Croatia's Tax Revenues Rise 9.3% in 2025, Above EU Average
Croatia's tax and social contribution revenues grew 9.3% in 2025, significantly above the EU average of 5.5%, according to Eurostat. The country was among the top five EU members for revenue growth.
Illustration: AI-generated image
Tax and social contribution revenues in Croatia rose by 9.3 per cent in 2025, well above the European Union average of 5.5 per cent, according to data released by Eurostat. The country was among the five EU member states with the highest growth in these revenues, which reached a total of 7,686 billion euros across the bloc.
Only Romania (10.5 per cent), Bulgaria (10.4 per cent) and Malta (9.4 per cent) recorded faster growth, while Lithuania followed Croatia with an 8.4 per cent increase. All EU countries saw nominal growth, but the pace varied, Eurostat noted. The increase in collected revenues does not necessarily mean higher tax rates, as it can be driven by economic growth, employment, wages, consumption and inflation.
Croatia also stood out for its tax structure. In 2025, the country had the second highest share of taxes on production and imports relative to GDP at 19 per cent, behind Sweden's 20.8 per cent. These indirect taxes include VAT, excise duties and customs. At the same time, Croatia's share of taxes on income, profits and property was only 7.8 per cent of GDP, compared with the EU average of 13.2 per cent, placing it near the bottom of the ranking.
Across the EU, tax and social contribution revenues amounted to 40.7 per cent of GDP, up 0.5 percentage points from 2024. The highest overall tax burdens were in France (46 per cent), Belgium (44.7 per cent), Denmark (44.3 per cent) and Austria (43.9 per cent), while the lowest were in Ireland (22.7 per cent), Romania (29.3 per cent), Malta (30.3 per cent) and Bulgaria (30.6 per cent). The share of these revenues in GDP increased in 19 member states and decreased in eight.
Tax revenues accounted for 87.9 per cent of all government revenues in the EU in 2025. Social contributions made up 14.3 per cent of GDP, taxes on income, profits and property 13.2 per cent, and taxes on production and imports 12.9 per cent. Eurostat attributes the recent increases to economic recovery, inflation and rising social contributions. The data highlight significant differences in how EU countries raise revenue, with Croatia relying more heavily on indirect taxes.
