Croatian emigrants send over 5 billion euros to relatives in Croatia –  20% surge

Zagreb

Last year, emigrants from Croatia sent a total of 5.1 billion euros to their relatives living in the country, marking an increase of 880 million euros or 20.6 percent compared to the previous year. 

This rise in “personal remittances” was due to a surge in “employee compensation,” which includes the income of seafarers, daily commuters to neighbouring countries, and other temporary workers abroad, daily Jutarnji list reported.

These earnings saw an increase of 23.8 percent, reaching 2.7 billion euros.

Similarly, the “personal transfers” from emigrants in traditional destinations like Germany, Switzerland, the USA, and Italy saw a 17.1 percent rise, reaching 2.4 billion euros. Despite the expectations that foreign payments would decrease with the weakening of emigration waves, the strong growth in inflows from abroad suggests otherwise.

One of the reasons for this unexpected trend is the good employment conditions in the countries where emigrants are based. For instance, they are employed in deficit occupations and are able to negotiate higher salaries in a rising inflation environment.

Additionally, there is a growing trend of Croats seeking work in neighbouring countries, with Slovenia reporting an increase of two and a half times in cross-border labor migrants from Croatia.

According to the Croatian National Bank (CNB), the country has a relatively large net inflow of personal remittances compared to other nations with significant migration histories. Since entering the European Union, personal remittances have significantly increased, with their share in GDP reaching 6.8 percent in recent years.

The CNB expects this trend to continue, especially with Croatia’s entry into the Schengen area, which is likely to increase daily migration of workers. Moreover, with remote work on the rise, more and more Croatian citizens are working for foreign companies or returning to Croatia to work for these companies through an employment contract or establishing their own company.

Finally, research shows that younger generations value flexibility and remote work options and are willing to work for foreign companies. For instance, as many as 70 percent of younger Croatians change jobs within two years, and the majority prefer working remotely even for foreign companies.