In 2022, the Croatian established Blue Economy sectors employ about 151 000 people and generate around €4.1 billion in GVA. The Blue Economy has an extremely positive impact on the Croatian workforce, employing 9.4% of the national workforce. This share has increased on a year-to-year basis (8.6% in 2021) and has almost reached pre-Covid levels (9.8% in 2019). Croatia has recorded an increase in contribution of Blue Economy sectors to the overall GVA, moving from 6.7% in 2021 to 7.4% in 2022 (in 2019 the contribution to the national GVA was 8.0%).
The Croatian Blue Economy is dominated by Coastal tourism, which contributes to 75% of Blue Economy jobs and 75% to GVA in 2022. The tourism sector has almost entirely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic (in 2019, the sector contribution to blue economy workforce was 77%, to the GVA was 79%). The employment within the sector is stable compared to 2021 in terms of contribution (75%) but nominally it has increased by roughly 7 000 units). The GVA contribution has decreased from 2021 (76%), although it has largely increased nominally (from €2.4 billion in 2021 to €3.1 billion in 2022).
The sector that employs the second biggest shares of blue workers is Marine living resources (11%), which has remained stable (11% also in 2021). In terms of GVA, Maritime transport contributes to 10% of the entire Blue Economy, slightly increasing the performance (9% in 2021).
In 2022, Croatia is respectively the 7th-largest and 8th-largest contributor in terms of employment and GVA for Coastal tourism in EU. Croatia is an important contributor to the employment within Marine non-living resources (ranked 9th in EU).
Together with Italy, Croatia was part of the Interreg ADRIREEF, which had the objective to strengthen the blue economy through the innovative exploitation od Adriatic Reefs. A further project, InnovaMARE was carried out between 2020 and 2023 with the objective to enhance collaboration on technology transfer.
In the timeframe 2021-2027, Croatia will receive €243.6 M from EMFAF to support sustainable fisheries (46.4%), sustainable aquaculture, processing and marketing (39.6%), sustainable blue economy (13.6%), and to strengthen international ocean governance (0.4%).
There are many educational opportunities in the realm of blue sectors, such as the BSc in Marine Engineering or the BSc in Maritime Industry and Transport offered by the University of Rijeka, and the MSc in Logistic and Management in Maritime Industry and Transport from the same university.
This interactive dashboard presents the evolution of the blue economy for Croatia. It is designed to provide insights into key economic indicators over time.
At the top of the dashboard, there is a drop-down menu that allows users to select one of the following data categories:
- Employment: Number of jobs and workforce trends in the blue economy sectors.
- Gross Value Added (GVA): The contribution of the blue economy to the national economy.
- Turnover and Gross Profit: Revenue and profitability metrics of blue economy industries.
- Investment: Capital investment levels in blue economy sectors.
Once a category is selected, the main panel updates to display relevant visualisations, such as line charts or bar graphs, showing trends over time. These visualisations are accompanied by labels, legends, and tooltips to ensure clarity and accessibility.
The dashboard is navigable via keyboard and compatible with screen readers. All interactive elements are clearly labeled, and data visualisations include alternative text descriptions summarising key insights.