Croatia reached two major milestones in its European integration at the end of 2022: on January 1, 2023, the euro was introduced as the national currency and the country became a new member of the Schengen area, which is expected to have a positive impact on the economy, particularly on trade and tourism. The country’s next goal is OECD membership.

Furthermore, the tourism industry and investments driven by EU funding remain the country’s main growth drivers. Record-high exports and continued positive trends in private consumption are supporting growth.

Bilateral economic relations are good, although there is room for improvement in terms of quantity. Trade with Switzerland is modest and is developing less dynamically than with other countries in the region. The volume of bilateral trade in goods decreased by 2% in 2022 and amounted to CHF 648.0 million. According to preliminary data, Swiss FDI recorded a higher inflow of EUR 203 million in 2022. Despite this positive development, Switzerland is not one of the main investor countries. The economic recovery and massive EU subsidies should provide an incentive to expand bilateral economic relations in the future.

Switzerland’s exports include pharmaceutical products, machinery and chemical products. Croatian exports to Switzerland are mainly base metals and goods, machinery, wood and textiles.

Source: S-GE