Croatia

Croatia: Strong State Capacity, Moderate Debt and Defense Burden

Croatia's GDP reached $92.98 billion in 2024, per World Bank WDI, with a population of 3,866,200 the same year and source. GDP per capita stood at $24,050.44 in 2024 (World Bank WDI).

Government debt is projected at 56.5 percent of GDP in 2026, per the IMF's World Economic Outlook — a moderate level. Foreign reserves were $4.22 billion in 2025, per IMF International Financial Statistics.

Defense spending came to $2.10 billion in 2025, per SIPRI's Military Expenditure Database, equivalent to 2.019 percent of GDP by SIPRI's own GDP series for that year; this ratio should not be recalculated against the World Bank's 2024 GDP figure cited above, as the two draw on separate series. The Correlates of War National Material Capabilities dataset recorded 17,000 active personnel in 2022 and a Composite Index of National Capability score of 0.00045, also 2022.

V-Dem's 2025 release puts Croatia's electoral democracy index at 0.686, liberal democracy index at 0.593, and state capacity score at 0.802 — the state capacity figure notably higher than either democracy index, pointing to administrative strength that outpaces the degree of political openness captured by V-Dem's measures.

Data gaps

Energy figures split by vintage. Primary energy consumption was 0.3713 exajoules in 2024 and electricity generation 14.7 terawatt-hours in 2025, both per Our World in Data's Energy dataset and reasonably current. Oil production, at 8.958 terawatt-hours, and gas production, at 12.796 terawatt-hours, are both dated to 2016 — nearly a decade old — and should be read only as the latest OWID entries available, not as current hydrocarbon output.

Reserves (2025, IMF IFS) and government debt (2026, IMF WEO) are drawn from different vintages than GDP and population (2024, World Bank WDI); each figure should be attributed to the year given rather than treated as part of a single-year economic snapshot. The personnel and CINC figures (2022, Correlates of War) likewise sit on their own timeline relative to the 2025 milex figures cited above.

Sources: World Bank WDI, IMF WEO, IMF International Financial Statistics, SIPRI Milex, Correlates of War National Material Capabilities, V-Dem v15, Our World in Data (Energy).