IMF raises Croatia's 2024 GDP growth f'cast

In 2025, Croatia’s economy will expand by 2.7%, the global lender said in the April edition of its World Economic Outlook report.

The Adriatic country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an estimated 2.8% last year.

Inflation is expected to slow down to 3.7% this year and 2.2% next year, following a surge of 8.4% in 2023, the IMF said.

The country's current account surplus is expected to reach 1.5% of GDP this year before decreasing to 0.9% of GDP in 2025. It equalled 1.2% of GDP in 2023.

IMF expects Croatia’s unemployment rate, which stood at 6.2% last year, would fall to 5.8% in 2024 and 5.5% in 2025.

The euro area, which Croatia joined last year, is expected to achieve economic growth of 0.8% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025, following a 0.4% expansion in 2023, the IMF said. It previously projected 1.2% economic growth in the euro area in 2024.