Key Findings
- All four Croatian cities show mixed strengths: Varaždin leads in Business Location and Building Permits, Split in Business Insolvency, Osijek in electricity connections, while Rijeka performs well in Utility Services.
- Zagreb shows the most uneven results—strong in Business Entry and reorganization but weaker in water connections and liquidation times, which last 40 months.
- Business Entry is the strongest area nationwide, with incorporation fast, inexpensive, and uniformly efficient (99.5/100 points), while Dispute Resolution and Business Insolvency display the widest gaps across cities.
- National regulations are harmonized (Pillar I), but local differences emerge in Public Services (Pillar II) and especially in Efficiency (Pillar III), where court performance and municipal permits drive divergence.
- Service timelines vary greatly, from four months for a building permit in Varaždin to nearly a year in Split, and from 83 days for electricity in Osijek to 99 in Split, showing scope for local-level improvements.
