The Financial Agency released data for July 2026 showing a continued slight decline in the number of blocked consumers, but total indebtedness including interest remains a heavy burden on households and the economy.
The total principal of debt owed by citizens with blocked accounts in Croatia reached €3 billion by the end of July 2026, a figure released by the Financial Agency on Tuesday, revealing that despite a slight decline in the number of blocked consumers, their total burden including interest remains well above €4.2 billion. Specifically, 193,396 individuals were recorded.
The number of blocked citizens decreased by 0.4 percent compared to June this year, while the annual level shows a decline of 1.8 percent. Looking back three years, the picture is considerably more favorable, compared to July 2023, the number is lower by 26,500 people, or 12 percent, and a comparison with July 2024 shows a reduction of 8,000, a 4 percent drop.
However, trends are not entirely aligned: the principal of the debt, although it recorded a monthly decline of 0.8 percent compared to June, rose by 4.3 percent on an annual basis, compared to July last year. When adding €1.2 billion in interest, the total amount pressing on blocked consumers rises to €4.2 billion.
Consumer debt to banks, excluding accrued interest, amounts to €630 million, and to all financial institutions that figure rises to €710 million, numbers that clearly outline where the largest share of claims is concentrated.
By the end of July, 13,488 business entities were recorded in the register of payment order sequences, 2.8 percent fewer than in June, but as much as 3.2 percent more than in July 2025, meaning 412 more entities on an annual basis. The total principal of their debt amounted to €419.3 million, with a monthly decline of 4.2 percent and a dramatic annual drop of 42.4 percent, €309.2 million less than last year.
When adding €105.7 million in interest, the total debt of business entities reached €525.1 million. The contrast is clear: the number of blocked entities is rising, but the total debt is melting away.
Of the total number of blocked business entities, 5,736 are legal entities, 42.5 percent, and they account for €277.2 million, or 66.1 percent of the total amount of unsettled payment orders. The remaining 7,752 are natural persons conducting registered activities, with a debt of €142.2 million.
Compared to June, the number of blocked legal entities decreased by 5.5 percent, and the amount of their unsettled obligations by 6.9 percent, while among natural persons conducting activities, the number of blocked individuals decreased by 0.7 percent, but the amount of their debt increased by 1.5 percent.
