Xifres de comerç exterior de Croàcia

Foreign Trade in Figures

Croatia joined the WTO in 2000 and depends heavily on foreign trade, which amounts to 108% of the GDP (World Bank, latest data available). The country mainly exports machinery and transport equipment (8.7% of total exports in 2023), fabricated metal products (6.2%), chemicals and chemical products (5.5%), and basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (5%); whereas imports are led by machinery and transport equipment (26.8%), food products (9.7%), motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (7.8%), chemicals and chemical products (7.2%), and basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations (4.6% - data DZS).

In 2023, the main export partners were Italy (12.2%), Germany (12.2%), Slovenia (11.2%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (10.1%), and Hungary (6.9%). In the same period, the leading import origins were Italy (14.5%), Germany (14.2%), Slovenia (11.5%), Hungary (6.4%), and Austria (5.5% - data Comtrade). Overall, the EU accounted for 68% of total exports and 77% of imports (-6% and +3% y-o-y, respectively – DZS).

In terms of merchandise, Croatia has a structural trade deficit: according to figures by the WTO, in 2023, exports of goods totalled USD 24.9 billion (-2.2% y-o-y) while imports decreased by 3.2%, to USD 43.1 billion. However, the country is a net exporter of services thanks to its buoyant tourism industry, with exports – at USD 24.3 billion – far above imports (USD 7.2 billion). According to figures from the World Bank, the overall trade deficit stood at an estimated 1.8% of GDP in 2023, down from 6.2% one year earlier.  Preliminary figures from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics show that, in 2024, the country’s trade deficit widened to EUR 17.8 billion (USD 18.5 billion). Exports grew by 4.6% year-on-year to EUR 23.9 billion (USD 25.4 billion), while imports rose by 5.4% to EUR 41.8 billion (USD 44.4 billion).