{"id":2206,"date":"2026-08-25T09:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T07:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/omniasolutions.hr\/sme-productivity-value-added-per-employee-croatia-eu\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T22:30:38","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T21:30:38","slug":"sme-productivity-value-added-per-employee-croatia-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omniasolutions.hr\/en\/sme-productivity-value-added-per-employee-croatia-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"Productivity of Croatian SMEs: 61% of the EU average per person employed and what equipment financing really changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Updated on 30 October 2026. Eurostat\u2019s structural business statistics database, updated on 30 September 2026, contains data for 2024, according to which value added per person employed in Croatia\u2019s business economy was EUR 38,420, or 57.9% of the EU average (EUR 66,400). EU data for medium-sized and large enterprises in 2024 are confidential, so the comparison by size remains for 2023. Eurostat values in the text and charts reflect the databases as of 30 September and 22 October 2026, downloaded on 30 October 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Croatian small and medium-sized enterprises generated EUR 31,640 of value added per person employed in 2023, 61.2% of the EU average of EUR 51,710. That is 18th place among the 27 member states. The gap is smallest for micro enterprises (70.7% of the EU average) and largest for medium-sized and large ones (51.1%), because productivity in Croatia rises much more slowly with firm size than in the EU. In manufacturing Croatia reaches 39.3% of the EU average. HBOR\u2019s production modernisation loan has productivity as its purpose, but its principal write-off does not reward higher value added. It rewards installed Industry 4.0 solutions, digitalisation and alignment with the smart specialisation strategy. Equipment raises value added per person employed only if it increases output or reduces the use of materials and energy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The analysis draws on Eurostat\u2019s structural business statistics for 2023, the latest year with complete data for all member states and size classes, on national accounts, on the European Commission\u2019s SME Performance Review (June 2026) and on HBOR\u2019s programme. It ends with an example with stated assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In brief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n