Croatia

This profile provides a concise and policy-focused overview of the state of health and the healthcare system in Croatia, as a part of the broader series of Country Health Profiles from the State of Health in the EU initiative. It presents a succinct analysis encompassing the following key aspects: the current health status in Croatia; the determinants of health, focusing on behavioural risk factors; the organisation of the Croatian healthcare system; and an evaluation of the health system's effectiveness, accessibility, and resilience. Moreover, the 2023 edition presents a thematic section on the state of mental health and associated services in Croatia. This profile is the collaborative effort of the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, carried out in cooperation with the European Commission.

The FDI Qualities Review of Croatia provides policy recommendations on the design and implementation of a new strategic framework for investment promotion and facilitation in Croatia. It provides an assessment of how foreign direct investment (FDI) contributes to sustainable development, including productivity and innovation, job quality and skills development, decarbonisation and regional development. It also examines the institutional and policy framework for investment promotion and facilitation at national and subnational levels. It gives an overview of Croatia’s investment incentives regime, focusing on the effective design and implementation of tax incentives. The report indicates potential areas for institutional and policy reform to improve Croatia’s investment climate and strengthen the economic, social and environmental benefits of FDI.

Croatia has navigated well the COVID-19 crisis and the price shocks following Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine. It has achieved robust output growth, rising employment and improving well-being, although inflation has surged. Integration into the euro- and Schengen areas at the start of 2023 are testament to progress, and are providing a further fillip to the economy. Ensuring that fiscal policy is counter-cyclical and that lending supports productive investments can help contain inflationary pressures and sustain growth. Croatia’s ongoing and ambitious reforms and investments must continue for incomes to converge with OECD levels while also preparing for climate change. Reducing regulatory burdens, more responsive judicial processes, addressing corruption risks and improving the performance of state-owned enterprises can foster a more dynamic business environment with stronger growth by higher productivity firms. A big push to strengthen adults’ skills would ensure that employers can fill high-skilled positions and support rising incomes. Better engaging younger adults in work, encouraging older adults to work until the full retirement age, and attracting needed skills through immigration would reduce poverty risks, raise productivity and help Croatia adapt to an ageing population. SPECIAL FEATURES: IMPROVING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT; A BETTER PERFORMING LABOUR MARKET

The demand for help with daily activities – so-called long-term care – is set to increase in Croatia. The population is ageing at a faster rate than the EU average, and by 2050, about one-third of the population is projected to be aged 65 years and over. In addition, with one of the highest poverty rates among older people in EU countries, at 30%, most older people cannot afford long-term care without public support. However, the long-term care system is both fragmented, with multiple benefits and services across different providers, and underfunded with public expenditure among the lowest across EU countries. As a result, long-term care remains unaffordable for most people even after receiving public support, leading to gaps in access, inequities, and a strong reliance on relatives to provide the bulk of long-term care. This report suggests avenues to improve access and equity of long-term care and proposes policy recommendations to enhance the support for family carers.

This paper investigates the demand for language skills using data on online job vacancies in 27 European Union member countries and the United Kingdom in 2021. Evidence indicates that although Europe remains a linguistically diverse labour market, knowing English confers unique advantages in certain occupations. Across countries included in the analyses, a knowledge of English was explicitly required in 22% of all vacancies and English was the sixth most required skill overall. A knowledge of German, Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese was explicitly demanded in between 1% and 2% of all vacancies. One in two positions advertised on line for managers or professionals required some knowledge of English, on average across European Union member countries and across OECD countries in the sample. This compares with only one in ten positions for skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers and among elementary occupations.

The Croatian government views digitalisation as a way to improve access to higher education and increase its attractiveness. To this end, it is investing in modernising digital infrastructure and building capacity to effectively integrate digital technologies into the higher education sector. This report provides an account of the activities and findings of a project on assessing and improving digital maturity in Croatian higher education institutions, which was carried out by the OECD and funded by the European Union. The objective of the project was to provide support and advice to Croatian authorities as they develop their policy approach to higher education digitalisation. This report details the activities and outcomes of the project. It reviews international best practices related to enhancing the quality of digital higher education. It also provides technical guidance to public authorities on prioritising investments in various forms of digital infrastructure. Finally, it offers guidance to Croatian higher education institutions to support their strategic development process and their investment strategies with regard to digitalisation.