At a glance Croatia and the Czech Republic may appear to be similar in nature; land space is of similar size and they share a common governance of a Parliamentary Democracy. This is where the commonality ends though as living and working in each of these countries is quite different. Despite the Czech Republic having a much larger population than Croatia (10.5 million vs 4.2million), you are much more likely to be unemployed in Croatia. Consequently 21.1% of Croatians are below the poverty line while only 9.8% of the much higher population of Czechs fall below.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2016 and other reports can be used to compare key economic Indicators for these two countries. According to these reports Croatia seems to be in line with emerging and developing Europe whereas The Czech Republic seems to be much more aligned with advanced economies around the world. In terms of ease of doing business both countries have similar rankings according to The World Bank Report 2016. The individual income tax in Croatia is very high at 40% while corporate tax is 20%. The Czech Republic ranks much better for the individual with an income tax of only 15%, while corporate tax comes in at a competitive 19%.
World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/2016 Ranking [1 = extremely low; 7 = extremely high]
| Category | Croatia’s Rank | Czech Republic’s Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nation with the Highest Public Trust of Politicians | 2.0 | 2.3 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Burden of Government regulation | 2.1 | 2.8 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Transparency Of Government Policymaking | 3.5 | 3.9 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Cost of Living (Ranked out of 200+ countries) | 159 | 124 | Mercer Human Resource Consulting 2016 |
| Best Quality of Living in the World(Ranked out of 200+ countries) | 98 | 69 | Mercer Human Resource Consulting 2016 |
| Wastefulness of Government Spending | 2.2 | 5.0 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Co-operation in Labor-employer Relations | 3.6 | 4.7 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Reliance on Professional management | 3.6 | 5.1 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Pay and Productivity | 4.0 | 4.7 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Worlds Freest Economy (Ranked out of 180+ countries) | 103 | 21 | The Heritage Foundation, Index of Economic Freedom, 2016 |
| Quality of overall infrastructure | 4.6 | 4.9 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Quality of Port Infrastructure | 4.5 | 3.6 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Quality of Air Transport Infrastructure | 4.2 | 5.4 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
| Efficiency of Legal Framework in Settling Disputes | 2.3 | 3.3 | World Economic Forums’ Global Competitive Report 2015/16 |
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