September 23 (SeeNews) - The Croatian government revised its forecast for the contraction of the country's economy in 2020 to some 8%, from 9.4% predicted prevoiusly, finance minister Zdravko Maric said on Wednesday.
The government will release details of its revised economic activity forecasts for 2020 and the next three years on Thursday, the government's press office quoted Maric as telling public broadcaster HRT.
Maric also said that economic growth in 2021 will be slower than previously anticipated, and is now seen at some 5%.
According to him, Croatia's gross domestic product (GDP) will recover and surpass its 2019 level in the middle of 2023.
The economy of the Adriatic country shrank by a real 15.1% on the year in the second quarter of 2020, hit by the coronavirus crisis, following an annual rise of 0.4% in January-March.
In July, the Croatian central bank said the country's economy could shrink by 9.7% this year due to the coronavirus pandemic that led to a drop in tourism revenues.
Also in July, the European Commission revised its forecast on Croatia's economic performance in 2020 to 10.8% contraction, deeper than the 9.1% decline predicted in May. For 2021, the Commission expects 7.5% expansion of the Croatian economy.