ZAGREB, Croatia, June 30 (UPI) -- Croatia's gross domestic product dropped 6.7 percent in the first three months this year compared with the first quarter in 2008, the statistics office said.
This was the largest annual drop since 1993 when the Croatian economy was seriously damaged by the Serb-Croat war (1991-95), Zagreb financial experts said Tuesday.
Croatian financial investments suffered as a result of the global financial crisis this year. Croatia also experienced a crisis in the supply of natural gas.
The statistics office said all essential components of the GDP declined in the first quarter this year, except state public expenditures, which rose 3.9 percent.
Household expenses declined 9.9 percent, investments dropped 12.4 percent, exports of goods and services declined 14.2 percent and imports fell 20 percent, the office said.
Croatian economists forecast the GDP will decline from 4 percent to 5 percent for all of 2009.
