatian territory, and one of the overriding
determinants of Croatia's long-term political and economic prospects
will be the resolution of this territorial dispute. Croatia faces
serious economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime
Communist mismanagement of the economy; large foreign debt; damage
during the fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and
houses; the large refugee population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and
the disruption of economic ties to Serbia and the other former
Yugoslav republics, as well as within its own territory. At the
minimum, extensive Western aid and investment, especially in the
tourist and oil industries, would seem necessary to revive the
moribund economy. However, peace and political stability must come
first; only then will recent government moves toward a
"market-friendly" economy restore old levels of output. As of February
1995, fighting continues among Croats, Serbs, and Muslims, and
national boundaries and final political arrangements are still in
doubt.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.4 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 3.4% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $2,640 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1994 est.)

Unemployment rate: 17% (December 1994)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports: $3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment 30%, other
manufacturers 37%, chemicals 11%, food and live animals 9%, raw
materials 6.5%, fuels and lubricants 5% (1990)
partners: EC countries, Slovenia

Imports: $4.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment 21%, fuels and
lubricants 19%, food and live animals 16%, chemicals 14%, manufactured
goods 13%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 9%, raw materials 6.5%,
beverages and tobacco 1% (1990)
partners: EC countries, Slovenia, FSU countries

External debt: $2.9 billion (September 1994)

Industrial production: growth rate -4% (1994 est.)