Consumer prices in Croatia in September were on average 4.7% higher than in the same month last year.

Compared with August, they rose by 0.9%, so the same basket of products and services required more spending than just a month earlier. This is shown by the first estimate of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics for September 2026, while the final data will be published on 15 October.

Energy up by 20.5%, services by 7.6%

The biggest concern is energy, whose prices are on average as much as 20.5% higher than a year ago. Services became 7.6% more expensive, while food, beverages and tobacco together are pricier by a much more modest 0.2%. However, that small increase does not mean that prices in shops have returned to previous levels, but rather that this group changed only slightly on average compared with last September. Industrial non-food products excluding energy are the only main group with an annual price decline, by 1.4%.

Croatia above the euro area average

According to Eurostat's first estimate, annual inflation in the euro area in September stands at 3.8%, after 3.2% in August.

To compare Croatia with that average, the same European calculation method should be used, according to which Croatian inflation stands at 4.3%. This indicator also includes the spending of foreign visitors, which is why its result may differ from the national rate of 4.7%. Croatia is therefore, even by the comparable indicator, above the average of the countries that use the euro.

Another 47 euros for every 1,000 euros

Put simply, a basket that cost 1,000 euros last September would now cost 1,047 euros if it had increased exactly in line with the overall inflation rate. The actual calculation for each family depends on what they buy and how much they spend on individual needs. That is why almost unchanged prices of food, beverages and tobacco are not enough to conclude that pressure on the household budget has eased. With this kind of increase in energy and service prices, households whose incomes do not keep pace with their costs have less money left for everything else.