According to the latest estimate by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, inflation in 2025 was 3.7 percent, while on a monthly basis, i.e. compared to November last year, it was 0.4 percent lower.
Although the decrease in inflation is positive, the inflation rate should not exceed 2 percent on an annual basis, which puts Croatia at the top of the eurozone in terms of inflation rate.
The daily consequences of inflation are shown by information that Zagreb residents with average incomes who rent an apartment or repay a loan spend almost 70% of their income on housing costs. A single person in Croatia needs an average of 708 euros to cover living expenses without renting an apartment, and a family of four spends an average of 2,475 euros.
Research and data analysis show that despite inflation, low wages and high costs, Croatians are buying more than in previous years, and in 2025, an increase in the number of invoices and invoice amounts was recorded, and December holiday spending reached a record 2.55 billion euros.
Shopping is increasingly moving online. The Asian mobile application Temu with items at low and affordable prices became the most downloaded free application in Croatia in 2024, which was the first signal of a future increase in physical orders.
This is also confirmed by data collected by HAKOM from providers in the postal services market. A significant contribution to growth was again made by the parcel services segment, which in 2025 amounted to 2.7 million, or 18.8 percent more than in 2024.
In the last three months of 2025, 75 percent of Croatian citizens shopped on specialized websites, which is 4 percent more than in 2024, according to research by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.
In the mentioned period, the customer made an average purchase on 2.25 internet sites. The most active group of online buyers are young people between the ages of 16 and 29, among whom as many as 94 percent shopped in web stores in the last three months, which is 5% more than in 2024. Women shop online more often, 79 percent compared to men 72 percent, and compared to 2024, the number of women shopping online increased by 7 percent.
Financial literacy
Financial literacy is a process in which financial investors/sellers improve their understanding of financial products and concepts and, through the information and/or instructions provided, develop the necessary skills and confidence to become more aware of financial opportunities and risks, be able to make informed decisions and know how to adequately seek help” (Source: OECD/INFE).
Although there has been an increase in the overall level of financial literacy in Croatia, young people aged 18 to 29 still show the greatest lack of financial knowledge.
Financial literacy can be divided into three categories: financial knowledge, financial behavior and attitude towards spending money.
On Wednesday, September 24, 2025, the CroCIP — Croatian Central Info Point for Debt Advice Services and Financial Literacy project was presented at the House of Europe in Zagreb, which aims to raise the level of financial literacy of citizens. Ana Zorić, Director of the Directorate for the Economy and Financial System of the Ministry of Finance, emphasized that the need for continuous investment in financial education has never been greater and that financial literacy is becoming a part of everyday life and a culture of responsible money management.
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