In the fourth quarter of 2011, the Croatian economy recorded a 0.4 per cent GDP decline on the year.
Data available for the first quarter of 2012 indicate a further downturn and it seems that the Croatian economy is in recession again, the Institute said, revising its GDP forecast to a one per cent decline this year and a 1.2 per cent growth next year.
In January, the Institute predicted that GDP would decline 0.3 per cent in 2012 and grow one per cent in 2013.
In today's statement, the Institute recalled that GDP declined 0.4 per cent on the year in the last quarter of 2011, and that in 2011 it stayed on the level of 2010.
Monthly indicators in the real sector at the beginning of this year indicate a further downturn in exports, industrial output, retail and the construction sector as well as a marked rise in unemployment.