The 2026 Business Environment Survey in Croatia, conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), offers insights into business performance, challenges, and expectations in Croatia. The survey included responses from 180 executives of domestic and international companies.

Key findings:

• Business performance in 2025 - For 58% of respondents, business performance in 2025 was better than in the previous year. Since 2021, there has been a gradual increase in the share of those whose results have remained at the same level, indicating a slowdown in growth.
• Slightly less than 40% of companies hired additional employees last year, while 49% maintained the same number of employees.
• Business environment - Overall experience of doing business in Croatia is rated as good or very good by 64% of respondents, representing a slight increase compared to 61% in last year’s survey.
• Compared to the previous year, the share of companies that believe business conditions in Croatia have improved over the past five years decreased by 9%. At the same time, the share of those who believe conditions have worsened during that period increased by 6%.
• The perceived deterioration relates to labor costs, as well as the availability and quality of the workforce.
• The main limiting factor for business operations in 2025 is highlighted as the shortage of qualified labor.
• Impact of institutions on the business environment - The percentage of respondents who assess the impact of state administration on the business environment as positive decreased to 35%, compared to 44% last year.
• Ratings of the judiciary’s impact on business over the past five years are similar to last year’s results.
• Comparison with the region - 38% of respondents consider business conditions in Croatia to be among the more favorable compared to other Central and Eastern European countries (an increase from 32%). Identified disadvantages compared to the region include a small market size, labor costs, and slow administration.
• Business expectations - 72% of respondents plan to expand their business operations in the upcoming period, and 64% plan additional hiring.
• Use of artificial intelligence in business and workforce readiness - A large majority of surveyed AmCham member companies (78%) already use artificial intelligence (AI) in their operations. Half of them use it in day-to-day business activities, while the other half use it occasionally for specific projects.
• A significant majority of companies (85%) do not expect AI implementation to affect the number of employees. Around 10% estimate that the number of employees will decrease due to the introduction of AI, while 5% believe that AI adoption could lead to an increase in staff numbers.
• 32% of surveyed companies expect the need for additional workforce training due to AI implementation. On the other hand, 31% of respondents believe that job roles will significantly change under its influence.