February the 27th, 2026 – Alongside the rather varied company of Bulgaria and Slovenia, Croatia is among the top countries for German investment according to KMPG.
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sinisa Malus writes, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia remain among the top ten investment destinations for German companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for 2026. This remains the case despite a general decline in the share of German companies planning to invest in these markets compared to 2025, a KPMG study has revealed.
15 percent of the German companies which were surveyed plan to invest in Croatia at some point this year, which is less than last year. However, the announced German investments in Hungary, Romania and Serbia will experience an even greater decline, probably in part due to political instability and growing corruption in these countries.
As many as 63 percent of companies expect the region to contribute even more to their global turnover in the next five years as Central and Eastern Europe continues to develop structurally. The region is moving away from its role as a pure production location and is establishing itself as an integrated area of production, procurement and sales. This development is being driven by a population of around 155 million people, growing purchasing power, an average expected economic growth of almost three percent in 2026 and continued integration into the single European market and the Eurozone. Poland in particular is further expanding its importance as an economic anchor in Central and Eastern Europe.
At the same time, competition is increasing: 16 percent of the companies surveyed face growing competition from Chinese companies, which are increasingly investing and exporting to Central and Eastern Europe due to US tariffs. German companies assess their current situation in Central and Eastern Europe as predominantly positive: 47 percent say they see the situation as “good” or “very good”, and a further 39 percent as “stable”. Three-quarters expect business to improve over the next five years, while only five percent expect it to deteriorate. 61 percent of those surveyed want to create additional jobs, and only three percent expect the number of employees to fall – a clear signal in favour of expansion plans despite the existing risks.
The regional comparison reveals several key factors that influence location – both positively and negatively. Just over half of the companies (53 percent) see the sales market as the biggest advantage, an increase of 13 percentage points compared to the previous year’s survey, while around 38 percent of companies cite low labor costs as the main advantage, five percentage points more than the previous year.
More worryingly, 60 percent of companies still see political and security risks as the region’s biggest disadvantage (compared to 67 percent in the previous year). In addition, 47 percent of companies see corruption as a challenge – a significant increase of nine points.
In addition, the war in Ukraine has no impact on decisions in Central and Eastern Europe for 45 percent of respondents; US tariff policy also has no impact on regional business for 53 percent. One in four companies surveyed (26 percent) is considering relocating production activities from Germany to the region (25 percent in 2025), but only four percent have concrete plans for the next 12 months. In contrast, 70 percent rule out relocating production in the short term.
More than 40 percent of respondents plan to invest in Central and Eastern Europe in the next 12 months (42 percent in 2025). This figure increases to 55 percent in the next five years.
Poland is also the most attractive investment location in 2026: more than half (56 percent) of respondents who want to invest up to five million euros or more in the short to medium term see the country in first place.
In addition to Poland (+11 percentage points), the Czech Republic (+12 percentage points) and Ukraine (+8 percentage points) are the biggest risers as investment locations compared to the previous year’s survey. On the other hand, Serbia (-18 percentage points), Hungary (-16 points) and Romania (-10 points) are significantly fading in terms of investment intentions.
