August the 19th, 2024 – Croatian prices for goods and services during the month of July 2024 were 2.2% higher when compared to July last year.
We all know that owing to inflationary pressures and the introduction of the euro as Croatia’s official currency, prices for a multitude of items (if not all of them) have increased visibly and very strongly. Croatia’s Eurozone accession back at the very beginning of January 2023 was hailed as a politically strategic success, especially given that Schengen accession occurred on the same date – making Croatia the first country in history to join both entities at the same exact time.
If you were to ask the general public, however, who have been directly affected by Croatian prices on a constant upward trajectory, the response would be far from a positive one overall.
As Morski writes, when measured by the consumer price index, the Croatian prices of goods and services intended for personal consumption in July 2024 compared to July 2023 (on an annual basis) were on average higher by 2.2 %.
When observed according to the main groups of the ECOICOP classification, at the annual level, the largest increase in consumer prices was achieved on average in the following groups:
Restaurants and hotels, by 9.5% (a contribution to the increase of +0.48 percentage points), Education, by 5.5% ( +0.04 percentage points), Healthcare, by 4.9% (+0.15 percentage points), Miscellaneous goods and services, by 4.0% (+0.25 percentage points), Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and Recreation and culture, with each group accounting for 3.4%.
Then come the current Croatian prices in July 2024 for transport, by 3.0% (+0 .42 percentage points), Communications, by 2.9% (+0.15 percentage points), Food and non-alcoholic beverages, by 1.7% (+0.45 percentage points) and Clothing and footwear, by 0.9% (+0.06 percentage points).
