Croatia's gross foreign debt at the end of March 2022 was €45.2 billion, which represents a 76.7 percent share of its GDP, state news agency Hina said, citing a central bank report.

Year-on-year, the gross foreign debt increased by €1.72 billion or almost 4 percent. Compared to the end of 2021, the gross foreign debt increased by €631 million or 1.4 percent in only three months.

The debt increased in all domestic sectors, the central bank said. Lenders also reported an increase in their gross foreign debt by €600 million, as did other domestic sectors, including liabilities to affiliated creditors abroad, by €300 million, and the government, by €200 million.

But even though the debt increased in absolute terms, Croatia’s better-than-expected GDP growth in the Q1 2022 meant that the debt-to-GDP ratio actually improved by 1.2 percentage points compared to the end of 2021, so in March 2022 it dropped to 76.7 percent of GDP.