| Economy - overview: Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the
Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and
industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the
Yugoslav average. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming
from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy;
damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines,
buildings, and houses; the large refugee and displaced population, both
Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties. Stepped-up
Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries,
would help bolster the economy. The economy emerged from its mild
recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor. Massive unemployment
remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the
economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition
politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions, to
measures that would cut jobs, wages, or social benefits.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $24.9 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0% (1999 est.), 3.2% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 10%
industry: 19%
services: 71% (1999 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (1999), 6% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 1.68 million (October 2000)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1999 est.), 22% (October 2000)
Budget:
revenues: $6 billion
expenditures: $4.7 billion (1999 est.)
Industries: chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal,
electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products,
construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and
beverages; tourism.
Industrial production growth rate: 1.7% (2000)
Electricity - production: 10.96 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 40.89%
hydro: 59%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.11% (1999)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa,
clover, olives, citrus, grapes, vegetables; livestock, dairy products
Exports: $4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities: transport equipment, textiles, chemicals,
foodstuffs, fuels
Exports - partners: Italy 18%, Germany 15.7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina
12.8%, Slovenia 10.6%, Austria 6.2% (1999)
Imports: $8.4 billion (c.i.f., 1998), $7.8 billion (c.i.f., 1999)
Imports - commodities: machinery, transport and electrical
equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: Germany
18.5%,
Italy 15.9%,
Russia 8.6%, Slovenia 7.9%,
Austria 7.1%
(1999)
Debt - external: $9.9 billion (December 1999)
Currency: kuna (HRK)
SOURCE: The World Factbook |