National economy of Croatia - industries, GDP and prosperity level

Croatia in Yugoslavia was a fairly developed territorial unit. All Enterprises and Factories that functioned on its territory had the right to choose their own business policy; they worked with investments and investors, and independently built competitive relations. Therefore, after the war, Croatia was able to restore the downswing of economy as fast as possible in 1993. Since early 1993, the country was admitted to the International Monetary Fund. Due to the fact that Croatia as a whole was involved in the war with Bosnia, this in many respects complicated the economic relations of the Republic with the World Bank, such that the Government could not count on its assistance. The fact that the Country began to privatize its production helped a little to speed up the process of improving the economy, thereby financing her budget through taxation.

It is worth noting that there are very few oil and gas deposits in the Republic, causing it to become completely dependent on importation. The Country has eleven water power plants, and eight thermal power plants. The Republic of Croatia had high hopes for joining NATO. For this purpose, more than 10 years was spent on carefully reforming the country’s Armed Forces to enable her comply with all the norms of NATO. The entry into the North Atlantic Alliance was to become a huge help for the rapid development of the Economy. New investors from developed Countries were to come to the Country. After joining NATO in 2009, the economy really started to develop rapidly in Croatia, causing the quantity of the exported goods to increase significantly. To date, direct Foreign Investment of the Republic is about 19 billion Euros.

In Croatia, the main profitable branch of the economy is the Service Sector. Its contribution to the annual GDP of the Republic is at least 70%. This is much higher than in fellow European countries such as Poland, Romania and Latvia. The Purchasing Power is about 18 thousand dollars. The Country’s GDP per capita is $ 21,645. This has improved the country’s ranking to the 50th position in the world rating. GDP at the official exchange rate is in the range of $ 63 billion. The growth rate indicator is increasing every year. In 2010, the biggest jump in GDP was registered by almost 6%. However, due to the global economic crisis in recent years, these indicators have slightly decreased. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The working capacity of Croatia is about 1,300 million people. About 70% of this number is employed in the Service Sector. The next place is occupied by industry, and only 5% of the labor force is in Agriculture. The unemployment rate for 2012 is at 14%. The national debt of the Country in the same period is 61%. There is a gradual decrease in the level of inflation. In 2009, the indicators were at 6.3%, and the following year it reduced to 2.4%. To date, more than 65% of agricultural land is cultivated in the country. The rest of the territory is given to pastures. Among the most famous Croatian products are the “Slavonian salami”, “Dalmatian smoked ham”, smoked ham which is produced on the peninsula of Istria and Cheese from the Island of Pag under the brand “paški sir”. The greater importance in agriculture is the breeding of Fish and Shellfish. To date, there are 19 Seafood Processing Factories in the Country. At the same time, the production of food, beverages and tobacco products accounts for about 22% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Privatization, increasing the number of export products, establishing new trade relations, automating the process and setting new standards is the key to the annual development of the industrial sector in Croatia. It is the Industrial Products that make up about 95% of the total number of Exported Goods. The main directions in the Republic as in the past are Mechanical Engineering and High-Quality Shipbuilding, Chemical, Textile and Woodworking Industries. Also widely used were the Electrical, Pharmaceutical and Oil refining Industry. It should be noted that in Croatia, large-scale work is underway to extract Bauxite, Brown Coal and Copper. The most famous Companies with a world-wide brand name were “Ericsson Nikola Tesla” and “Koncar”, the Pharmaceutical Enterprise “Pliva”, Furniture Factories “Tvin” and “Podravka”, and “Kras”, which belong to the food industry.

Croatia is characterized by its developed and high-quality transport system. Her road coverage is recognized as one of the best in Europe. Railway networks are also actively developing. Currently, the priority direction in the Country is the expansion of transportation links to improve Regional and International ties. The Croatian Kuna is considered the official currency in Croatia. Since 1995, it shows a fairly stable exchange rate against the Dollar. The regulations for 2011 in the country recorded 45 commercial banks of which 8 are foreign. However, analysts say that the banking sector in Croatia is too oversaturated by Credit Institutions.